The Bachelorette alum Michael Allio is hopeful that his ex Katie Thurston will be able to “overcome” her stage IV breast cancer diagnosis.
“We text every now and again,” Allio, 41, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, May 7, while promoting his children’s book, Where the Wild Heart Grows. “Her journey is incredibly tough, and I feel for her.”
Thurston, 35, was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2025 and underwent a double mastectomy late last month.
“I feel for Jeff [Arcuri, her husband] too because being a caregiver is often a very lonely place,” Allio, whose wife Laura Ritter-Allio died in 2018 after battling breast cancer, told Us. “They are really the unsung heroes, and from what the relationship looks like, it sounds like she’s so well-supported.”
Thurston served as the Bachelorette in 2021’s season 17, where she met Allio. He ultimately self-eliminated ahead of fantasy suites. Thurston moved on with Arcuri, 38, following her brief engagement to Blake Moynes. Thurston and Arcuri got married in March 2025 amid her cancer battle.
“I subscribe to her broadcast [channel] on Instagram and try to keep up, but at the end of the day, it’s really their journey as a couple,” Allio added on Thursday. “I pray every day that she’s able to overcome this. I know she’ll be stronger because of it.”
Allio, for his part, served as his wife’s caregiver until her death. The couple shared son James, now 9.
The Bachelor Nation alum authored his debut children’s book, Where the Wild Heart Grows, to help explain concepts of grief, loss and courage to other families.
“It was a learning process. It’s not something you’re just, kind of, born with,” Allio told Us. “You figure it out, you stumble along the way. One thing I wanted to make sure I did was to not teach my son how to avoid pain, but learn how to walk through it and walk with it.”
He continued, “I’ve humanized myself as a parent to him, understanding that I struggle too, and I think that’s created a very strong bond and a safe place for us, but to be honest, it was unnatural for me. I mean, we only know what we know from when we grow up, but I know that I didn’t want cancer to take more than it had. I wanted to make sure that he had a good upbringing in the life that he deserved.”
Allio later started dating his girlfriend, Jade Marie Chapman, in 2025 after a brief connection with Bachelor in Paradise costar Danielle Maltby.
“I’m in such, like, a great place right now with my girlfriend, Jade, who’s just remarkable, and I never felt like I’d get there,” he gushed to Us. “So, if you’re listening and you’re going through something, keep fighting, keep walking, keep making sense of it. It does get better, not it doesn’t go away, but there’s still a life for you out there.”
