Barbara Palvin shares health update ahead of Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show after surgery for ‘painful’ condition

Barbara Palvin has given her fans an update on her health, months after announcing she had undergone surgery.

The Hungarian model, 32, who is married to former Disney star Dylan Sprouse, was preparing to walk in Wednesday’s annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show as she spoke to E! News backstage about how she had been doing since undergoing surgery for endometriosis.

“I had the surgery in June and it's like day and night,” she told the publication. “The difference is so crazy. Obviously, it's something that's still very under-researched.”

Endometriosis is a chronic condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it, often on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or pelvic lining. This misplaced tissue has no way to leave the body during menstruation, leading to inflammation, scarring, and sometimes infertility.

Palvin explained that her surgery was “not a cure” for endometriosis, but “helped the symptoms” associated with it through removing the lesions and scar tissue.

She also gushed over her husband since 2023, Sprouse, for his assistance during the recovery process. “Dylan's been extremely supportive and helped me through the whole recovery process and everything,” the model said.

Palvin first spoke about her experience with the condition in an Instagram post in August.

“Hi guys, it’s been a while,” her post began, accompanied by photos of herself in her hospital bed with bandages on her stomach area post-surgery.

“For some years now I’ve been dealing with the difficulties that can come with my periods. Fatigue, severe pain, heavy and irregular flow, sleepless nights on the bathroom floor,” she wrote.

“I thought this was just how it works for me. But recently I’ve been advised to seek out an endometriosis specialist to see whether my symptoms are caused by that. I’ve been going to checkups to my gynecologist every year, I thought if I had endometriosis I would have known about it by now, but as it turns out, endometriosis can’t be diagnosed with general examinations.”

She continued: “So I went, and 3 months later I got operated on. Since then I finally experienced a period that was easier, and now I know the difference. If you suspect that you could have endometriosis I encourage you to find it out. It helped me a lot, and I’m grateful I did it.

“Early diagnosis and treatment are very important to prevent long-term complications, and now I’m more mindful about my body to act fast if needed. That’s also why I took the past 3 months to rest and fully heal. I’m excited about this new chapter of my life and now ready to get back to work.”

After first walking the runway for Victoria’s Secret in 2012 and returning several times since, Palvin will again appear in the brand’s iconic Fashion Show, taking place October 15 at 7 p.m. ET.