Inside Justin Bieber and Wife Hailey Baldwin’s ‘Unbreakable’ Bond After Recent Health Scares: Sources

It’s been a difficult few months for Justin Bieber and wife Hailey Baldwin Bieber as they’ve faced back-to-back health scares, but the trials have only made the couple’s marriage stronger.

In March, the model, 25, had a ministroke after a blood clot traveled from her heart to her brain. (Hailey later shared that she was diagnosed with a grade 5 PFO — a small opening in the heart that usually closes after birth — and underwent a procedure to correct the condition.)

Then, after postponing three dates of his highly anticipated Justice tour, the pop star, 28, revealed in a candid Instagram video on June 10 that he had been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare neurological disorder brought on by a reactivation of the same virus that causes chicken pox and shingles. It caused paralysis on the right side of his face, leaving him unable to blink or smile.

“Hailey has been so supportive of Justin, just like he supported her with her health issues,” a friend of the couple’s says in this week’s PEOPLE cover story. “They’re unbreakable.”

Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin Bieber. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Justin Bieber and Wife Hailey Make a ‘Great Team’ amid Recent Health Issues, Source Says

As Hailey said herself during a June 15 appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan to promote her new skincare line Rhode, she feels like she and Bieber are now “closer than ever.”

For more on this week’s PEOPLE cover story on Justin and Hailey Bieber, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.

“I think honestly the silver lining in what I went through, what he went through, is it really bonds you,” she said.

During her appearance, Hailey also assured fans that Bieber is on the mend.

“He’s going to be totally fine,” she said. “This is just a really out-of-nowhere, weird situation.”

Two days before Hailey’s appearance, Bieber — who postponed the remainder of the U.S. leg of his Justice world tour, originally scheduled to run through July, to focus on his health — shared an update on social media, acknowledging he was facing a “horrific storm” but had already seen improvement in his condition.

“It’s been rough,” says a source close to Bieber. “There is nothing he can do to speed up the recovery, so he just has to be patient. He is supposed to take his medications, rest and eat nutritious food.”

Characterized by acute facial weakness, ear pain, a rash around the ear or on the face and sometimes hearing loss, Ramsay Hunt syndrome affects only five in 100,000 people a year. Anyone who has had chicken pox or has never been vaccinated against chicken pox is susceptible, say experts.

“The virus, even if you had it as a child or as a young adult, stays dormant in your body until something triggers it to reactivate,” says Dr. Amit Kochhar, director of the Facial Nerve Disorders Program at Providence Saint John’s Health Center’s Pacific Neuroscience Institute, who has not treated Bieber. “Once the nerve that causes movement of the face — lifting your eyebrow, closing your eye, smiling, things like that — becomes inflamed, you get facial paralysis.”

According to Dr. Scott Stephan, director of Vanderbilt University’s Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery program, many patients see “significant” improvement after a few weeks of treatment, which usually includes high-dose steroids and antivirals.

“By three months most people would have significant recovery back,” adds Stephan, who has not treated the singer.

Stephan also debunked social media claims that the COVID vaccine led to Bieber’s condition, saying, “There’s been no established link between vaccines and facial weakness.”

RELATED VIDEO: Justin Bieber Shares Update on Ramsay Hunt Syndrome Recovery: ‘Each Day Has Gotten Better’

Though Hailey had been traveling between her and Bieber’s home in Los Angeles and New York City for the promotion of Rhode, she “constantly checked in on Justin,” says the source close to Bieber. “It’s been very scary for her. Even though she knows he will be fine, it’s definitely been an overwhelming year so far.”

The young couple first met in 2009, when a then-12-year-old Hailey was introduced to the 15-year-old pop wunderkind by her father, actor Stephen Baldwin, backstage at the Today show.

They stayed friends and dated briefly in 2015 before things ended in a “very dramatic” breakup, Hailey told Vogue. Months after rekindling their romance in 2018, they wed at a New York City courthouse and followed that with a bigger celebration in South Carolina a year later.

“I just felt like that was my calling,” Bieber told GQ last year. “Just to get married and have babies and do that whole thing.”

What to Know About Ramsay Hunt Syndrome After Justin Bieber’s Diagnosis

Bieber has been open about struggling with mental health issues, including depression, ADHD and anxiety.

“I realized there was some serious healing I needed to go through in order to get to a place where I could be in a healthy, serious relationship, because I had a lot of trauma and scars,” he said last November on Judah and Chelsea Smith’s In Good Faith podcast. “Luckily, Hailey accepted me as I was.”

Through the difficult times, her support never wavered.

“I made a decision,” she said in the same interview. “I know for a fact that I’ve loved this person for a very long time, and now would not be the time to give up on him. I just wouldn’t do that to him.”

Justin and Hailey Bieber. Kevin Mazur/Getty

While navigating high-profile careers, the couple have worked hard to carve out a quiet life together. During the early days of pandemic shutdowns, “we really just got to be with each other and laugh and have fun,” Hailey told PEOPLE in 2021. “We got to road-trip and do things that we honestly weren’t going to have the time for.”

They also found a haven in Bieber’s hometown in Ontario, Canada.

“They are like regular people here,” says a local. “Justin loves Canada and can enjoy himself here without a lot of the hassle.”

Though they wed young, sources say they’ve grown together.

“Justin has matured in his marriage,” says a music source. “Hailey has been a good influence. They will do whatever it takes to help each other.”

Justin Bieber Praises Wife Hailey for Rhode Beauty Launch: ‘So Proud of You Baby’

Leaning on his faith and loved ones, Bieber is looking forward to getting back on tour in Europe later this summer.

“It’s a setback, but everyone has setbacks: He’s going to move forward and get healthy,” says the couple’s friend. “He’s in good spirits and looking forward in his life and career.”

For all the details on Justin Bieber’s road to recovery, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.

Related Posts

Malam Keramat – Frederika Cull, Samuel Rizal, Kenya Nindia | FIlm Horor Terbaru Bioskop 2024!!

The film Malam Keramat tells the story of Dini (played by Frederika Cull), a property salesperson who is pregnant. In the midst of her pregnancy, she still…

SUMALA – Official Trailer

Sumala is a horror film based on a scary true story that happened in Semarang Regency. This horror story first went viral and received public attention after…

GAZA: The Great Rescue – Trailer | Salman Khan | Kiara advani | Vicky Kaushal, Sunil Grover| In 2025

Gaza: The Great Rescue is rumored to be an upcoming high-intensity action movie, potentially starring Salman Khan, Kiara Advani, Vicky Kaushal, and Sunil Grover. Set to release…

Bhediya 2 – Trailer | Varun Dhawan | Munjya | Kriti Sanon | Rajkumar Rao | Dinesh Vijan,Amar Kaushik

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐵ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑦𝑎 2 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑒𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑦𝑎 2 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑟. 𝐴𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑦𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ…

LEMBAYUNG – Official Trailer

Lembayung is a 2024 supernatural horror film in which two young women have strange experiences while undergoing practical field work (PFW) at a dental clinic in a small…

Krrish 4 | Official Trailer | Hrithik Roshan | NoraFatehi | Priyanka Chopra | Rakesh Roshan

𝐾𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑠ℎ 4 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑢𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑡𝑠…