‘The Bachelor’ Star Daisy Kent Pens Heartfelt Message for International Cochlear Implant Day (2024)

As we hit the final stretch of Joey Graziadei's season of The Bachelor, the contestants who are in the running for the key to his heart continue to wear their hearts on their sleeves. When she was 17, Daisy Kent began losing her hearing because of Lyme disease. "I've learned how to turn something really difficult into something positive. My life is so full and I'm so happy, but I want that person to spend it with," Daisy revealed ahead of The Bachelor's season premiere. To celebrate International Cochlear Implant Day on February 26, the Minnesota native wrote an emotional message about her hearing loss and opened up about her journey in the last 12 years.

Daisy, who posed with her children's book Daisy Doo: All The Sounds She Knew, wrote, "I was told once that God was doing something special with me and that there was no doubt one day my ears would pop and I would hear. Losing my hearing has been the loneliest pain I have experienced. I pictured myself in a glass box since I was 15 and I’m pounding on the walls screaming and terrified. People are looking in at me and they can’t hear me. I can’t hear them. I am alone with one of the most dangerous things - my thoughts. I can still go back to the feeling of confusion."

She continued, "I was quite frankly pissed off. I didn’t understand how if God was real, why He would take away something I loved most. Losing my hearing helped me see my ability to connect with people. It unlocked the ability to feel more, love more. I thought I was this little girl who grew up and on the way lost herself and who she so badly wanted to be. I realize now I didn’t lose her, I was just a girl who was kind to everyone but herself."

The obstacle didn't make Daisy lose her strength, though. The Bachelor star, who's in the top 4 of Joey's season, revealed that her loss of hearing helped with her self-love journey.

"Losing my hearing taught me how to fall back in love with myself. I’m not going to say it’s okay, because I would be lying. I’m still coping with that and I know it will take time and understanding. Losing my hearing has given me the ability to look at myself and realize how strong I am, how capable I am, how I have the ability to take something difficult and create something beautiful," she added.

She continued posting her musings in the comments section, where fans left words of encouragement. "I absolutely love you," one commenter said. "You are such an incredible, strong, empowering woman <3 never stop sharing your story and being an advocate! can't wait to put your book in my future classroom 💌."

"Hi Daisy. I've followed your journey through Lyme, to Germany and now your implant," another fan added. "I want to tell you that you are an inspiration and a very brave woman. You're passing some tough tests in life. And you're rocking them. Don't stop, and God Bless, Daisy ❤️🙏."

Catch Daisy's full message below:

I was told once that God was doing something special with me and that there was no doubt one day my ears would pop and I would hear. Losing my hearing has been the loneliest pain I have experienced. I pictured myself in a glass box since I was 15 and I’m pounding on the walls screaming and terrified. People are looking in at me and they can’t hear me. I can’t hear them. I am alone with one of the most dangerous things - my thoughts. I can still go back to the feeling of confusion. I was quite frankly pissed off. I didn’t understand how if God was real, why He would take away something I loved most. Losing my hearing helped me see my ability to connect with people. It unlocked the ability to feel more, love more. I thought I was this little girl who grew up and on the way lost herself and who she so badly wanted to be. I realize now I didn’t lose her, I was just a girl who was kind to everyone but herself. Losing my hearing taught me how to fall back in love with myself. I’m not going to say it’s okay, because I would be lying. I’m still coping with that and I know it will take time and understanding. Losing my hearing has given me the ability to look at myself and realize how strong I am, how capable I am, how I have the ability to take something difficult and create something beautiful. I know God let me break down so He could help build me back up, and as hard as it’s been and as much as I’ve wished and prayed and cried it away, in this moment I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I used to go to bed terrified of what tomorrow would sound like, what tomorrow would bring. I’m not scared anymore, I’m excited. Big decisions can’t be made out of fear, they have to be made out of love. So I made it out of love and the best possible outcome, I made it through faith. What a miracle it is that I live in a place and time where beautiful minds were created who could help give me the ability to hear? Miracles, I’m learning they lie on the outside for everyone to see but also even bigger within. I don't know exactly why this mountain was placed in front of me that looked impossible, but I know it is pushing me towards my purpose everyday I decide to show up and live this chaotic beautiful life I was given. Getting a cochlear implant has been painful, exciting, new, and beautiful. I wake up learning new sounds every single day. God is working through me in ways I never thought He would. The glass box is still there, but the roof is open and rain is falling down on me. It's quite peaceful, quite magical. I am finding the beauty in all the unexpected things. And, much more than my ears have popped. 💗