Cynthia Bailey to undergo surgery for mystery illness

Cynthia Bailey may be looking like perfection, but deep down she’s holding a dark secret about her health. The Real Housewives of Atlanta star is suffering from what seems to be a life-threatening illness and although she can’t disclose what it is, she’s opening up about what steps she will be taking to ensure she gets through it.

“I can’t say a whole lot about it … but I am dealing with a medical situation,” Cynthia tells Radar Online in a new interview. “I will be having a surgery and rectifying the [situation]. That will play out on the show.” Because of her contract with Bravo, Cynthia is going to have to stay mum on the details of her illness until after the episodes air.

While whatever she is going through is certainly heartbreaking and something most would prefer to go through in private, Cynthia is doing the opposite. She will be airing the journey of her illness on the show and sharing the desperate times with fans. Why, you ask? Cynthia wants to educate fans on how important it is to stay on top of their health and being proactive.

“I decided I did want to share it with the world because I felt like there is a lot of education in this process that I am going to be going through,” she explains. “I really want to be somewhat of a health advocate for ‘Hey, take care of yourself.’ It’s great to be successful and do all these great things, but I can’t be a role model if I’m not healthy, if I’m not alive.”

“The more information I got about it once I did go to the doctor and really saw the rewards, how good I was going to feel from dealing with it, and how many women actually deal with this condition, I felt it just would be powerful to relay that information out there,” Cynthia continues. “Over three or four million people watch our show. And even they love the drama, but I think it’s great when they can actually get some education out of it as well.”

Although Cynthia couldn’t disclose when she would be undergoing the procedure, she did confirm that it would be soon. “It hasn’t happened yet,” she says. “But it’s coming up.”

After Cynthia hit the red carpet looking a bit round in the belly at this month’s Miss USA pageant, pregnancy rumors began to fly but Cynthia quickly set the record straight on Twitter saying, “I am not pregnant. I am dealing with a medical issue that makes me look pregnant.”

There are several possibilities of what Cynthia could be suffering from including a bowel disorder and liver disease, both of which cause women to look pregnant.

Top Photo: Judy Eddy/WENN.com