What happened to Kim Gravel’s face?

Around Christmas 2023, QVC viewers grew concerned when Kim Gravel, one of their favorite hosts, suddenly disappeared from the home-shopping network. Gravel later went live on Instagram to explain her absence.

Apart from hosting QVC, Gravel has her own Belle line of jewelry, fashion, and beauty products. When she updated her fans about where she’s been, she also announced the launch of her new Love Who You Are beauty line, timed around Gravel’s January return to QVC programming.

In her Jan. 14, 2024, Instagram live, Gravel said she realized there’d been “radio silence” from her on social media and that it had been “…a really tough few months” after experiencing what the host called a “medical trauma.” Gravel said she had been working too hard and had neglected her health.

Kim Gravel has Bell’s palsy

As shared by Gravel, she has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, an often temporary condition where weakness or paralysis of facial muscles is caused by a damaged facial nerve, and the same is characterized by visible drooping on one side of the face.

Gravel said on social media, “A few weeks ago, I woke up, and half of the side of my face was paralyzed with Bell’s palsy.” She shared that the worst is not over and she was still dead set in the middle of the storm, adding that her official diagnosis “took her for a loop.” Bell’s Palsy, she continued, helped her appreciate “that we only get one life.”

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, no one knows why Bell’s palsy happens. The condition sometimes flares up after viral infections for those with diabetes or in pregnant women. It can take up to six months to clear up, but in rare cases, some people might never recover.