What a hard day for Yolanda Hadid.
On Wednesday, Yolanda revealed the sad news that her best friend Ellie O’Connell has passed away after a five-year battle with ALS.
Related: Yolanda Undergoes A New Lyme Disease Treatment
For those who don’t know, ALS (AKA amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease), is a horrific condition which weakens the body’s muscles until it can no longer function. At this time, the disease has no cure.
According to Hadid, Ellie sadly succumbed to her illness despite an amazing fight. O’Connell was hanging on to see her daughter graduate college in 2017, a wish which will tragically go unfilled.
Despite the heartbreak, the model did her best to honor her close pal’s legacy in a touching Instagram post:
Wow, what a horrible loss. We imagine the two bonded over their mutual health issues — the Real Housewives alum knows suffering all to well thanks to her ongoing battle with lyme disease.
Obviously, this isn’t the first time the reality star has posted about her friend.
Check out additional tributes to Ellie’s memory (below):
So heartbreaking. We bet the pain is even more excruciating for O’Connell’s daughter.
Our thoughts go out to Ellie’s loved ones and friends during this difficult time.
[Image via Instagram.]