VIDEO: Michaele Salahi's Tearful Multiple Sclerosis Revelation
Sep. 15 2010, Published 11:24 a.m. ET
A teary-eyed Michaele Salahi, appearing Wednesday on Fox & Friends, revealed for the first time publicly that she's battled multiple sclerosis for almost 17 years.
Watch the clip on RadarOnline.com
The 44-year-old gate-crashing wife-turned-reality star said she's "not anorexic," before getting choked up with tears over the magnitude of her announcement.
Salahi said she'd never went public with the info prior to today because she didn't want to be judged or lose her job. She speculated her fame came for the purpose of bringing attention to the debilitating disease.
Salahi, who was diagnosed at 28, said multiple sclerosis is the cause of her very thin frame -- not anorexia.
Michaele's bout with the disease was initially revealed in Cirque du Salahi: Be Careful Who You Trust, a new book released Wednesday by author Diane Dimond. It details the lives of Michaele and her husband Tareq Salahi, who parlayed their notoriety from crashing a White House event into a spot on Bravo's popular Real Housewives franchise.
The couple made international headlines when they were photographed with President Barack Obama, as well as Vice President Joe Biden, at the White House State dinner on November 24, 2009.
They've also been the catalysts of controversy on The Real Housewives of D.C., as their castmates often have raised eyebrows and pointed words toward Tareq's bravado and Michaele's lithe frame.
The Real Housewives of D.C. airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9/8c.