Brandi Glanville is getting candid about a scary health situation that she says contributed to "the worst year of my life."
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alumna sat down with Entertainment Tonight in an interview published Tuesday, explaining that she was diagnosed with stress-induced angioedema last year, a condition that caused her face to swell up so much that she couldn't talk or taste food.
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"I would go into anaphylactic shock constantly," Glanville said, noting that the trouble began in August. She then consulted seven doctors until she was diagnosed.
Angioedema is swelling in the deep layers of the skin and other tissues, according to the Mayo Clinic. Similar to hives, it often shows up around the face and lips, and may be accompanied by an itchy, raised rash.
Typically, it will clear up within a day without treatment, leaving no lasting marks. For those who need treatment, antihistamine medication is often prescribed.
Glanville's bout with it got so bad, she was hospitalized in October, with her son having to call 911.
"I was on the phone with Andy Cohen... and I was just given some very disappointing news and I couldn't take it," she told ET. "The stress just, my eyes swelled shut, my hands [blew up]. I laid down before I fell down, but an ambulance came and I spent two days in the hospital, trying to figure out what's wrong."
"It's affected every aspect of my life," she continued. "My boyfriend and I broke up. I can't pucker my top lips still, because it swelled up so much... it would swell up and go down, swell up and go down. ... And now, I can't kiss. It is hard to talk because the inside of my mouth gets swollen."
Said Glanville: "I'm not the same anymore right now. Everyone's like, 'You look great,' I'm like, 'I don't feel like I should feel, I don't look the way I used to look.' "
To help fix the issues, Glanville sought treatment from Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. John Layke, who recommended EmFace, a non-surgical procedure that gradually restores the skin.
"It's amazing technology called HIFES technology, which is high intensity focused electro stimulation, electromagnetic stimulation," said Layke. "And the idea behind it is that we put certain applicators onto areas of the face and we have muscles in the face that either pull our expressions downward as in a frown or we have it upwards in a smile and so this technology selectively will contract the muscles that elevate the face."
It's been working for Glanville so far. "I thought that was my new normal. I was just going to be this giant pumpkin head. It's insane," she remarked. "I took my health for granted."
But the underlying stress that caused the angioedema is still in Glanville's life.
She told ET that the allegations stemming from her time on the still-unaired season of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip are to blame. Glanville was asked to leave filming in Morocco last January after allegedly taking things too far with costar Caroline Manzo during a party, kissing the Real Housewives of New Jersey alumna multiple times throughout the evening without her consent and groping her off-camera
Glanville has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, and says that Peacock's decision to indefinitely delay the airing of the season has only prolonged her pain.
"I just want it to air so I can move on with my life," said Glanville, who has hired legal representation since the taping. "Nothing happened, that's all I can really say. This false narrative has been going on for 10 months. It's been the worst year of my life. Worse than my divorce."
She added that she's lost out on work in the wake of the controversy, like the filming of The Traitors reunion. "I feel like I have this scarlet letter on my, I really do," she said. "This is my life, this isn't just reality TV fun — like we got into an argument and threw wine. This is my life."
