Jenna Jameson has shared a positive update on her health, two years after doctors erroneously informed her that she had six months to a year to live.
The former adult film star, 49, has been living with an illness that saw her misdiagnosed with the rare autoimmune disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome —a condition in which a person's immune system attacks their nerves—back in January of 2022. At the time, muscle atrophy in her legs had left her unable to walk unaided.
During her 9-month stint under hospital treatment, doctors also suspected that the erstwhile Playboy model had blood cancer. Amid her health woes, which included memory issues, the mother-of-three was given up to a year to live.
The prognosis, coupled with her perceived lack of progress, prompted Jameson to check herself out of hospital and go the holistic route. "When I was first told that I didn't have very long to live, I think I just balled up," Jameson told Entertainment Tonight last August. "I didn't really know how to digest that."
Rather than accept what she had been told, Jameson "took myself out of the situation and I said, 'I'm not going to let this happen. I refuse. I'm not going to go down like that.' I finally got to the point where I was like, 'I have to take my health into my own hands,' so I put myself in a wheelchair and I wheeled myself out of the hospital."
More than a year later, Jameson discussed the results of her bold move on Instagram.
On Sunday, Jameson shared a side-by-side comparison photo that showed her using a walker with her wheelchair in view. Showcasing her progress, the image was juxtaposed with a more recent photo of Jameson standing independently with her hand against a sink as she posed for a mirror selfie.
"Here's a reminder. Count your blessings and be thankful," she captioned the post. "I lost the ability to walk over a year ago and thought I was done. I fought my way back and I'm steadily trying to become a better human on the outside, but more importantly on the inside. On this new moon, today, I am manifesting kindness. Love. Happiness. Join me."
In an Instagram Story clip the following day, Jameson said that the post showing her progress "felt like I was being transparent and it felt good. It helps me heal."
Jameson proceeded to introduce a "really vulnerable" video clip that showed her "slowly learning to walk again" with the aid of a walker not long after she left the hospital.
"This is a vulnerable moment and I just want you guys to see how far I've come and how hard I'm fighting," Jameson told her Instagram followers.
In another clip, Jameson went more in-depth into her health journey. "My illness was not pinpointed in the hospital," she explained. "They gave me many diagnoses, but also retracted a lot of them. And I just go to the point where I was so frustrated that I checked myself out of the hospital and started a holistic journey and it started working.
"I'm sure a lot of my illness could be [attributed] to my mental space at the time. If you don't know, your brain is so connected to your physical health. And I was in a lot of pain emotionally."
Explaining her reasons for publicly discussing her health issues, she said: "For all of you out there that are kind of burying your emotions—which I'm really good at and I've done since I was super young—it manifests. It will find its way out.
"It caught up to me and my whole body just shut down. I had brain scans done and it looked like I was in a coma. So take care of yourself—mentally. It's so important to surround yourself with positive, good people that love you. I'm so thankful for my wife."
Jameson tied the knot with entrepreneur and influencer Jessi Lawless in May of last year. On her alternative Instagram account, launched in 2022 amid technical issues with her primary page, Jameson posted a wedding photo on Instagram. The image showed Jameson and Lawless standing close to one another at the entrance to a chapel.
The star also posted a black and white photo that showed her wearing a white wedding gown as Lawless lifted her in the air. The pair posed beside a green Lamborghini, which was parked in the Nevada desert surrounding Jameson's native Las Vegas.
Jameson was previously in a relationship with former longtime fiancé Lior Bitton. The exes share a 6-year-old daughter, called Batel Lu. Jameson also shares twin sons, who were born in 2009, with UFC icon Tito Ortiz, from whom she split in 2013.
Model Jameson has previously been married twice. She exchanged nuptials with fellow adult film star and porn studio Wicked Pictures director Brad Armstrong in December 1996. Her union with Armstrong lasted just 10 weeks.
Despite her informal separation from Armstrong in March 1997, Jameson continued to work with her ex, due to contractual obligations with Wicked Pictures. The two didn't legally separate and divorce until 2001.
She then tied the knot with adult film star Jay Grdina, who performed under the name Justin Sterling, in 2003. They went their separate ways in the summer of 2006.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
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