Michaele Salahi attributes her weight loss to Multiple Sclerosis

So Michaele Salahi, the notorious "White House Party Crasher" and one of the stars of Bravo's The Real Housewives of D.C. has revealed that she has Multiple Sclerosis via a new book, Cirque de Salahi by Diane Dimond.

Salahi, who has secretly suffered from multiple sclerosis for 17 years, according to Dimond, has apparently been "picked on" by castmates for being too thin and called "anorexic". Salahi attributes her "rail thin" weight to her disease. Now we are certainly not fans of criticizing women because of their bodies or  using "anorexic" and "thin" synonymously. However, we're not completely sure what's going on with this story...

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, low body weight and/or weight loss are not common Ms Symptoms. Salahi has been quoted as saying “I’m a skinny girl. I always was" so it seems weird that now she's contributing that thinness to the disease.

Salahi isn't exactly known for her honesty. Not only was she part of the famous "white house crashing" incident, but she has also claimed to be a former Washington Redskin cheerleader and Victoria's Secrets model... Both the Redskins and VS have publicly stated that she never worked for them. Salahi and her husband have also been involved in a number of allegations over the yeras such as running a bogus charity!? I would never ever accuse someone of lying about a disease, especially not one like MS, which I have lost family members to, but at the same time it's possible that she's just using the MS as a scapegoat for her weight.



Of course that doesn't mean that her weight is unrelated to her disease. It doesn't mean she's lying. It doesn't mean she doesn't have MS. And it doesn't mean she does have an eating disorder. MS affects everyone diferently and while weight loss is not specifically a symptom it is very possible that other symptoms (such as depression) contributed to her weight loss or her weight loss is a side effect to one of her medications.

However, I am a little bit confused based on Dimond's description of Salahi, who cooperated on the book. In the book she apparently describes Salahi's eating habits as eating sugary cereal for Thanksgiving and not eating or even drinkin wtaer for longer periods of a day. Salahi has been quoted as sying that she starts her day with a hot chocolate and cereal, like Lucky Charms, and then has fruit. "I don't really eat a lot in the middle of the day." Now these may just be extreme examples, but for someone who truly has been ill for 17+ years, Salahi should really be eating more healthy! (A more appropriate Multiple Sclerosis diet would likely be LOW in sugar and high in nutrients, don't you think?)

It has also been suggested that high levels of stress can exacerbate MS symptoms... so it seems like being on a reality show - especially one known for such cattiness and drama as Real Housewives isn't a great idea either.

"This is the first time I've said it publicly ... It's something I kept personal. I think a lot of people do with chronic illnesses or any type of disease, whether it's heart [disease] or whatever you deal with, you know, breast cancer, so for me, I kept it personal because I never wanted to be judged, never wanted to have pity, and I certainly wanted to hold on to my job." -- Salahi