The much-loved actress, 50, caused concern after she shared multiple photos on her Instagram account of herself in hospital. While it was unknown at the time why the star hadbeen admitted, she has now revealed there was a devastating reason behind her hospitalisation.
Page Six has reported that in a now deleted post to Instagram on Monday, the star addressed claims she is too “thin”, Beckinsale shared that she had recently returned to work after experiencing a Mallory-Weiss tear - a tear of the tissue of your lower oesophagus.
Kate Beckinsale has raised concern among fans, with many worried about her thin appearance. Photo / Instagram @katebeckinsale
While appearing in good spirits this week as she jumped around her set trailer and smiled with friends, the star said she had “experienced a severe flare of [her] mast cell disease,” which is “mitigated by stress, shock and grief,” following the death of her stepfather Roy Battersby.
The 87-year-old British TV director died in January, having been in poor health for months, with the Daily Mail reporting last year that he suffered a stroke after a previous cancer diagnosis.
Continuing to share news of her hospitalisation, Beckinsale said, “I nursed my [stepdad] to his death early this year. My mum also has stuff going on. I am adjusting to watching two fathers die, one when I was 5, one in January of this year.”
Beckinsale’s father, Porridge star Richard Beckinsale, died in March 1979 from a heart attack. Her mother, Judy Lowe, married Battersby in 1997.
It’s understood Lowe is experiencing significant health issues, however further details have not been revealed.
Kate Beckinsale shared several photos from a hospital bed. Photo / @katebeckinsale
“That’s what I am prepared to disclose that has contributed to some weight loss,” the Vacancy actress said. “What you think of my appearance and how I should look, independently of any circumstances in my life and my family’s is not important.
“I am trying to survive what feel like unbearable losses,” she said, confessing she is “working to support the family I have left.”
It comes as many fans raised concerns about the actress’s seemingly thinner frame, “Sorry to say this Kate, but you do look a bit thin,” one person wrote. Another added, “You always striked a great balance … But when your cheekbones start to show, the balance is lost.”
Beckinsale shared multiple images during her hospital stay and has previously posed in a T-shirt that read “Tummy Troubles Survivor”, seemingly hinting at her health struggles. But until now, she has never disclosed her condition.