The Home Edit's Clea Shearer Opens Up About Not Being Recognized After Cancer Battle
Clea Shearer is speaking out against the relentless questions she receives about her appearance, which has drastically changed over the last year following treatment for breast cancer.
The Netflix star and co-founder of professional organizing company, The Home Edit, was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2022. She consequently underwent months of treatment, including a double mastectomy, radiation and chemotherapy.
Shearer, 41—who has since been declared cancer-free—now proudly rocks a short haircut of her natural grey color, but she still has to deal with the ongoing questions and comments about her new look.
"Let’s talk about my hair, because lately, it’s become a discussion point," she stated in a candid new Instagram post about looking unrecognizable since her treatment. "I've been in 4 airports this week, and 2 TSA agents almost didn’t let me through because my hair didn’t match my photo ID."
"I was interviewed by several media outlets who all asked if I planned on keeping my hair this way. I ran into people who I’ve known for over 15 years—and when I said hello—they had to ask who I was because they didn't recognize me," she wrote. "I don’t mind my hair being a conversation topic, but it’s interesting that the conversation just started happening now."
View the original article to see embedded media.
"I suppose when I was going through chemo and had NO hair, I was recognizable in a different way. And no one asked questions because it was obvious I didn’t have a choice," Shearer continued in the vulnerable post.
"But now people ARE asking questions. Asking whether I like it, if I’ll change it, if I’ll dye it….The answer is I do, and I won’t," she further asserted. "I might let it grow into a bob, or add some silver highlights, but overall, I’m okay with the way I look."
"Yes, it’s still a reflection of having cancer… but that makes me proud, and I’ll wear it like a badge of honor," she triumphantly added.
Shearer, who is a mother of two and an executive producer on her Netflix show, Get Organized with The Home Edit, was met with tons of sweet messages from fans, family and friends who offered their support in the comments.
"You’re beautiful!" her husband, John Shearer, wrote under the post, to which she replied, "you’re the best person on the planet."
"You’re beautiful and people are wild," her friend Alyssa Rosenheck echoed in the comments.
Next: Toby Keith Provides Health Update on Year-Long Battle With Stomach Cancer