December 30, 2025 • 13 mins
We’ve made it to the #1 most shocking Bachelor moment for 2025! Time to make your last predictions before we hand out the final rose!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
It's Almost Famous podcast. It's been we're counting down the
top five most shocking moments that happened in Bachelor Nation
this year twenty twenty five. Now we've made it to
the number one most shocking moment. This moment was shocking
for multiple reasons. One of the reasons is it deals
(00:26):
with the person's health and well being. And two, this
person is so young, so I think this moment was
a wake up call, really was for a lot of
us to take our health seriously. With that, the most
shocking Bachelor Nation moment of twenty twenty five was Katie
(00:48):
Thurston's breast cancer diagnosis Back in March. We talked with
Katie a month after her diagnosis at only thirty four
years old.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Actually, last summer was the first time I felt a
lump in my breast, but I had had a benign
cyst before that was removed and non cancerous. And I'm
only yeah, and I'm only thirty four, so I'm not
thinking breast cancer at all. It doesn't run in my family.
I am overall pretty healthy. There was never an urgency
to get it checked out. And I kind of put
(01:22):
it off, thinking maybe it's PMS, maybe it's from working out,
you know, it's the summertime. And then finally in January,
you know, I was getting ready to move to New
York to be with my fiance Jeff, and was like, well,
I should do some kind of like medical checks before
we leave, and we're going to be traveling for six weeks,
and so I kind of went into the office almost
thinking it was going to be like a like a checkup,
(01:43):
like a Yep, it's just another benign cyst and you
can just move on with your life. And very very
quickly the appointment energy was shifting. I could feel it.
No one was saying anything, but you know, you can
just feel the vibe of the room change.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
This was shocking for many reasons, as I already mentioned,
Katie is so young, but it was also one of
those moments where I think everybody that heard it took
a step back. It took a step back to analyze
their life, their health. It also is one of those
moments that helps us all maybe see things a little clearer,
(02:22):
meaning that when we're in the face of something so difficult,
so scary, so big, I think so many of us
sit down and kind of re analyze our own lives.
We see things clear because all of a sudden, so
(02:45):
many other things don't matter.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Now.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
To give you a little background here, Katie was the
bachelor at and Fibruar of twenty twenty five is when
she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctors initially told
her that after she found a lump in her breast,
that her cancer was stage three. It was stage three
(03:11):
triple positive invasive ductyl carcinoma. This is a common form
of breast cancer where the tumor has estrogen, progesterone and
her two receptors. Later, in March twenty twenty five, she
shared that the cancer had spread metastasized to her liver,
(03:33):
which means it's now classified as stage four metastic breast cancer.
Since that day, Katie has been undergoing treatment, including systemic therapy.
This is medication and chemotherapy mixed together. In October twenty
five public appearance, she reported that her medicine is working,
(03:54):
thank god, and her tumor was still shrinking at the
six months in. This is positive news for Katie and
for all of us. Katie has done an incredible job
at being candid about this diagnosis. She's also shared so
many stories of the toll it's taken on her physically.
(04:17):
But yet Katie, as she always has, has still this
underlying just joy and positivity about her. In an interview
we did with her, she told us that the way
her and her husband communicate is oftentimes by joking, even
if those jokes are like somewhat inappropriate, it helps them
(04:37):
communicate and heal, and I think there's a beauty to that.
Their dance is absolutely wonderful, which brings me to some
big life updates for Katie this year as well. Not
long after we chatted with Katie on our podcast, she
got married in a backyard wedding to comedian Jeff R.
(04:58):
Curry before she started treatment for her stage three breast cancer.
Here's a quote from Katie. She says, you would think
it would cause more tribulation or problems between the two
of them, but it's bonded us more than anything else,
which is why we're moving up the wedding a little bit. Obviously,
we were wanting to plan a wedding, she continued, and
(05:20):
there's a lot of emotions that come in with the
chemo and the impact and the health and we don't
know what the next year looks like. We continued here
at the Almost Famous podcast to follow Katie's journey as
she shared with the world on her social media. After
her breast cancer did spread to her liver as I mentioned,
and it changed to stage four. In October, she gave
(05:41):
an update when she got her six month check in.
She said, October is freaking nuts. It was Breast cancer
Awareness month. Jeff was gone the entire month, which you
mentioned on our show as well, because of his career
sometimes he has to be gone. Then I also had
my six month check in pet scam no spread, she said.
(06:02):
The breast MRI shows that the tumor is still shrinking.
Katie continues, the thing I did not realize. Every month
ish I have to give my blood drawn, and I
hate needles. I hate the time and emotional energy it
takes to go to the hospital here in New York.
It takes so much out of me. I can imagine,
can't you all. I mean, goodness, she's tired, She's going
(06:27):
through all this treatment. There's so many things in front
of her that feel so daunting. Yet once a month
she has to get in her car travel through the
city of New York, go and give blood, which she
mentioned she hates, and deal with the crowds and the people.
(06:49):
Katie is a battler. She has shown nothing but the desire,
the willingness to fight this, and she shared it with
so many of us, which I think is it doesn't
take away from it being the number one most shocking moment,
But what this does do is it's one of those things. Yes,
this was shocking for her to tell the world that
(07:11):
she has breast cancer and then that it metastasized to
her liver. But in the midst of this, Katie has
still gone out of her way to educate all of us,
which I think is something incredible. It's made so many
others out there I know feel less alone who are
(07:31):
going through something similar to Katie, or so many of
us have felt less alone by watching Katie's stories because
we know somebody going through something similar to Katie's, or
she's made so many of us feel less alone because
we've witnessed somebody who has faced such a difficult diagnosis
and said, hey, yes I have a battle to fight,
(07:53):
but I want to bring you all in to learn
and share with me. Katie is shared through social media
mostly of her cancer experience has been so difficult, especially
(08:17):
on her physically. As I mentioned, Katie said that she
has suffered memory loss has taken an emotional strand on her.
It's definitely this is an exact quote, but it's kind
of consolidated quote that she has. She says, reflecting on
an intense treatment and the disease has affected her quality
(08:37):
of life. She has described adjusting to this new life
with stage four cancer and finding support in the community
of other survivors. One of the reasons why is I
just mentioned Katie has been so so vocal on social
media is because she has gathered this network and this
community of people who are survivors of a similar cancer
(09:00):
or cancer, and they've been able to share with each other.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Had I heard someone my age with their story last
summer when I felt the lump, I think I would
have been more proactive. I'm getting it checked because the
biggest thing I'm learning now is it's actually like an
epidemic right now, and women in their twenties and thirties
and forties who are getting breast cancer, and multiple doctors
that I've seen in different departments are like, we don't
(09:24):
know what's going on, and it's crazy that only until
I was diagnosed am I learning that. But now that
I'm like searching for answers, I'm seeing just how many
women are being impacted.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I always say I kind of have a saying in life,
I don't want to learn from anybody who hasn't been there.
Does that make sense again? I don't want to learn
from somebody who hasn't been there, but I do learn
a ton from those who have been there. When you
get to hear somebody like Katie speak about this emotional toll,
this physical toll, speak about the treatments as she gets
(09:56):
educated on the treatments, speak about what has had to
change and her lifestyle, what she's learned along the way.
I'm listening because I know she's been through it, and
so there's a lot that I can gain from Katie,
and we can all gain from Katie in terms of
life advice. This is better than any book we could
pick up at the store on seven ways to make
(10:17):
your life better or make your life make more sense
because Katie is in the midst of one of the
hardest seasons of life. One of the things that so
many of us dread or are scared of or try
to protect ourselves from. She's in the midst of it,
and as a result, I'm learning from her, and I
think so many of us are because of how incredible
(10:40):
she's been to so many other survivors, and also a
group of us who maybe don't have that direct connection
to this disease, this terrible disease, we are still watching
and learning along the way. There's also a side of
this too, where so many of us are fans of Katie.
We want to follow her story with her so that
we can be up to date on how she's progressing
(11:03):
and how she's healing. We're rooting for her from the side.
On top of everything else, as I mentioned, Katie has
gone through on social media, She's done interviews, She's been
so open about all this. She also has emphasized the
trust in medical advancements and encourages so many of you
(11:24):
listening to check yourself. She teaches all of us on
how to check ourselves for cancer similar to hers, like
breast cancer. But as you've heard if you've listened to
the podcast, of course, the terrible world of online rumors
and hoaxes have also happened to Katie. So in the
(11:44):
midst of all this, she's physically tired, she's emotionally tired,
she's mentally tired. She's had to also combat the rumors
that she somehow passed away, and she's had to address
this and deny this. People are taking advantage of this
terror situation, which I hate, and I think so many
of us do. I hate this new trend of online
(12:08):
rumors and hoaxes coming out there on different subjects that
are so personal and intimate to each and every human being.
So Katie's had to battle that. But the update right
now is that she is alive. She is battling, she
is fighting, she is managing this disease. We know and
(12:31):
so much care for Katie that Yes, this is a
shocking moment of twenty twenty five. It's a memorable moment
of twenty twenty five, but it's a learning moment for
us in twenty twenty five. I think this is definitely
the most shocking moment in twenty twenty five when it
comes to Bachelor Nation, because it was one of those
(12:51):
moments where all of a sudden, we all took a
deep breath. It wasn't a breakup, it wasn't a dating rumor.
It wasn't some online I know few that somebody was having.
Know this is a real life, real human experience, and
goodness gracious, Katie, you have handled it well. You have
(13:12):
done so much for the community around you. We at
the Almost Famous podcast me personally the listeners are all
rooting for you as you continue on in this battle.
But this was the most shocking moment of twenty twenty five.
(13:32):
Katie Thurston publicly tells all of us that she was
diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, which soon turned into
stage for cancer. Katie, We're rooting for you.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on iHeartRadio,
or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
It's Almost Famous podcast. It's been we're counting down the
top five most shocking moments that happened in Bachelor Nation
this year twenty twenty five. Now we've made it to
the number one most shocking moment. This moment was shocking
for multiple reasons. One of the reasons is it deals
(00:26):
with the person's health and well being. And two, this
person is so young, so I think this moment was
a wake up call, really was for a lot of
us to take our health seriously. With that, the most
shocking Bachelor Nation moment of twenty twenty five was Katie
(00:48):
Thurston's breast cancer diagnosis Back in March. We talked with
Katie a month after her diagnosis at only thirty four
years old.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Actually, last summer was the first time I felt a
lump in my breast, but I had had a benign
cyst before that was removed and non cancerous. And I'm
only yeah, and I'm only thirty four, so I'm not
thinking breast cancer at all. It doesn't run in my family.
I am overall pretty healthy. There was never an urgency
to get it checked out. And I kind of put
(01:22):
it off, thinking maybe it's PMS, maybe it's from working out,
you know, it's the summertime. And then finally in January,
you know, I was getting ready to move to New
York to be with my fiance Jeff, and was like, well,
I should do some kind of like medical checks before
we leave, and we're going to be traveling for six weeks,
and so I kind of went into the office almost
thinking it was going to be like a like a checkup,
(01:43):
like a Yep, it's just another benign cyst and you
can just move on with your life. And very very
quickly the appointment energy was shifting. I could feel it.
No one was saying anything, but you know, you can
just feel the vibe of the room change.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
This was shocking for many reasons, as I already mentioned,
Katie is so young, but it was also one of
those moments where I think everybody that heard it took
a step back. It took a step back to analyze
their life, their health. It also is one of those
moments that helps us all maybe see things a little clearer,
(02:22):
meaning that when we're in the face of something so difficult,
so scary, so big, I think so many of us
sit down and kind of re analyze our own lives.
We see things clear because all of a sudden, so
(02:45):
many other things don't matter.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Now.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
To give you a little background here, Katie was the
bachelor at and Fibruar of twenty twenty five is when
she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctors initially told
her that after she found a lump in her breast,
that her cancer was stage three. It was stage three
(03:11):
triple positive invasive ductyl carcinoma. This is a common form
of breast cancer where the tumor has estrogen, progesterone and
her two receptors. Later, in March twenty twenty five, she
shared that the cancer had spread metastasized to her liver,
(03:33):
which means it's now classified as stage four metastic breast cancer.
Since that day, Katie has been undergoing treatment, including systemic therapy.
This is medication and chemotherapy mixed together. In October twenty
five public appearance, she reported that her medicine is working,
(03:54):
thank god, and her tumor was still shrinking at the
six months in. This is positive news for Katie and
for all of us. Katie has done an incredible job
at being candid about this diagnosis. She's also shared so
many stories of the toll it's taken on her physically.
(04:17):
But yet Katie, as she always has, has still this
underlying just joy and positivity about her. In an interview
we did with her, she told us that the way
her and her husband communicate is oftentimes by joking, even
if those jokes are like somewhat inappropriate, it helps them
(04:37):
communicate and heal, and I think there's a beauty to that.
Their dance is absolutely wonderful, which brings me to some
big life updates for Katie this year as well. Not
long after we chatted with Katie on our podcast, she
got married in a backyard wedding to comedian Jeff R.
(04:58):
Curry before she started treatment for her stage three breast cancer.
Here's a quote from Katie. She says, you would think
it would cause more tribulation or problems between the two
of them, but it's bonded us more than anything else,
which is why we're moving up the wedding a little bit. Obviously,
we were wanting to plan a wedding, she continued, and
(05:20):
there's a lot of emotions that come in with the
chemo and the impact and the health and we don't
know what the next year looks like. We continued here
at the Almost Famous podcast to follow Katie's journey as
she shared with the world on her social media. After
her breast cancer did spread to her liver as I mentioned,
and it changed to stage four. In October, she gave
(05:41):
an update when she got her six month check in.
She said, October is freaking nuts. It was Breast cancer
Awareness month. Jeff was gone the entire month, which you
mentioned on our show as well, because of his career
sometimes he has to be gone. Then I also had
my six month check in pet scam no spread, she said.
(06:02):
The breast MRI shows that the tumor is still shrinking.
Katie continues, the thing I did not realize. Every month
ish I have to give my blood drawn, and I
hate needles. I hate the time and emotional energy it
takes to go to the hospital here in New York.
It takes so much out of me. I can imagine,
can't you all. I mean, goodness, she's tired, She's going
(06:27):
through all this treatment. There's so many things in front
of her that feel so daunting. Yet once a month
she has to get in her car travel through the
city of New York, go and give blood, which she
mentioned she hates, and deal with the crowds and the people.
(06:49):
Katie is a battler. She has shown nothing but the desire,
the willingness to fight this, and she shared it with
so many of us, which I think is it doesn't
take away from it being the number one most shocking moment,
But what this does do is it's one of those things. Yes,
this was shocking for her to tell the world that
(07:11):
she has breast cancer and then that it metastasized to
her liver. But in the midst of this, Katie has
still gone out of her way to educate all of us,
which I think is something incredible. It's made so many
others out there I know feel less alone who are
(07:31):
going through something similar to Katie, or so many of
us have felt less alone by watching Katie's stories because
we know somebody going through something similar to Katie's, or
she's made so many of us feel less alone because
we've witnessed somebody who has faced such a difficult diagnosis
and said, hey, yes I have a battle to fight,
(07:53):
but I want to bring you all in to learn
and share with me. Katie is shared through social media
mostly of her cancer experience has been so difficult, especially
(08:17):
on her physically. As I mentioned, Katie said that she
has suffered memory loss has taken an emotional strand on her.
It's definitely this is an exact quote, but it's kind
of consolidated quote that she has. She says, reflecting on
an intense treatment and the disease has affected her quality
(08:37):
of life. She has described adjusting to this new life
with stage four cancer and finding support in the community
of other survivors. One of the reasons why is I
just mentioned Katie has been so so vocal on social
media is because she has gathered this network and this
community of people who are survivors of a similar cancer
(09:00):
or cancer, and they've been able to share with each other.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Had I heard someone my age with their story last
summer when I felt the lump, I think I would
have been more proactive. I'm getting it checked because the
biggest thing I'm learning now is it's actually like an
epidemic right now, and women in their twenties and thirties
and forties who are getting breast cancer, and multiple doctors
that I've seen in different departments are like, we don't
(09:24):
know what's going on, and it's crazy that only until
I was diagnosed am I learning that. But now that
I'm like searching for answers, I'm seeing just how many
women are being impacted.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I always say I kind of have a saying in life,
I don't want to learn from anybody who hasn't been there.
Does that make sense again? I don't want to learn
from somebody who hasn't been there, but I do learn
a ton from those who have been there. When you
get to hear somebody like Katie speak about this emotional toll,
this physical toll, speak about the treatments as she gets
(09:56):
educated on the treatments, speak about what has had to
change and her lifestyle, what she's learned along the way.
I'm listening because I know she's been through it, and
so there's a lot that I can gain from Katie,
and we can all gain from Katie in terms of
life advice. This is better than any book we could
pick up at the store on seven ways to make
(10:17):
your life better or make your life make more sense
because Katie is in the midst of one of the
hardest seasons of life. One of the things that so
many of us dread or are scared of or try
to protect ourselves from. She's in the midst of it,
and as a result, I'm learning from her, and I
think so many of us are because of how incredible
(10:40):
she's been to so many other survivors, and also a
group of us who maybe don't have that direct connection
to this disease, this terrible disease, we are still watching
and learning along the way. There's also a side of
this too, where so many of us are fans of Katie.
We want to follow her story with her so that
we can be up to date on how she's progressing
(11:03):
and how she's healing. We're rooting for her from the side.
On top of everything else, as I mentioned, Katie has
gone through on social media, She's done interviews, She's been
so open about all this. She also has emphasized the
trust in medical advancements and encourages so many of you
(11:24):
listening to check yourself. She teaches all of us on
how to check ourselves for cancer similar to hers, like
breast cancer. But as you've heard if you've listened to
the podcast, of course, the terrible world of online rumors
and hoaxes have also happened to Katie. So in the
(11:44):
midst of all this, she's physically tired, she's emotionally tired,
she's mentally tired. She's had to also combat the rumors
that she somehow passed away, and she's had to address
this and deny this. People are taking advantage of this
terror situation, which I hate, and I think so many
of us do. I hate this new trend of online
(12:08):
rumors and hoaxes coming out there on different subjects that
are so personal and intimate to each and every human being.
So Katie's had to battle that. But the update right
now is that she is alive. She is battling, she
is fighting, she is managing this disease. We know and
(12:31):
so much care for Katie that Yes, this is a
shocking moment of twenty twenty five. It's a memorable moment
of twenty twenty five, but it's a learning moment for
us in twenty twenty five. I think this is definitely
the most shocking moment in twenty twenty five when it
comes to Bachelor Nation, because it was one of those
(12:51):
moments where all of a sudden, we all took a
deep breath. It wasn't a breakup, it wasn't a dating rumor.
It wasn't some online I know few that somebody was having.
Know this is a real life, real human experience, and
goodness gracious, Katie, you have handled it well. You have
(13:12):
done so much for the community around you. We at
the Almost Famous podcast me personally the listeners are all
rooting for you as you continue on in this battle.
But this was the most shocking moment of twenty twenty five.
(13:32):
Katie Thurston publicly tells all of us that she was
diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, which soon turned into
stage for cancer. Katie, We're rooting for you.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on iHeartRadio,
or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosts And Creators
Ben Higgins
Ashley Iaconetti
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