Katie Thurston married fiancé Jeff Arcuri one month after announcing she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The season 17 Bachelorette lead, 34, and the comedian, 36, tied the knot in a backyard ceremony at their home on March 22.
Katie revealed that her diagnosis caused the couple to move up their wedding date in a March 20 interview with Us Weekly. The couple got engaged in August 2024.
“It was so sweet. Obviously, we were wanting to plan a wedding and there’s a lot of emotions that come in with chemo and the impact and the health and we don’t know what the next year looks like,” she explained.
Katie continued, “And one night he said, ‘I want to show you that I still love you and that I’m here to stay. I’ll get married to you tomorrow.’ We flew our parents in from Michigan and Washington State. We got our marriage license and a friend is just gonna marry us.”
Jeff told the outlet about Katie’s stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis, “You would think it would cause more tribulation or problems between you, but it’s bonded us more than anything else, which is why we’re moving up the wedding a little bit. … We’re getting married in two days.”
After their intimate wedding, the newlyweds and their parents celebrated with a dinner at New York City Italian restaurant Da Andrea.
Katie and Jeff plan to hold a bigger wedding ceremony after she beats cancer, the couple told Us Weekly after tying the knot.
“It was this kind gesture of him saying, truly, in sickness and in health,” the ABC star said of her intimate nuptials with Jeff. “He is proving that he’s here to stay. He shows up every day and he does it in ways that just continue to surprise.”
“I want to be able to be in the hospital with her and just be like, ‘My wife’s in there.’ There’s more power to that,” Jeff shared. “I don’t want to be not with you for any of this.”
Katie begins her cancer treatment on March 27. Us reported that she will be part of the I-Spy breast cancer trial, aiming to give personalized treatment to her tumor. After that, she may require several rounds of chemotherapy before undergoing surgery.
The former bank marketing manager revealed her breast cancer diagnosis on February 15 via her Instagram Stories.
The reality star shared that she had previously discovered a cyst in her breast that ended up being benign. When she found another lump, she assumed it was a similar situation.
“I thought it was PMS or working out … My first lump (benign cyst) felt like a pea or marble [and] hard, unnatural, but didn’t cause me discomfort. The second felt larger,” Katie explained. “The pain initially came and went, but maybe after 3-4 months of it not going away or improving, I got nervous and saw my doctor.”
Katie’s physician ordered a breast ultrasound and a mammogram, followed by multiple biopsies sent off for testing that confirmed she had cancer. The reality star said she didn’t have a family history of breast cancer and didn’t have the BRCA gene — which increases the risk of developing breast cancer — after taking a DNA test.
The Washington native said she began taking steps to freeze her eggs in order for her and Jeff to have children in the future.
“Not sure on the order yet. My fertility will be impacted by chemo. I have an appointment with my fertility doctor to preserve my eggs [first],” Katie explained in the video.
Katie announced in May 2024 that she was “off the market” and revealed Jeff’s identity as her boyfriend in a June 14, 2024, Instagram post of the couple kissing. “Safe to say he’s making it to hometowns next week,” she wrote in the caption.
Their whirlwind romance led to Jeff proposing on Kauai’s Secret Beach in August 2024, which Katie revealed to fans the following month.
Bachelor Nation fans first met Katie when she appeared on Matt James‘ season of The Bachelor in 2021. Aafter being eliminated in week 6, she was cast as the lead in season 17 of The Bachelorette. Katie accepted Blake Moynes‘ proposal in her season finale, although the duo split three months later.
Katie went on to date John Hersey, another contestant from her season. The pair confirmed their romance in November 2021 and eventually moved in together in March 2022. They broke up three months later in June 2022.
