“It's gonna be hard, but this is important, and I've got to do this.”
Chrissy Teigen has become an expert at adjusting to the curveballs life throws at her.
In an exclusive interview with People, published April 15, the 39-year-old cookbook author opened up about how her family has navigated her son Miles’ diagnosis with type 1 diabetes.
The 6-year old — whom Teigen shares with her husband John Legend — was diagnosed with the chronic condition in July 2024 after spending several days in a hospital.
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At the time, Miles was dealing with what Teigen described as a “terrible” case of Shigella.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Shigella are bacteria (germs) that cause diarrhea, stomach pain and a fever, among other symptoms.
"It really took Miles down harder than a lot of the other kids," Teigen told People of the infection. "His pain was incredible, and he's a pretty tough little boy."
Several days later, Miles was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder that occurs when “your pancreas can’t make insulin or makes so little of it that you need to take insulin to live,” according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
“We were thrown into this world of chaos and having to learn so much all at once,” Teigen told People.
Teigen recalled the many hospital trips she took and “copious notes” she wrote down as she and her husband worked to learn as much as they could about their son’s new condition.
Meanwhile, Miles was struggling to understand why he was the one who was diagnosed.
"Why me? How come not Luna?" Teigen recalls her son asking — referring to his 9-year-old sister Luna.
"He was really worried that it would affect if he could play sports. Can I have candy still? Can I have ice cream? All those things that only a kid would worry about,” Teigen added.
She described the first few months as “really tough” as she watched her son fight through pain — all while trying to find an effective way of administering his daily insulin injections.
For Teigen, that was just another curveball her family had to overcome.
“You try everything: tokens, bribery, iPad time. You do everything you can to see what makes him comfortable," Teigen told People.
Teigen and Miles are using their experience to help others
It didn’t take long for the Cravings founder to remember that Miles wasn’t the only one struggling.
She recalled one night during bedtime when she asked her daughter Luna — whom she describes as “a tough cookie” and “the boss of everybody” — why she was so quiet that day.
“Then the tears come out and they're like, 'I just feel like [Miles is] getting a lot of attention' or 'He's getting candy when I don't get candy,’” Teigen said of her daughter’s response.
In addition to Luna and Miles, Teigen and Legend are parents to daughter Esti Maxine and son Wren Alexander, both of whom were born in 2023.
"You realize that everybody's involved in this and you kind of figure out a way to navigate everyone's different feelings and moods around it,” Teigen continued.
Now, Teigen and her son are using his experience to help other families navigate their own journey with type 1 diabetes.
The mother-son duo have recently teamed up with Sanofi's Screen For Type 1 movement, which aims to encourage others at high risk to undergo early screening for the condition.
"He knows now that he and I get to be spokespeople and we get to help others. He's found such power in that, and it's really been incredible,” Teigen told People of her son’s mindset nearly one year after his diagnosis.
As far as the curveballs that have been thrown at her and her family, Teigen has learned to be patient.
"When things are going so great, you can always count on it to turn. And when things are really rough, things are going to get better,” Teigen tells People.
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“Our family's really good about navigating those curve balls now,” she added.
