Everything Brie Bella and Nikki Bella thought they knew about their mother's longstanding health struggles is about to change when Total Bellas returns this Thursday, Jan. 7.
In this exclusive sneak peek, the twin sisters share an emotional moment as they attempt to come to terms with mom Kathy Colace's condition, which doctors say has worsened according to a recent brain scan.
"They got the results. But they weren't good," Brie tells Nikki, who, at the time, is traveling to L.A. with her fiancé Artem Chigvintsev. "They found a lesion the size of a blueberry on her brain stem. And they said she's gonna need surgery."
Nikki is clearly taken aback, and doesn't even reveal what's she's thinking until she's alone in front of the Total Bellas cameras. "The fact that my mom has to get brain surgery, that is like...I mean, that's shocking to me," she says in a confessional. "I'm trying to process this because it just doesn't even seem real."
Brie, however, has more to say—and this time, what comes out of her mouth is just as shocking: "What mom had was not Bell's palsy."
As fans may recall, Brie and Nikki previously revealed that Kathy had been diagnosed with Belly's palsy after she woke up and her face was paralyzed.
Now, Brie is feeling the guilt. "I think of all the times I was like, 'Mom, stop stressing out with the Bell's palsy. Just do more acupuncture, do this, do that...'" she explains. "Now we come to find out that it's not stress or Bell's palsy, it's these lesions on her brain."
"So it makes me feel bad," the reality TV personality adds. "I'm scared for her. And I just don't want to lose my mom."
But now's not the time to dwell on the past. Brie tells Nikki that Kathy's doctors "want to do the surgery as soon as possible because they feel if they don't, there'll be more permanent damage done."
Nikki and Artem are immediately conflicted. "I feel weird still going to L.A. right now," she says. "I feel like we should drive home."
Her husband-to-be agrees, and with that, the couple is headed back to Phoenix.
Don't miss Thursday's all-new Total Bellas.