"I cried a lot" - The Bachelorette alum Katie Thurston reveals breast cancer diagnosis

The Bachelorette alum Katie Thurston recently revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. On February 15, she shared the news in an Instagram post where she mentioned that she found out about her diagnosis two weeks ago.

In the post's caption, Katie also shared that instead of spending her Valentine's Day with her fiancé, Jeff Arcuri, she had to spend most of the time scheduling her medical appointments and planning her overall treatment plans.

Since learning about her diagnosis, the Bachelorette went through a lot of emotions and even cried a lot about it. She was initially considering making a video sharing her condition, however, she wasn't able to do so.

"I experienced a range of emotions over the past two weeks. Despair. Anger. Sadness. Denial. And then strength. Purposeful. Ready. I cried a lot. I tried to even make a video instead of this post and couldn’t," she wrote in the caption of the post.

---

The Bachelorette alum Katie Thurston opens up about dealing with her breast cancer diagnosis

Katie Thurston made her reality TV debut in 2021 with The Bachelor season 25, featuring Matt James as the lead. After ending the season without a rose she was chosen as the lead for The Bachelorette season 17, which aired in the summer of that year.

She ended her season by choosing contestant Blake Moynes as her final pick, and the two got engaged in the finale, which aired in August 2021. However, their relationship was short-lived, and they announced their breakup in October 2021.

In May 2024, Katie began dating comedian Jeff Arcuri, and just a few months later, in September 2024, the couple announced their engagement. Since then the couple have been living together and were planning on settling in New York. However, her plans were disrupted when she found out about her breast cancer diagnosis.

The Bachelorette alum shared the news about her breast cancer diagnosis through an Instagram post. The post included two photos of her happily smiling with the caption describing her experience dealing with the huge news.

"Yesterday I saw all the couples post their Valentines Day celebrations. I felt envious if I’m being honest. 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 wrote.

Katie added that she spent her Valentine's Day morning figuring out insurance for New York City and laws on preexisting conditions. Furthermore, she scheduled appointments for another "biopsy, fertility, mental health, surgery". She also had a meeting with her team to discuss her overall treatment plan, which she mentioned would include chemotherapy.

Since finding out about her diagnosis, about two weeks ago, Katie has gone through a lot of emotions including "despair" and "denial". She even considered making a video about it, but she wasn't able to do so.

"But 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," she wrote.

The Bachelorette alum continued:

"All of their stories helped. So I intend to be the same for others. 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".

At the end of the caption, noting that she "saved the best for last", Katie expressed her gratitude towards her "husband-to-be "Jeff Arcuri, and thanked him for being by her side and providing the support that he needed.

---

All seasons of The Bachelorette are available on Hulu.