Katie Thurston, who was a contestant on The Bachelor and starred on The Bachelorette, revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
On Saturday, Thurston took to her Instagram to announce the news. “Life update: I have breast cancer. Yesterday I saw all the couples post their Valentines Day celebrations. I felt envious if I’m being honest,” she captioned the post. “Jeff took me to Hawaii and after, we were going to travel the world before planting roots together in NYC finally. But instead, my Vday was spent coordinating a place to live as I have to go back to LA for more testing and treatment.”
She went on to explain how she spent the holiday scheduling health appointments and met with her team to figure out a chemo plan. Thurston said she’s experienced several emotions since she found out, including “denial,” but what’s helped her was reaching out to other women who have experienced what she’s going through.
“One thing I did early on was search other stories like mine. Other young women with breast cancer. Invasive ductal carcinoma. Mastectomy. Pregnancy after breast cancer. All of their stories helped. So I intend to be the same for others,” she wrote. “This is day one of sharing and is going to be a long one. This first step of acceptance of my reality was the hardest. But I am ready to fight this.”
She concluded by thanking her fiancé and comedian Jeff Arcuri for his support: “I don’t know how I’d do this without you.”
On one of her Instagram Stories, also posted on Saturday, Thurston said she is “waiting on learning what stage” she’s in and is planning to get another biopsy to find out more information. She also shared that there is no history of breast cancer in her family.
Thurston first appeared on Matt James season of The Bachelor in 2021 but was eliminated in week six. Later that year, she led The Bachelorette and accepted Blake Moynes’ proposal. However, they broke up a few months after the finale aired. She and Arcuri got engaged last year.