The question “are Bella and Gigi Hadid actually friends” has a short answer and a long one. The short answer is yes, visibly, constantly and in public, for their entire adult lives. The long answer is more interesting, because the past two years have tested the relationship in ways a runway never did: a chronic illness that keeps putting Bella in bed, a half-sister neither of them knew existed until 2023, and two very different lives at 30 and 31.
Sisters first, models second
Gigi was born on April 23, 1995, Bella on October 9, 1996, to real estate developer Mohamed Hadid and former model Yolanda Hadid, who later appeared on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Their brother Anwar followed in 1999. The family is Palestinian on their father’s side and Dutch on their mother’s, and both sisters have been vocal about the Palestinian half of that heritage.
Bella 🦋 Happy birthday to @gigihadid my best friend , my confidant , my teacher , my logic , my most favorite chilling partner, the gift that keeps on giving because you brought me my most favoritest gift in the world miss Khaibaloo . Calm cool collected kind lovin…
Gigi modeled from childhood and signed with IMG in 2013; Bella followed in 2014. Within a few years both were walking every major show, and the comparison machine started. Bella, who was heavier as a teenager and rode horses competitively before Lyme disease ended that, dyed her hair dark partly to stop being photographed as “Gigi’s sister.” It worked: by 2016 she was being booked on her own name.
The nose, and the honesty about it
Plastic surgery rumors have followed both sisters, and Bella answered them in 2022 in a Vogue cover interview: she had a nose job at 14 and wished she had not. “I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors,” she said, and denied every other procedure attributed to her. Gigi has never commented on surgery and nothing credible suggests she has had any. That is the whole record.
2025: a new sister
In May 2025 Gigi and Bella posted the same photo: the two of them with a young woman named Aydan Nix. A DNA test Aydan had taken out of curiosity at 19 had led her to Mohamed Hadid, who confirmed a brief relationship with her mother after his divorce from Yolanda. Aydan, born in 2002, had met the sisters in 2023; they waited two years before going public. “We’ve embraced Aydan with open arms,” they wrote. In December 2025 Aydan spoke for the first time about the bond, describing the sisters as protective. For a family already followed by reality cameras and tabloids, it was handled with unusual care.
Bella’s illness, Gigi’s support
Bella was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease in 2012, and so were her mother and brother. She has described years of fatigue, brain fog and anxiety. In September 2025 Yolanda posted that Bella was hospitalized during a flare; in June 2026 Bella posted a tearful update describing sleeping 11 hours, daily naps and being out of breath walking to the kitchen. Gigi has been the family’s steady presence through it. When Bella took five months off work in 2023, it was Gigi who kept the professional side going, and when Bella came back she thanked her sister first.
Two lives at 30 and 31
Gigi has a daughter, Khai, born in September 2020 with Zayn Malik, with whom she shares custody. In May 2025 she went Instagram-official with Bradley Cooper after two years of dating. Bella has been with Texas horseman Adan Banuelos since 2023, splits her time between New York and his ranch, and launched a fragrance brand, Orebella, in 2024. Their circles overlap less than they did at 22, but when they share a room it is obvious who they are to each other. After the Victoria’s Secret show in October 2025, Bella filmed Gigi on a couch eating pizza and captioned it: “I miss being a little sister when I’m gone.”
https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1796954493088653508
FAQ
Are Bella and Gigi Hadid twins?
No. Gigi is 18 months older.
Who is the Hadid sisters’ half-sister?
Aydan Nix, born in 2002, confirmed as Mohamed Hadid’s daughter by a DNA test and introduced publicly in May 2025.
Has Bella Hadid had plastic surgery?
She confirmed a nose job at 14 in a 2022 Vogue interview and denies anything else.
Is Bella Hadid still sick?
She lives with chronic Lyme disease and described a serious flare-up as recently as June 2026.
