Alexa Chung has revealed she underwent surgery for endometriosis and discussed her ‘frustrating’ experience with the condition.
The fashion designer, presenter, and model, 41, was diagnosed with endometriosis – when cells in the lining of the uterus are found elsewhere in the body – in July 2020.
Now, Alexa has admitted she has found her experience trying to treat the condition ‘frustrating’ and criticised it for being ‘under-funded’.
She revealed she underwent a laparoscopy, where the pelvis is accessed through small incisions, to cut out the affected tissue to try and aid her symptoms.
She told The Telegraph: ‘A number of years ago, I had a laparoscopy to help cure it, they don’t really know how to cure endometriosis but they do like cutting it out people quite a lot, just on the off chance that it might work.
‘I do come up against this wall, where no matter how helpful or amazing the doctors I’ve seen have been, you reach a point in the cul-de-sac of information where you realise there’s a definitive end to the amount of treatment they can give you.
Alexa Chung has revealed she previously underwent surgery for endometriosis as she sells her designer wardrobe on Vinted
She has now partnered with second-hand fashion platform Vinted to offer a curated selection of luxury pieces from her personal wardrobe, with all proceeds going to Endometriosis UK
‘I find it super frustrating. It’s part of a canon of women’s health issues that are desperately under-researched.’
Since her diagnosis, Alexa has made it her mission to raise awareness for the condition, which affects one in ten women.
She has partnered with second-hand fashion platform Vinted to offer a curated selection of luxury pieces from her personal wardrobe, with all proceeds going to Endometriosis UK.
The exclusive sale for her wardrobe, available only to Vinted members in the UK, launches on May 4, 2025.
Clothing, bags, sunglasses and shoes from sought-after brands like Prada, JW Anderson, Khaite, Magda Butrym and Galvan London will all be available.
Further highlights include a Miu Miu embroidered bralette, a pink Gucci bag and a coral silk 1930s vintage dress worn by Alexa herself at Paris Fashion Week.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Alexa opened up about her painful battle with endometriosis, which left her in so much pain that she sometimes had to take meetings lying down.
After years of pain, a kidney scan and a suspected hemorrhagic cyst, the model was diagnosed with condition while filming her Netflix series Next in Fashion in Los Angeles.
The fashion designer, presenter, and model, 41, was diagnosed with the illness in July 2020 and later had a laparoscopy in an attempt to treat it (pictured in 2019)
Before discovering she had it, doctors had to rule out ovarian cancer, and the fashion star recalled going back to film with co-star Tan France after her appointment.
‘I had to go back on set and Tan asked how my doctor’s appointment went. I was like, ‘It might be ovarian cancer!’, said Alexa.
In March 2020, Alexa suggested the lack of information about the endometriosis could be down to ‘gender healthcare bias’.
She took to Instagram to share a photograph of an allontheboard tube poster that featured statistics about the condition.
She penned: ‘Why don’t they know what it is? Why don’t they know how to cure it? Could it be to do with a gender healthcare bias? Also probably doesn’t help that ‘endometriosis’ is the longest and most boring word to read.
‘Thank you to @allontheboard for raising awareness about this debilitating disease that affects 1 in 10 women and yet on average takes 7 years to diagnose.
‘Sorry if you have it, thrilled if you don’t and grateful if you’re a supportive partner, friend of family member to someone suffering with this invisible hellmare.
‘I’m lucky because I felt much better after surgery but I know that’s not the case for everyone and may not be the case forever. Sending love to those in pain and thanks to doctors trying to help.’
Women with endometriosis often have very painful periods as well as pelvic pain at other times of the month, and it can also cause a range of other conditions, including infertility, bowel and bladder problems caused by scarring, as well as fatigue and mental health difficulties.
Despite it affecting teenagers through to middle age, treatment options remain limited and diagnosis is difficult.
There is no cure and the available treatments often have significant side-effects, affecting fertility, for example, because they contain hormones.
