Reinhart tells me she didnt wear much makeup today because she knew she would end up in tears.
In my private life, when I cry, I really cry.
Thats not something thats very socially acceptable, as we know as women.
NONAME is needed sweater set.
We dont fucking cry in public because its uncomfortable.
But I knew I was going to cry today, and I didnt feel nervous about it.
Reinhart says her grandmother received a diagnosis after months of uncertainty and advocacy on her own behalf.
Calle Del Mar top. Agmes earrings.
She says her grandmothers doctors initially attributed her symptoms to old age.
Fighting for care has been something Reinhart has found herself consumed with in recent years too.
Im literally on standby for her passing away.
anOnlyChild jacket. David Koma dress. Adidas sneakers. Jenny Bird earrings.
My drive here, Im texting with my mom about a funeral next week.
She experienced her first panic attack in the eighth grade.
I just remember being in my school bathroom, sitting in the stall.
Tibi jacket and jeans. Alo bra. Paul Andrew shoes. Jenny Bird earrings.
I think what my body naturally was trying to do was just catch its breath, she recalls.
I remember it feeling like a sudden sense of dread.
School continued to be a common site for those episodes.
NONAME is needed sweater set.
I just felt like this young girl with a big dream that was nearly impossible, Reinhart says.
I was surrounded by people who just didnt get me.
That shit doesnt work.
Stella McCartney blazer. Calle Del Mar top and brief. Tibi skirt. Adidas sneakers. Agmes sneakers.
It didnt work for me, at least.
They took Reinhart to see a therapist and a psychiatrist, who put her on an antidepressant.
When I would tape auditions, the note would be like, Can you have more energy?
Tibi jacket and jeans. Alo bra. Paul Andrew shoes. Jenny Bird earrings.
Im, like, 16, I should have energy, and I didnt.
I think it was definitely due to the depression.
But it was also, looking back, due to the medication.
(Fatigue can be a side effect of both depression and the drugs that treat it.)
I was living in a shared house with a bajillion people, which is really hard, she recalls.
I was kind of secluded in my little bedroom, and I didnt have a car here.
Then, years later, it would get a hell of a lot worse.
It was really hard to keep up, but I did, she explains.
I didnt have a choice, and Ive always just showed up and done my job.
While filmingRiverdales fifth season in Vancouver, Reinhart had what she describes as a bad case of COVID-19.
Post-COVID, my fatigue was getting extreme, she says, and her doctor grew concerned.
Reinhart has tested positive for COVID three times in total and suspects she had it one additional time.
With each infection, she says, her symptoms got more severeand her fatigue kept getting worse.
She says shes had vials and vials of blood extracted over the years to figure out whats going on.
Her doctors have tried to rule out some autoimmune diseases, with no definitive answers.
Ive done all of them, she says.
And my guts still like, Hey, bitch, you got something.
You just cant figure out what it is.
Reinhart says she also developed an eating disorder around this time.
Earlier this year, Reinharts hair started falling out.
I went to my dermatologist because my scalp was also getting kind of itchy.
She was like, Yes, it’salopecia.
While some types of alopecia are hormonal (a.k.a.
androgenetic alopecia), others can be autoimmune-related, like alopecia areata.
This is when a persons body attacks their hair follicles, causing patchy hair loss.
Im not here for small talk, Im here for help.
Even if I can afford this, I want no part in that, she tells me.
It is so expensive to be sick.
And thats why women dont get help.
Thats why men and women dont get help.
Reinharts health struggles came to a head this past July while in Germany filming a movie.
The third night Im there, I developed symptoms of a UTI, she explains.
Im like, Ive had UTIs before.
We all know how it feels.
Reinhart went to the hospital by herself at 4 a.m., where doctors performed a urinalysis.
She says they found a slight infection and sent Reinhart on her way with some antibiotics.
But the urgency to pee (the hallmark sign of a UTI) didnt let up.
She ended up going to the hospital two more times, again, thinking she had a UTI.
It was just like, I need to find a urogyno specialist.
I said, I cant do that because Im literally dying."
Thats the ironic thing that people dont see, she tells me.
Im literally in Washington, DC, at the White House giving a speech on mental health.
And then that same night, I am sobbing, in so much discomfort, and feel so defeated.
That same month, Reinhart flew back home to Ohio as her grandmothers health was deteriorating.
But Im not going to tell the world that, she says.
No tumors, no cysts, just a lot of inflammation, Reinhart recalls.
Its like you almost hope theres something in there so you might remove it and feel better.
It can have a long-lasting impact on a persons quality of life.
Per theCDC, IC affects about 1% of people in the US, mostly people with vaginas.
But it can take years to get a diagnosis.
Thats because IC is often mistaken for things like UTIs.
No one ever knows what that is when I talk about it, Reinhart says.
This past fall, Reinhart released a skin care line calledPersonal Dayamideverythinggestures tiredly going on.
When I ask her how she wants her line to make peoplefeel,she pauses.
I hope they feel seen, she says.
People with acne dont feel seen, and also dont want tobeseen, when theyre breaking out.
As our conversation shifts toward the ways that highlighting her health struggles might help others, Reinharts demeanor shifts.
Listen to your body, and dont take no for an answer.
Dont let a doctor tell you that nothings wrong when you know that there is.
She had symptoms in March and April and was diagnosed in September, Reinhart says.
A few days after this interview, Reinharts grandmother, Corine Reinhart, passed away.
My grandmother knew something was wrong, Reinhart tells me.
She said, Run tests.
Im sure that a part of my advocacy for women must come from that.
I just think, Wow, damn…Im so proud to be her granddaughter.
Photography: Jason Kim.
Creative direction: Amber Venerable.
Wardrobe styling: Ashley Vernival.
Hair: Ericka Verrett.
Makeup: Melissa Hernandez.
Manicurist: Yoko Sakakura.
Set Designer: Lizzie Lang.
Production: Melissa Kramer.
Profile editors: Rachel Wilkerson Miller and Theresa Tamkins.
Research director: Yulia Khabinksy.
