Singer Courtney Love revealed on Instagram that she nearly lost her life to a grueling secret medical crisis in 2019 before eventually recovering. The 62-year-old artist shared details of her illness in a video posted Friday night to her more than one million followers on the platform.
Love explained that her health drastically declined after traveling to England in 2019, which led to multiple hospital stays. She recalled that her "body just exploded" and that she "lost all my hair" as her weight dropped to 100 pounds on a frame of nearly 5 feet 10 inches.
Despite doctors telling her that she was going to die, Love refused to believe their predictions. She neglected to specify the exact nature of her illness, but stated that she "somehow" recovered and is currently healthy.
Love, who has achieved sobriety after previously abusing cocaine, heroin, and pills, had announced in February 2020 that she had been sober for 18 months. That period of sobriety covered the entirety of 2019, the year her health declined.
Love is the daughter of thrice-married couples counselor Linda Carroll and former Grateful Dead tour manager Hank Harrison. She has been estranged from her mother on and off for decades and suffered a longstanding falling-out with her father that lasted until his death in 2022.
Childhood Experience and Medical Distrust
Love claimed her reluctance to believe medical professionals stemmed from the lies adults told her during her childhood. She recalled that as a child she used to "pattern-interrupt" adults who would tell her red was blue when she could see blue was blue.
She explained that trying to gaslight herself into accepting what adults said left her trying to cope, but she never lost her ability to see that red was red. That mindset allowed her to reject the prognosis when doctors said she was going to die.
New Album and Future Touring Plans
Love shot to the peak of her stardom in the 1990s as the wife of Kurt Cobain and the lead singer of Hole, known for hits including "Doll Parts" and "Miss World." She has not released an album since 2010, looking back in her video at the "humbling" commercial failure of Hole's record "Nobody's Daughter."
After seven years of silence regarding her illness, Love assured her public that her long-awaited new album is "done" and "really good." Writing in her post caption, she disclosed that she wrote and recorded the album mostly while in the hospital, believing at the time that it would be her last record.
Love expressed a strong desire to return to live music, telling fans she wants to tour more than anything because singing keeps her soul and body happy. Representatives for Love have been contacted by The Daily Mail for comment.
