Keeping it real.

Former Bachelorette Katie Thurston was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year and has been keeping followers updated about her treatment journey online.

A couple months ago, Katie revealed the news that her breast cancer had spread to her liver and is now at stage 4.

She’s opened up previously about how her cancer isn’t curable, but it is treatable, and she recently started a new treatment plan.

Now, she’s opening up on “Off the Vine” podcast about how her cancer diagnosis has affected her relationship with husband Jeff Arcuri. 

“We’ve grown I think so much,” she shared. “We really had to push our relationship further than other people had to. And we have had really tough conversations, but we’ve worked through them each time. I don’t feel like we’re going backwards. And I think unfortunately a lot of times cancer can set a relationship back or a lot of people leave their partner. It’s a big statistic, especially with women diagnosed, the men leave… and he did the opposite. He married me.”

Katie then discussed how the hardest part of the experience so far was when information was still unknown with regard to her cancer. She went on to share how Jeff has been there for her during this time.  

“He is something I’m most proud of,” she stated. “I will start crying, but the way that he’s shown up in a world that he is not familiar [with]. And he doesn’t know how to show up for a cancer patient, especially one who’s his wife. He has made so many sacrifices and has done so much for me and has learned and adapted. I don’t know, this to me felt like a relief, he was like, ‘This year I’m just gonna pay our rent. I want you to just focus on your health and your medical.’”

Katie continued, expressing how her husband has been “a rock” for her throughout her cancer journey.

She said, “You know, it’s just gestures like that, that are just, like, I know not everybody would do. And I don’t mean financially, I just mean emotionally he has been there as such a rock and any cancer patient, you cannot do it alone. Whether that’s family or friends or community that you’re relying on. And I’m so, so, so blessed to have this rock within arm’s reach during my whole entire experience with this.”