Katie Thurston is speaking out after becoming the target of a cruel online death hoax.
The former Bachelorette star, who revealed earlier this year that her breast cancer had advanced to stage four, took to Instagram on Friday to denounce false articles claiming she had died.
‘I’ve seen this article go around before, but something about tonight really f**king pisses me off,’ Thurston, 34, said through tears in a Story video. ‘It was triggering. I tried to report it [but] there’s nothing I can do. I just feel helpless. I’m so mad right now.’
Thurston explained she had been stepping back from social media but was alerted to the hoax after receiving a flood of texts and direct messages from acquaintances checking if she was alive.
‘[If] anyone who works at Facebook has any suggestion on what I can do, please tell me,’ she pleaded.
The next day, the reality TV alum struck a lighter tone, sharing a tongue-in-cheek sponsored post for a coffin company.Â
Katie Thurston is speaking out after becoming the target of a cruel online death hoax
‘It’s me on the other side,’ she joked. ‘I do just want to shout out Facebook for letting my friends, family, [and] myself know that I have passed on.’ She ended the video with mock ‘updates from heaven,’ quipping, ‘Just want to let you know things are good. Life is great up here.’
Since announcing her diagnosis, Thurston has chronicled both the physical and emotional toll of treatment.
In June, she revealed memory loss as a side effect, recalling an incident at customs where she blanked on her travel history.
But in July, she was able to share encouraging news: ‘Today the scans confirmed the tumors are SHRINKING!! This is amazing news and I am so relieved!’ she wrote on Instagram.
Thurston, who married comedian Jeff Arcuri in March, has continued to be candid with her 1.1 million followers, vowing to raise awareness while fighting her own battle.
In March, she revealed her breast cancer had spread to her liver.Â
Despite the scary health diagnosis, Thurston shared that she is ‘optimistic’ as the cancer was caught early on.Â
‘I know stage four can sound very scary, and it can be,’ she said. ‘However, given that I am triple positive and the spots on my liver are fairly small and detected early, I feel very optimistic on my outcome.’
The former Bachelorette star, who revealed earlier this year that her breast cancer had advanced to stage four, took to Instagram to denounce false articles claiming she had died
‘I’ve seen this article go around before, but something about tonight really f**king pisses me off,’ Thurston, 34, said through tears in a Story video. ‘It was triggering’ (seen in May 2025)
She also expressed feeling ‘very confident’ with her doctors and medical team.Â
In her caption, she wrote, ’43 days since diagnosis and still no treatment? There is a lot of testing and prep that goes into cancer treatment. One important test is checking to see if the cancer has metastasized (spread). Unfortunately for me, mine has and I am now #stage4breastcancer.’Â
Thurston also answered some questions from fans on her Stories. When asked ‘how scared are you?’ she answered: ‘Scared: 0, Sad: 7, Pain: 5, Tired: 10, Ready: 100.’
One fan asked the reality star whether she needs to have a mastectomy.
‘That’ll be a choice down the road,’ she wrote, adding, ‘Given my circumstances I’ll probably opt for a double mastectomy with breast reconstruction which is covered by insurance. Some options are implants or DIEP Flap (which uses my own fat).’
Thurston also shared two photos of herself in a hospital bed. One featured a lengthy caption.
‘Today I would have finally started treatment. But instead I have an appointment to discuss the suspicious spot found on my liver during my PET scan. And after that meeting, while still digesting the information, I’m heading to CNN for another interview. Why? Because this needs to be talked about more.’
‘Whatever is happening amongst younger women is scary. It’s not normal. And current medical standards haven’t shifted when it comes to mammogram schedules, leaving women to find out later about their diagnosis,’ she went on.
‘Last summer when I first felt that lump, I would have been more proactive had I known there was a rise in young breast patients happening. Shout about it to your sister, your friend, your co-worker, your significant other.’
Since announcing her diagnosis, Thurston has chronicled both the physical and emotional toll of treatmentÂ
Another fan asked, ‘What is the treatment plan for your liver?’
Thurston replied: ‘The plan is essentially the same as my breast cancer. The cancer that is within the liver is from the breast cancer spreading vs a new type of cancer. So in basic terms, my breast cancer is the root and will be the focus. Six rounds of chemotherapy to start.’
Someone else asked her about the first thing she’ll do after she rings ‘the bell’ – a symbolic and celebratory tradition that marks the completion of a phase of treatment, most commonly chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
‘Jeff and I are re-doing our trip to Maui and to the fullest. We were in Maui when I got the call and it really stole the trip from us,’ she replied.
Another person asked, ‘Who will go to appointments with you when hubby is back on tour?’
Thurston wrote: ‘My treatment is spaced out as six treatments to start, three weeks apart. A treatment is essentially a dedicated day to travel/infusions/recovery. He will probably miss the first three but the good news is, if I’m up for it, I can still travel to where he is as early as the next day.’
As for how this has impacted her views on mortality and life, Thurston wrote: ‘I know long term, a lot will change for me. In the immediate mindset, I’ve been both pleased and disappointed by who I have and haven’t heard from.’
She added, ‘Ultimately, not everyone is meant to be in your life forever. Some people are simply a season. Thank them for their time and move onward.’
Thurston, who married comedian Jeff Arcuri in March, has continued to be candid with her 1.1 million followers, vowing to raise awareness while fighting her own battleÂ
A few days prior Thurston told fans that her doctor discovered spots on her liver.
Thurston had no family history of cancer when she was diagnosed on February 13 after discovering a painful lump in her breast, and she was originally scheduled to begin the I-Spy breast cancer trial this Friday.
‘My [liver] biopsy is scheduled Friday which would have been my treatment day,’ Thurston wrote in her members-only Boobie Broadcast channel on Monday.
‘We now wait. She seemed to be leaning more on the cancer in the liver vs. optimistic. This would put me at stage 4. I’d love to hear from my sisters who are stage 4 in terms of quality of life, motherhood, etc.’
The standup comedian’s I-Spy breast cancer trial was set to include a Zoladex injection to reduce the size of tumors, multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and surgery but everything is on hold until the results of her biopsy.
Life is happening at warp speed for Thurston and the standup comedian, who connected via Instagram a year ago, got engaged five months later, and tied the knot last Saturday during an intimate backyard ceremony with their parents.
Thurston and Arcuri have also adopted rescue dog Charlie from Best Friends New York and did a round of IVF at fertility center RMA of New York so they can eventually start a family.
‘We dedicated two weeks before doing anything else breast cancer wise to doing IVF,’ the Washington State native told Us Weekly on Sunday.
‘A lot of women don’t even realize that you can take 10 days to dedicate time to your reproductive health and your future family plans. We were able to retrieve 17 eggs and of those 17, six became embryos.’
Thurston noted: ‘He’s been to every single appointment with me so far. He’s done every single shot that’s involved with IVF.’
Thurston gushed about how Jeff is ‘great at matching my energy’ and keep things light and playful when she needs it.
Katie first garnered national attention as a contestant on season 25 of The Bachelor, and subsequently starred in season 17 of The Bachelorette; seen in a still from The Bachelorette
‘[Our wedding] was this kind gesture of him saying, truly, in sickness and in health,’ The Bachelor #25 contestant marveled.
‘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.’
Arcuri – who’s next performing April 3 in Tennessee – will be spending most of the year traveling as his tour is booked through October 23.
Thurston was a bank marketing manager when she first competed for the heart of Bachelor #25 Matt James in 2021 before immediately scoring her Bachelorette spin-off where she romanced fiancé Blake Moynes for six months and John Hersey for seven months.
