Bachelor in Paradise couple Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt have opened up about the panic Joe's brain surgery caused them now that they're eight weeks out from having his malignant tumor removed.
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"We were definitely in a state of shock. It was really scary running around to different hospitals and doctors felt incredibly overwhelming and impossible at the time that we first got your diagnosis," Serena, 28, recalled during the Thursday, September 17 episode of the spouses' "Not Married to This" podcast.
"But it ended up being the best thing we did, because I do feel like you were with the perfect team for you and for what you needed."
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Serena shared how both of their families flew into New York for Joe's surgery.
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Joe, 40, explained how he remained fairly level-headed and calm for six weeks prior to his surgery -- but that changed once he arrived for pre-op to remove the low-grade astrocytoma.
"That was intense," Joe noted, before joking about how the pre-op room was cold.
"I remember just sitting there for the first time, I was feeling super vulnerable, and I was scared. I was like, 'Oh f-ck!'"
Serena said she was able to speak to Joe right before he went under general anesthesia and could "see the panic" behind his eyes.
"That's also when it hit me... You were really scared, fairly so. I was really scared. We had so much confidence in your surgeons but it's still brain surgery," Serena said.
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Joe shared how his medical team was very confident his surgery would go well and so they asked him not to freak out. He then got to say goodbye to Serena, who confessed that was "really tough" for her.
Serena recalled how Joe being wheeled into the operating room was "one of the hardest" and "scariest" moments of this journey for her.
Prior to the surgery, Joe had been warned there was "a slight chance" he'd "wake up and be paralyzed" -- a potential side effect that would "only last two weeks."
"Because the tumor was on my left side, so it affects my right motor skills," he explained, adding how that section of the brain affects speech, memory and motor skills.
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Following the surgery, Joe was told it "went great" and they "got it all," which was music to his ears.
"I remember just being really happy that I was awake... The first thing I did was feel the top of my head and then move my arms and my legs to make sure that I had movement," Joe said.
Serena then shared how she was elated to be reunited with Joe but he struggled with "the mind and speech connection" for several weeks after leaving the hospital.
"I would have a question asked to me, but I just couldn't convey words. It was just really, really difficult," Joe said.
But Serena clarified, "It wasn't even just your speech, it was the way you were speaking. You didn't even really sound like yourself, in terms of the fluctuation of your voice."
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The Bachelor alum continued, "There was a moment on the first or second day where I was like, 'What did you do to my husband? What is going on? Like, he is not in the room with me. This is [not] Joe... but a lot of that came from panic and anxiety about the situation."
Serena -- who admittedly freaked out a little bit -- noted it was "probably about a week" before she felt like Joe was truly himself and present again.
Going forward, Joe said he'll have to continue taking an anti-seizure pill every single day "to put the bad cells to sleep."
Despite the challenges that are still ahead of Joe, his doctor, Dr. Alexandra Miller -- the chief of neuro-oncology at the Perlmutter Cancer Center -- said on Good Morning America that he has a "good prognosis" and "it was a really good thing and very lucky that he was able to find it early."
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Joe elaborated of the tumor, "According to my doctor, I wouldn't probably know about this until I eventually had a seizure."
Joe first revealed his brain tumor diagnosis to the world on July 13. He found out about the "blueberry-sized lesion" in his brain thanks to a full-body MRI scan with Prenuvo, whom the pair had been doing a partnership with at the time.
Joe previously said he had experienced anxiety and lightheadedness for symptoms.
After the surgery, Joe was discharged from the hospital post-surgery on August 6, and on August 12, he said that he was already off heavy painkillers.
Shortly after having 23 staples removed from his head in late August, Joe revealed on social media that he was able to run over three miles and hopes to participate in the 2026 New York City marathon this November.
Joe found fame when he competed on Season 14 of The Bachelorette starring Becca Kufrin in 2018.
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After being a Night 1 boot, Joe returned for Season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise, where he fell in love with Kendall Long.
After Joe and Kendall split, Joe looked for love on Season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise in 2021 and found it with Serena.
Joe and Serena quietly tied the knot in a New York City courthouse in 2022 before having a bigger "magical" wedding for family and friends in South Carolina in September 2023.
Joe also previously competed on Season 27 of Dancing with the Stars and placed fifth with pro Jenna Johnson.
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