Rylee Arnold, a professional dancer on "Dancing With the Stars," recently shared that she feared her career would end after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 15. Arnold, now 21, told US Weekly that upon her diagnosis, she believed she would have to abandon dancing to focus solely on managing her health.
"Right when I was diagnosed, I didn't think I was going to dance anymore," Arnold said. "I thought I was going to have to stop doing it and fully just devote my life to managing my health."
She recounted the initial difficulties of managing the chronic illness as a competitive teenage dancer. "There'd be times where, I mean, as a teenager, I would be embarrassed to give myself a shot in front of friends at school or at dance," she recalled. "And there were just little things that I was like, 'If I don't prioritize this, I will not live a long and lengthy and beautiful life.'"
Over time, Arnold learned to balance her health management with her demanding career. "It was about six years it took me to really, really get adjusted [and] understand how I react to things, how my body reacts to things, and I finally feel like I'm, like, ready to go," she said. Since joining "Dancing With the Stars" in 2023, she has felt "really focused on balancing that and having that healthy balance."
To manage her glucose levels, Arnold uses a Dexcom G7 continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device, which pairs with an insulin pump. The device transmits real-time data to an app on her mobile phone.
Arnold also found support and knowledge through social media. "I looked at other people with type 1 diabetes, and I have learned so much through TikTok and Instagram, people's videos," she explained. "Although my body is my body and it's different from everyone else's, there are so many people's experiences that are so similar to mine, and I've been able to learn so much from others."
Last fall, Arnold made the difficult decision to step away from the show's tour to prioritize her health. "Making the decision to step away from tour this last year was really hard, and because it was because of my health, it made me really sad," she said. "But it was something I needed so badly. I needed to get home. I needed to rest."
She feels that managing her health, including using her insulin pump and monitoring her stats, has made balancing her career more feasible. "Just fixing that part of my life is going to make things so much easier this season," Arnold stated. "I'm just excited to have that, like, alleviated a little bit because I hate when that adds to my stress and just makes things so much harder."
Arnold believes that focusing on her mental and physical health has prepared her for the upcoming season, leaving her feeling "excited" and "refreshed."