Chrissy Teigen Reveals Son Miles Has Type 1 Diabetes & Is in His 'Honeymoon Period' — Here’s What It Means
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend’s 6-year-old son, Miles, has Type 1 diabetes, as the model and author revealed in a sweet and honest Instagram post today. “A lot of you noticed something a little special about a photo I posted a few days ago,” Teigen wrote alongside the photo of herself, 8-year-old Luna, and Miles […]
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Chrissy Teigen and John Legend’s 6-year-old son, Miles, has Type 1 diabetes, as the model and author revealed in a sweet and honest Instagram post today.
“A lot of you noticed something a little special about a photo I posted a few days ago,” Teigen wrote alongside the photo of herself, 8-year-old Luna, and Miles holding up signs supporting Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. “Miles had his arm up… [and] you noticed his type-1 diabetes monitor.”
In the carousel of photos, Teigen went on to explain the full story of Miles’ diagnosis, which began when he went to the hospital for an unrelated illness. “A couple weeks ago, our Miles was sick, in the hospital, with a terrible case of shigella,” Teigen wrote. She described the illness as “an intestinal infection caused by bacteria in food or water” and said “a lot of his friends” had also come down with it at the same summer camp.
While in the hospital, Teigen said, doctors noticed “something else was off about his blood tests. I’ve learned since then that this is how so many young children end up being diagnosed with type-1 — going to the hospital for something completely different.”
The family learned Miles is in “the ‘honeymoon period’ of a lifetime of T1,” Teigen wrote. “Last night we gave him his first shot of insulin and here we go! A different, new world for us and we are certainly learning so much on the fly.”
According to the American Diabetes Association, a honeymoon phase in Type 1 Diabetes is “a brief period of time where your body is producing enough insulin to lower blood glucose levels,” where people may not experience symptoms. It usually occurs “after you start taking insulin and you may not need as much to manage your blood glucose,” the ADA notes, and can last anywhere from a week to a year.
Type 1 diabetes itself occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks beta cells in the pancreas, rendering it unable to make enough insulin to keep you alive. People with diabetes can treat it by taking insulin shots as well as staying active and eating healthy.
Teigen also took the opportunity to express her gratitude for her followers’ support and kind words, saying fans “extended so much love and encouragement in every way possible,” while noting how “blessed” their family is “to have so much help and a wonderful, kind, huge-hearted specialist.”
The mom of four even shared a look into how she and Legend are teaching Miles about his condition, including a photo from the picture book Year One With Type One by Mike Suarez. In the illustration, a speech bubble from a parent reads, “Son, it’s so brave how you handle the pain. You take all these shots and you hardly complain. The two of us wish there was more we could do. We’d take fifty shots each to spare your next two.”
“John and I read it to Miles last night and I burst into tears at this page and had to leave the room so he couldn’t see me sobbing,” Teigen wrote. “He loves this book so, so much already.”
Teigen’s post had already garnered over 80,000 likes just an hour after she posted, including one from Nick Jonas, who’s been open about his own experience with Type 1 diabetes. “My family and friends really helped,” Jonas said in an interview with Beyond Type 1, a nonprofit he founded to advocate for people living with diabetes. Remembering getting diagnosed at age 13, the musician recalled feeling “devastated” and fearing for the condition’s impact on his career. “There have been many moments where it has [slowed me down]… Where my blood sugar was high or low and I’ve just had to figure it out and push through,” Jonas said. “I’m grateful that I’ve got a good support system around me.”
It sounds like Miles already has that in spades — and Teigen is feeling the support too. “This post is to thank you so much for your kindness,” the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition model told fans on Instagram. “It helps [M]iles so much to know so many other people are going through the same thing and he is not alone.”
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