![\"Chloe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/chloe-kelly.jpg\")
<\/p>\nChloe Kelly has revealed that she was diagnosed with alopecia last year after a period of severe anxiety that left the England forward fearing she was suffering heart attacks and unable to leave her home.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old Lionesses star, whose dramatic winning goal at last summer\u2019s European Championship made her a national figure, has spoken candidly about the toll the final months of her time at Manchester City took on her mental and physical health. <\/p>\n
Kelly returned to Arsenal in January, initially on loan, after stating that what she described as \u201cnegative behaviour\u201d at City had had a \u201chuge impact\u201d on her wellbeing.<\/p>\n
Now, speaking nearly a year on, Kelly has described how her anxiety spiralled to a point where everyday life became overwhelming. <\/p>\n
Appearing on Fearne Cotton\u2019s Happy Place podcast, the winger said her symptoms became so debilitating that she found comfort only in isolation and darkness.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved sitting in the dark and I was like, \u2018This isn\u2019t okay,\u2019\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust being by myself, quiet and sitting in the dark. It got to the point with my anxiety that I couldn\u2019t get off the bathroom floor because I was just being sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried taking the dogs for a walk, colouring in and it wasn\u2019t an eating disorder. It was a vicious cycle because I didn\u2019t want to feel anxious and I didn\u2019t want to throw up, but when I felt anxious I just needed to throw up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chloe Kelly was sensational for England back in the summer<\/p>\n
| Reuters<\/p>\n
Kelly recalled one particularly distressing episode when her partner, Scott Moore, intervened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was one occasion where Scott got me off the bathroom floor and put me in the hallway, just to stop me throwing up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As the anxiety persisted, Kelly began to notice physical changes that alarmed her.<\/p>\n
Her hair started falling out, a development that eventually led to a diagnosis of alopecia. <\/p>\n
![\"Chloe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765815855_726_chloe-kelly.jpg\")
Chloe Kelly left Manchester City after a dark spell at the club<\/p>\n
| GETTY<\/p>\n
\u201cI started losing my hair. I was like, \u2018No, this isn\u2019t acceptable,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cIt carried on and I remember saying to Scott, \u2018I feel like I\u2019ve got a bald patch in my hair.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed then on the other side another bald patch and it was then that I thought I had alopecia.<\/p>\n
“I went to the doctor at England and just said, \u2018My hair\u2019s falling out but it\u2019s itching as well on my head.\u2019 He sent me to some specialists and she was amazing and told me I had alopecia.\u201d<\/p>\n
The diagnosis forced Kelly to confront the physical impact of her mental health struggles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, now I\u2019m seeing the physical effects it (anxiety) is having on my body, not only mental,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a tough time because you care about your appearance a lot and you want to feel confident. I remember my first game at Arsenal covering my bald patches.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also described panic attacks so intense that she feared she was experiencing heart attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had panic attacks and thought I was having a heart attack at times,\u201d Kelly said. <\/p>\n
![\"Chloe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765815856_359_chloe-kelly.jpg\")
\u201cWhen my hair was coming out, I remember questioning whether I can go fully bald. She was like, \u2018it takes three months\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those three months became a period of uncertainty, but Kelly says the outcome has been life-affirming.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, I look at my hair and it\u2019s grown back. I had my hair in a pony in the recent camp and my hair was growing outwards. Incredible things have happened since I made that step,” she stated.<\/p>\n
Kelly credits her return to Arsenal, the club where she rose through the youth ranks, as a decisive turning point. <\/p>\n
After a successful loan spell that culminated in a Champions League triumph, she signed permanently in the summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cJanuary was a real turning point for me, coming back to London and to a club I love in Arsenal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in a really dark place and I was for a while to be honest. I struggled a lot, and I was riddled with anxiety and I didn\u2019t want to go out at any opportunity. Even going to the shops and Tesco.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the experience, she added: \u201cIt was tough for me because I think I\u2019m quite outgoing and, you come away from sport, and you\u2019re like this is affecting my mental health. A game I love so much is affecting me in so many other ways. Being able to speak up in January and come back to London and find happiness, for me it was about taking a step away from the game.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chloe Kelly has revealed that she was diagnosed with alopecia last year after a period of severe anxiety…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,218,217,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-317478","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sport","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}