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Courtney Love reveals secret health crisis that nearly killed her: 'My body just exploded'

Courtney Love shared that her body "just exploded" during a secret health crisis that left her near death, losing all her hair and dropping to 100 pounds.

Published August 15, 2026, 8:24 PM
Updated August 15, 2026, 9:01 PM986
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Courtney Love reveals secret health crisis that nearly killed her: 'My body just exploded'

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Courtney Love is revealing a health battle she kept private for years.

The Hole singer, 62, shared an update about her long-awaited new album, explaining that the record took shape during a period when she was frequently hospitalized and believed it could be her final work.

"I went to England in 2019 and when I went there, you know, my body just exploded," Love said in an Instagram video. "It just exploded. And I was in hospitals a lot. I almost died, I lost all my hair. I was about 100 pounds. And they told me I was going to die, and I didn’t believe them."

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Courtney Love attends a fashion show in Paris.

Courtney Love revealed she was hospitalized repeatedly starting in 2019 and nearly died. (Julien Hekimian / Getty Images)

Love did not identify the illness or illnesses she was battling, but said she ultimately recovered after refusing to accept the prognosis she had been given.

The singer connected that determination to a memory from childhood, describing a tendency to challenge what adults told her was true.

"When I was a kid — and I think this record is about this — I used to pattern interrupt the adults," she said. "They’d tell me red was blue, and then I’d see blue, but blue was blue, so now that I gaslight myself that maybe they were right, and red was blue, and then I would see purple, and my head would explode. Like f---ing cope with that s---, right?"

Courtney Love in a jean jacket looks towards the camera as she walks in Paris

The Hole singer lost all her hair and dropped to 100 pounds during her private health battle. (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)

She continued, "I never really lost my ability to see that… red was red. Despite them telling me that red was blue. And so, when they said ‘you’re going to die,’ I just didn’t believe them. And somehow, I got better. I’m healthy, which is amazing."

"I just wasn’t public about being sick. I don’t want to be public. I’m fine now."

Musician Courtney Love arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California February 28, 2016. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok - RTS8IHX

Love wrote her new album while she was ill. (Reuters)

The singer said she wants to return to the road and perform again, describing music as essential to her well-being.

Her new album appears to have emerged directly from the period in which she was fighting to recover.

In an Instagram caption accompanying her video, Love explained that when she began making the record, she believed it might be her last.

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Courtney Love in white smiles at the camera while Kurt Cobain in a striped shirt is photographed in the background

Love originally rose to fame with her band, Hole, and as the wife of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. (Barry King/WireImage)

"I wanted to give you an update on my record. When I made it, I believed this was my last record so I made the record I always wanted to make. I was in the hospital mostly but when I wasn’t all I did was write & record it."

Love also thanked those who worked with her while she was dealing with what she described as trauma.

The project would mark a significant return for Love, who has not released an album since Hole’s 2010 "Nobody’s Daughter."

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She closed her message by asking fans for patience as she prepares to return to public life.

Stephanie Giang-Paunon is an entertainment reporter for Fox News Digital. 

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