Kayla Itsines is being criticized for holed up in a luxury hotel in Dubai as she battles a form of herpes virus following her shock diagnosis last week.
Earlier this month, the 35-year-old fitness entrepreneur shared a video on social media announcing that she had been diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, an infection that causes chronic fatigue and fever.
She said she was now recovering at SIRO, a Middle Eastern hotel chain in Dubai, which had five-star luxury rooms dedicated to promoting ergonomic leisure.
“My entire nervous system is VERY happy to announce that I am officially collaborating with my favorite brand @sirohotels,” Kayla told followers.
She was quickly called out by celebrity gossip page InfluencerUpdates.Au, who called her out for her “privileged” recovery solution.
“A doctor told her she was burned out and needed to regulate her nervous system. And of course her solution to this is a new paid partnership with a hotel called SIRO, in Dubai,” they ranted.
Kayla Itsines is criticized for holed up in a luxury hotel in Dubai as she battles a form of herpes virus
‘Go to this hotel, because everything revolves around wellness!’ She will now collaborate with this brand to bring us more SIRO hotels around the world. In fact, she says these hotels are a cure for her EBV!’
Meanwhile, others took to the comments section to claim Kayla used her illness as an excuse to lock down the hotel.
“Yes, that was creepy. EBV doesn’t suddenly make you feel better just by staying at a certain hotel, lmao,” someone snapped.
“She’s a little out of touch with what ‘real’ people fight for every day. Some of us can’t afford full grocery carts or electricity. We also have chronic diseases, but we cannot afford a week at SIRO to ‘cure’ ourselves, another added.
In the clip, Kayla had said that her doctor told her to slow down and that she needed some hard-earned rest and relaxation.
‘Two months ago I was really suffering from extreme brain fog and fatigue. I went to the doctor; it came out positive for EBV, which makes a lot of sense,” she said.
‘I sat down with my doctor. He said I had a huge burnout and had to take it easy.’
Kayla said the diagnosis was a big shock to her because she had built her lifestyle around always being active.
Last week, the fitness entrepreneur, 35, shared a video on social media announcing that she had been diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, an infection that causes chronic fatigue and fever.
She said she was now recovering at SIRO, a Middle Eastern hotel chain in Dubai, which had five-star luxury rooms dedicated to promoting ergonomic leisure
“As a high-achieving perfectionist, there is no slowdown for me,” she said.
Kayla first rose to fame over a decade ago with her e-book Bikini Body Guide.
This grew into the internationally successful Sweat fitness platform, which she founded together with her ex-fiancé Tobi Pearce.
In 2021, she sold Sweat to US fitness giant iFIT for a reported $400 million, before buying it back for a discounted price in 2023.
The personal trainer ended up on the Australian Financial Review Young Rich List at number 34 in 2024.
In 2025, Kayla placed number 40 in the Australian lineup, valuing her fitness empire at an astonishing $176 million.
