Inés García has opened up to her millions of followers about her latest herpes simplex outbreak, posting a candid update about the painful facial flare-up.
The 19-year-old model, who is dating Barcelona and Spain winger Lamine Yamal, took to Instagram recently to share that she had woken up with a cold sore on her nose after a long stretch without symptoms. García, whose following on the platform sits around five million, has been open about her struggles with the condition in the past.
“It had been a long time since I’d had a herpes outbreak… Do you remember about a year ago??” she wrote on the social media platform.
“I was getting at least one a month. Yesterday I woke up with one on my nose, and I’ve been looking like this 24 hours a day.”
Herpes simplex virus type 1, which causes cold sores, remains in the body permanently after infection and can be triggered by factors including cold weather and stress. The winter months commonly bring flare-ups as dormant viruses in nerve cells reactivate.
The NHS notes that cold sores typically begin with tingling, itching or burning sensations before painful blisters form on the face. Healing usually takes around ten days, though the sores remain highly contagious throughout and can spread to other people and to other parts of the body.
García’s willingness to discuss the condition publicly has drawn mixed reactions online, with some questioning why she would share such intimate health details so openly. Yet her posts also highlight how common the virus is: the UK Health Security Agency issued a warning earlier this year noting that many people carry herpes without showing symptoms, and that it can transmit through simple skin-to-skin contact without penetrative sex.
“It’s a common STI, and many people have no symptoms. You can catch it through skin-to-skin contact like touching or rubbing, so it can be passed on without having penetrative sex,” the agency stated in its public communication.
The timing adds another layer of difficulty for the couple. Yamal, 17, has been ruled out of Spain’s upcoming international fixtures due to injury, meaning he would otherwise have time to spend with García during the break. The contagious nature of active cold sores means close contact carries transmission risk even when sores appear only on the face.
Yamal has faced a frustrating stretch on the pitch in recent weeks. The teenager finished third in Ballon d’Or voting as Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane became the first English winner of the individual award since Michael Owen. Yamal did claim the best young player honor at the ceremony, but that consolation was followed by defeat in El Clásico as Real Madrid took victory at the Nou Camp.
The couple’s relationship has placed García in the public eye as Yamal’s star has risen rapidly. The winger, who turned 17 in July 2024, has become one of football’s most celebrated young talents since breaking into Barcelona’s first team.
García’s previous bout with monthly outbreaks around a year ago suggests she has experienced significant recurrence with the virus. Her recent post indicates that period of frequent flare-ups had given way to a longer remission before this latest winter trigger.
The model’s expensive skincare regimen has not shielded her from the common condition, underscoring that herpes simplex reactivation can affect anyone regardless of resources. The virus infects the majority of the global population, with most carriers experiencing few or no symptoms.
Yamal is expected to return to Barcelona training following the international break as he recovers from his injury absence.