“Below Deck”’s Kyle Viljoen Reveals ‘Painful and Traumatic’ Health Scare

The Bravo star was diagnosed with a rare skin disorder last week and shared that he's finally beginning to recover

Kyle Viljoen is in recovery following a week-long health scare.

The Below Deck Mediterranean star, 31, revealed on Instagram Sunday that he had been diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a “rare, serious disorder of the skin and mucous membranes” after suffering from “throat pain” and “blisters” that appeared all over his body.

“After starting a new medication I begin to feel generally unwell,” Viljoen wrote. “Little did I know the battle I was going to face was the most painful and traumatic bodily experience of my life.”

He was first diagnosed with hand-foot-mouth disease early last week after pain in his throat “spread to my mouth, lips, hands and feet.”

“Wednesday-Thursday I suffered from worsening blisters, inability to tolerate swallowing, tongue swelling, and change in vision," he continued, adding that his his fiancé, Dr. Zachary Riley, “rushed me to NYU ER” Friday after there were no signs of relief.

Viljoen was then examined by “over 20 doctors” before he was diagnosed with SJS, a medical emergency that usually stems from a reaction to a medication, per the Mayo Clinic.

Now, the Bravo star said he’s beginning to heal — and he’s “over the moon with optimism and hope.”

“With an impeccable medical staff, a loving fiancé, and support of friends and family I am working towards making a full recovery,” he wrote on Instagram, adding that he’d recently eaten his first meal in a week.

Viljoen also shared in the post that “family and a support system is EVERYTHING,” as he thanked Riley for his care.

He also took the opportunity to advise followers and fans to “advocate for your health and treat your body seriously.” He added, “If something doesn’t feel right seek treatment.”

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Viljoen and Riley have been engaged for nearly a year.

The couple announced the news on Instagram in November 2022 with several photos of them embracing atop Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa after Viljoen popped the question.

“Zachary & I are officially engaged and to my universe I want to thank you for loving me unconditionally, desirably and with full intent to be my forever and always,” Viljoen wrote at the time. “We have walked a rocky but loving road, you have made my heart full and I found home in not materialistic things but in my soul you have your place!”

The proposal came just four months after Viljoen went public with relationship with Riley during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.

"Right now, I am taken," he shared at the time. "I am so happy. That is my loving boyfriend. He's a really good man. He's a doctor, he's a physical therapist, he knows how to work the hands."

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Viljoen made his debut on Below Deck Mediterranean as the yacht's second steward during season 7 and returned for the Bravo series’ eighth season, which premiered Sept. 25.

“Oh! Y’all thought I wasn’t coming back to give you the most?” he revealed on Instagram. “Below Deck Mediterranean Season 8 returns for the most intense charter season of my yachting career.”

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Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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