Marisol Maldonado "comes out" of the autoimmune closet with husband Rob Thomas' hit song & video "Her Diamonds" - check it out; it's way cool
I think Marisol Maldonado has taken a very brave step, career-wise, to come out like this about her autoimmune disease. Being a model is a very physical profession and as those of us with ICI know, coming out at work, any kind of work, is a big deal. I'd like to send her a really big thank you for raising awareness of autoimmune disease in general.
I wonder what the song/video title means? Her Diamonds.
I can't take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
'Cause I can't help her now
Losing her sparkle? Here's what Rob Thomas says about it:
The album’s first single, the kaleidoscopic “Her Diamonds,” is the most personal song Thomas has yet committed to disc. Rob’s wife Marisol is courageously battling an autoimmune disease, and “Her Diamonds” was written “about a couple dealing with that on a day-to-day basis,” explains Thomas. “There’s an incredible amount of sadness that comes with something like that. There are moments where I think I flirted with a thinner personal line than I’ve ever done before, but, really, I’m writing a song about how people deal with hard times, and that hard time is universal, that hard time can be anything."
http://www.robthomasmusic.com/biography
Singer Rob Thomas and his wife Marisol Maldonado-Thomas attend day one of the 2009 U.S. Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2009 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.(August 30, 2009 - Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America)
From Wikipedia:
Marisol Maldonado is a Puerto Rican American model and is married to Rob Thomas (lead singer of Matchbox Twenty). She is a native of Queens, New York City, and her parents are of Puerto Rican descent. She met her future husband while vacationing with her friends in Montreal in May 1998.[1]
Maldonado is the stepmother to Thomas' son from a previous relationship, Maison Avery Williams (b. July 10, 1998).
She appeared in the music video Smooth, a collaboration between Thomas and Santana, as well as Thomas' video for Ever the Same and his DVD supplement to the CD ...Something To Be in a documentary photo shoot clip at Mark Seliger's studio.[citation needed]
She and Thomas were married on October 2, 1999.[2]
Maldonado suffers from a rare autoimmune disorder similar to lupus erythematosus.[3] The song "Her Diamonds," which was the lead single from her husband's second solo studio album Cradlesong, is about her battle with the disease.[4]
Has it been said which ICI(or autoimmune disease) Marisol Maldonado-Thomas has?
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia: "Maldonado suffers from a rare autoimmune disorder similar to lupus erythematosus.[3]"
ReplyDeletemy beautiful angelic e xgirfriend is battling Multiple sclerosis and i can relate to him being always by her side no matter what..
ReplyDeleteI saw him live and i have always felt like he wrote songs that spoke to me. I have lupus and this is one of my favorite songs.. my husbands too
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly in a class all by itself.
DeleteThanks for commenting,
Sherril
the first time i heard her diamonds i thought that sounds like me. that song is so real for me. i wish his wife would go public with her true illness. autoimune is many things. I have autoimune also called undifferenced mixed connective tissue diaseas which i experience lupus, polymyositis,scloderma and never ending other problems that are a cause of umctd. thanks, teresa
DeleteThank you for your comment, Teresa. I wish you well in your journey with ICI.
ReplyDeleteSherril
This song and their story has really been a blessing to my husband and I also, especially my to Mr. He doesn't feel so inadequate since he heard the lyrics of this song. Sometimes there is just nothing he can really do for me, except be there and continue to love me through the Lupus and I.C. flares. Thanks for posting this story ~
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Lynette. I feel like I understand the meaning of the song a lot better for it. Sometimes I try to complicate simple things. Rob Thomas is simply a husband who feels helpless because there's not much he can do to help his wife with a difficult illness.
ReplyDeleteAt first when I heard this song I wasn't a big fan, but then I actually listened to the words and fell for the song completely! I have UMCTD and my bf has been there for me every step of the way. (We have been together for 5 years). On my bad days he does everything from making food, giving back massages to opening a pop can because it hurts o much to be able to do it. This song really just completely hit home for me.
ReplyDeleteAlso my mom has Lupus, and when I'm having a good day and she isn't doing well I am there for her (when my dad is out of town for work that is) and honestly sometimes it hurts more to see her in pain than to deal with it on my own. I hate seeing my loved ones in pain.
I have an auto immune disease as well, and this is my song for my husband. It was as soon as I heard why Rob wrote it and whom it was for! I feel for my poor husband, who is a big guy who can generally fix anything, but cannot fix me! I hope Rob and his wife the best in the future!
ReplyDeleteHi... I am now living with rheumatoid arthritis.. Along with a few other health conditions. I love this song as it helps me realise I'm not alone. It's hard to look through my husband's eyes but Rob makes this easier. Some days are better than others.. But the pain is becoming a constant battle, it really feels like a foreign body I'm existing in.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved this song, but just found out today that Rob Thomas wrote this about his wife's auto-immune disease. I have several auto-immune diseases, as well as fibromyalgia. She's lucky to have him.
ReplyDeletev_barjkey, she certainly is lucky. Hope she realizes it.
ReplyDeleteOf course she does ! . Btw, he's the luckiest guy as well to have in his life a so amazing and beautiful lady like Marisol :-)
DeleteMany times we don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. Just sayin'. Now they have a beautiful baby to help them appreciate each other. Probably time for an update to this article.
DeleteSherril - Rob & Marisol don't have children. Unsure where you heard that from.
DeleteYou're so right, Anonymous. I don't know where I got that they had a baby. Sorry, I take it back.
DeleteI just discovered this song and the video a couple of hours ago and still can't get over how absolutely spot on the imagery is. I have RA and that first line is my endless mantra "Oh what the hell she says, I can't win for long." I can't wait to share the video with my husband who tries to understand what it feels like to flare, this is the closest I've seen to an explanation.
ReplyDeleteMarisol is very brave to come out about her disease. I've had Ankylosing Spondylitis & Fibromyalgia for 28ys. I now have Lupus too - rare side effect to medication for AS. We / most of us look quite normal on the outside. But sadly we live and deal with invisible monsters day and night..... Great song Rob..... Spot on!.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful couple! May they find comfort in knowing such a love and may they
ReplyDeleteboth realize their dreams on a daily basis. What a fantastic gift from God is both your
love of music and especially your love for one another. Live your life to the fullest
and never doubt your love for it truly is healing in every way. Thank you for your
incredible music. God Bless.
Rob, She is beautiful. My son & his Puerto Rican wife live in Ormond Beach, Fla. I never thought anything could be as beautiful as our (my husband Kevin) daughter-in-law until they had the most beautiful baby girl ever. Our D-I-L had her hair down to the bottom of her rear end & went through labor&birth with the hair. Last yr she had it cut for Locks Of Love. It still looks great. Now my granddaughter has the hair. It's the Puerto Rican in her. Her name is SOPHIA MACKENZIE BAUTISTA. You ROCK, YOUR WIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, my granddaughter is to & I'd love to send you a pic. My D-I-L is beautiful also. Have A Great Album, THANK YOU VERY MUCH & GOD BLESS for reading this.
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda, I don't know that Rob Thomas has ever read my blog. Thanks for commenting, though.
DeleteAmanda, I'd love to see a picture. I have a beautiful grand niece that I can share a pic of also. Kind of makes it all worthwhile.
DeleteI relate to so many posters here ...*gentle hugs*
ReplyDelete{{{{{Likewise.}}}}}
DeleteI have Lupus erythematosus, Sjogrens disease, hashimoto disease, copd & more & my husband has never been there, he might leave me because I'm sick what can I do?
ReplyDeleteI too have Systemic Lupus, COPD and am borderline Hashimoto's with Diabetes, I have severe liver disease as well, so I understand what you're going through. Start taking Vitamin D3 3000, vitamin C 2000 and a B complex and probiotics daily. It will help you, as for your husband, he's going to do whatever he feels led to do. Pray and stay positive! Live your best life regardless!
DeleteThis is a great blog for couples: http://insicknessinhealth.blogspot.com/. Barbara Kiovitz' current post is "Startling Statistic About the Effect of Illness on Relationships." No wonder the divorce rate jumps from 40% to 75% when one spouse or the other has a chronic illness. It's a really hard thing and couples get no support at all.
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ReplyDeleteBella, First of all pray and don't stop! Next, let him go! I know it will be hard, but if he can't support you then he will just be bringing you down and making you feel worse. Let him know exactly how you feel. Don't hold anything back! Find support groups that will help you and him. There are many couples going through the same thing. But at the end of the day you have to put your wellbeing first and get rid of the negativity that may make your conditions worse. You have enough to worry about without trying to fight for someone to support you. Many prayers and good luck!
ReplyDeleteI love this song! I too have an autoimmune disorder/disease (depending on what you like to call it) called RSD/CRPS, it has snowballed into many other health issues, as so many of them do. "Her Diamonds" is such a sweet and loving song, and really sums up how it feels for my husband and obviously so many other people's husbands. Blessings and good health to everyone:)
ReplyDelete