MODEL Roxy Horner has revealed boyfriend Jack Whitehall has been her “rock” during a terrifying diabetes battle.
The 30-year-old beauty has confessed she thought she was DYING in the months leading up to her diagnosis and lost the ability to talk then passed out during a 999 emergency just two weeks ago.
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She told how actor and comic Jack, 33, has been a constant support and was by her side when doctors gave her the shock Type 1 diabetes diagnosis last May.
Essex-born Roxy said: “Jack’s been my absolute rock, he’s so lovely.
“He was there when I got diagnosed. My parents and my family live in Australia, so he has been my family. We’re amazing.”
The couple have been dating for two years and live in Jack’s £17.5million, five-bed home in West London’s Notting Hill with their pet Cavapoo, Coco.
Roxy had been suffering with her symptoms for almost three years.
As they gradually started to get worse during the pandemic she sought medical advice.
In her first newspaper interview since her diagnosis, she said: “I felt extremely tired and exhausted for a long time, I had no energy. I couldn’t even go for a walk, it was draining, I felt like I was dying. I was drinking four to eight litres of water a day.
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“I knew that there was something really wrong with me. I had to listen to my body.
“I went to the doctor’s loads, but I wasn’t tested for diabetes as I didn’t fit the criteria.
“I went to hospital in the end as I couldn’t really move.”
‘I am trying to think positively’
After taking herself to A&E out of desperation and also suffering from memory loss, Roxy was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes where a sufferer’s blood glucose — sugar — is too high because the body is not making the hormone insulin which manages it. Roxy admitted it came as a “massive shock.”
There are around 400,000 sufferers in the UK, including 29,000 children.
Medics do not know how the condition develops, though it has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle.
The body attacks cells in the pancreas which make the insulin, meaning sufferers cannot produce any at all.
Around eight per cent of people with diabetes in the UK have Type 1. It is a serious and lifelong condition.
Over time, high blood sugar levels can damage the heart, eyes, feet and kidneys, though the correct treatment and care can prevent many of these long-term problems.
Roxy said: “It was scary and the silver lining is that I finally know how I can treat it.
“I’ll have it for ever, there’ll be good weeks and bad.”
While she is learning to inject herself with insulin and cope with her symptoms, Roxy had the terrifying ordeal a fortnight ago when she lost consciousness.
She said: “A couple of weeks ago my friend had to call an ambulance, while we were having dinner.
“It was out of nowhere. My sugar levels went down really low and I couldn’t get them back up, I couldn’t even talk to her to communicate, it was scary.”
I felt extremely tired and exhausted for a long time, I had no energy. I couldn’t even go for a walk, it was draining, I felt like I was dying. I was drinking four to eight litres of water a day.
Roxy now wears a FreeStyle Libre which monitors her glucose levels so she knows when she needs insulin.
She said: “I am trying to think positively. Lots of bad things have happened with this but there are some good things too. I know so much about this disease I have. I knew nothing before. I’ve got a platform and I can talk about it.
“I am so open about it as I feel it’s important if someone else has the same symptoms that I can help them go to the doctor’s.” She added: “I can spend two days sleeping before seeing people, and I want to see my friends.
“I’ve taken two to three years properly out of work for my health.
“Absolutely anyone can get diabetes and before I got it I didn’t know that. The thing with Type 1 is that you normally get diagnosed as a child, so no one tested me for it as I am an adult.
“It’s nothing to do with your diet, it’s the fact that your body isn’t producing insulin, it’s an autoimmune disease.
“I am working with the charity Diabetes UK to raise awareness. There are so many people suffering with it in silence.
“I’m trying to be positive, as it has helped me a lot knowing what my illness is. I was suffering in silence not knowing what it was. I felt unwell for many years.
“Hopefully now I can get back to work. I’d love to dabble in acting. I’m trying to push through and do as much as I can. Diabetes UK has been amazing too.”
Speaking at the Vanity Fair EE Rising Star Party in London, she revealed her resolve to remain positive, adding: “I’m determined not to let this hold me back.”
As well as her boyfriend, Roxy, who has previously been linked with Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio and also reality TV’s Joey Essex, credits her pooch for cheering her up.
Speaking last year Roxy, who has appeared in fashion bible Vogue and featured in dozens of campaigns for big-name brands including Max Factor, Superdry and Boux Avenue, said: “Coincidentally, I also adopted a dog, Coco, a little Cavapoo, the same week as my diagnosis and she has been the most incredible friend and emotional support buddy.
“She got me through the toughest year of my life.
“I feel so lucky with all my friends too, they have been wonderfully supportive. Especially the ones who understand that sometimes, now, I just need a chilled night in with them.
“I’ve quietly decided to spend less time with the people who haven’t understood.”
Jack, meanwhile, has been going from strength to strength with his career, starring in Disney’s Jungle Cruise with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt, and also children’s flick Clifford The Big Red Dog. He will be seen, too, in upcoming Hollywood releases Silent Retreat and Robots.
He splashed out on their luxury home, a former boozer, last summer, which boasts a swimming pool, sauna, gym, cinema room, sweeping marble staircase, passenger lift and guest “powder room”.
Jack has hinted he may open up about their relationship in the future, in his stand-up shows.
He said: “Since my last tour I’ve been in a long-term relationship and that’s something I feel I’ll be interested in talking about maybe on stage.
“I’ve now got a dog and I’m spending more time travelling on my own and that always throws up situations and experiences and people you want to talk about.”
‘It can be lived with’
By Carol Cooper, Sun GP
IT can take time to adjust to managing Type 1 diabetes but it is possible to live normally and well with the condition.
Many famous people have Type 1, including Grantchester actor James Norton.
It is caused by a lack of insulin. We all need this hormone to live. Without it, glucose (sugar) can’t enter the cells of the body where it is needed so it builds in the bloodstream. This leads to high blood sugar levels which can, over time, damage the heart, eyes, feet and kidneys.
Typical symptoms include an intense thirst, passing a lot of water, unintended weight loss and blurred vision.
Other signs include cuts that don’t heal, feeling very tired and breath that smells fruity, almost like pear sweets. Type 1 usually develops before the age of 40 and can start in childhood. The condition often comes on quickly.
Unlike Type 2 diabetes, which is far more common, Type 1 has nothing to do with age or being overweight.
Treatment always means insulin, either by injection or via a pump. Sufferers need to check their own sugar levels and make lifestyle changes such as carb-counting.
There is a lot of info and help available from the charity Diabetes UK.
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