‘Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills’ Star Yolanda Foster ‘So Proud’ Of Avril Lavigne For Going Public About Lyme Disease Diagnosis

“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Yolanda Foster is speaking out on behalf of Avril Lavigne. The Canadian pop sensation revealed April 1 that she had recently withdrawn from the public eye due to a difficult battle with Lyme Disease. Foster has also publicly struggled with the disease and applauds Lavigne’s decision to share her diagnosis.

“I am so proud of her for going public,” she said during an interview with Bravo’s Daily Dish.

Lavigne first hinted at health problems in December 2014, telling a fan in a direct message that she felt bad for not being able to “say anything to the fans to let them [know] why I’ve been absent.” She revealed only that she was “not feeling well,” but declined to share what was making her feel ill. The 30-year-old asked that fans continue to pray for her and shared messages of support from fans on Twitter.

"The get-well messages and videos they sent touched me so deeply. I lay in bed watching them and cried so much because I felt loved," she told People. "It was so powerful and beautiful."

What she didn’t share was that perhaps her biggest supporter was 51-year-old Foster. The reality star said she was there for Lavigne from the beginning, giving her advice and a shoulder to lean on when she needed it most.

“I took Avril under my wing when she first got sick and shared all I know,” she said.

Much like Foster has previously said, Lavigne claims her disease has left her debilitated. She told People magazine she spent five months unable to walk or do anything for herself. She also told the magazine she was blindsided by the severity saying, “I had no idea a bug bite could do this.”

“I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t move,” she shared. “I thought I was dying.”

The “Complicated” singer believes she contracted the disease last spring after being bit by a tick carrying the disease.