Published on
Updated
Reading 2 mins.
in collaboration with
Dr Caroline Pouget (Dermatologist)
Medical validation:
April 17, 2023
In her new book, Gaspard Ulliel’s ex-girlfriend, Gaëlle Pietri, recounts her love story with the actor, but also how she was struck by a strange illness, which occurred at the time of their breakup.
By disappearing on a ski slope, Gaspard Ulliel left behind his ex-wife, Gaëlle Pietri, and Orso, their little boy, now 7 years old. A drama to which the actress returned in a new book, “Time to say goodbye to you”.
The disease started after their breakup
“When misfortune targets us, we must succeed in remembering that we have tasted sweet, ineffable joy. You will remain my most beautiful trip, approached without a guide, eyes closed. Your presence and your absence converge in my heart. I now know that I can always find you within me. This is ours“, writes Gaëlle Pietri in the preamble to her book, published in less than ten days by Grasset editions.
In this book, the actress also speaks openly about the disease she suffers from – vitiligo – which occurred shortly after her breakup with Gaspard Ulliel.
If this progressive depigmentation of the skin is not, in itself, a serious disease, the aesthetic damage can be significant.
Gaëlle Pietri, former beauty model for the skin, takes care to put this new physique into perspective.
“Perhaps this disease sends me a message, a sign that my destiny is elsewhere, in writing. I hide behind the words, I don’t put my face forward and I say as much or even more than if he were present. Gaspard gives me a certain visibility through what I wanted to leave him“, she admits.
Intense stress can promote the development of vitiligo
If the actress assures that the disease occurred following her breakup with the actor, Caroline Pouget, dermatologist, specifies that the causes of vitiligo are still unknown.
“It is an autoimmune disease that is triggered on a predisposing ground, in particular family. But the real cause we do not know; the triggering factors are still rather unclear“, confides the expert. “On the other hand, it is true that intense stress can promote the development of vitiligo, which is also valid for other autoimmune diseases. Moreover, the treatment of stress is part of the care“.
On the prevention side, it is difficult to anticipate the first signs of this dermatosis.
“The only thing we can do is treat the plaques as soon as they appear, using cortisone and UVB rays (Excimer lamp) which will trigger the production of melanin.“, concludes the dermatologist.