Bachelor in Paradise alum Joe Amabile has paid a beautiful tribute to his wife, Serena Pitt, on their anniversary as he continues to recover from brain surgery.
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Alongside two additional photos of the pair spending time together after Joe had a malignant brain tumor removed, Joe wrote, "To my lovely wife. Happy anniversary to the most beautiful, caring, perfect, person that I know."
Joe continued in the caption, "These past few months have been pretty tough to say the least. You have been there with me every single step of the way, taking in all the good and the bad news."
Joe went on to reveal that his brain-tumor diagnosis also hit Serena hard.
"You cried alone in our bedroom because you didn't want to bring me down," the Dancing with the Stars alum recalled.
"You cleaned, you cooked, you podcasted, you went to every doctor's appointment, you dealt with the doctors and nurses, made sure all my medication was taken on time, and if I woke up at 2:30 in morning so did you... you did it all."
Joe acknowledged how having Serena by his side has been tremendously helpful.
"I couldn't be more lucky to have you as my wife, my partner, and my best friend. I love you forever and always," Joe wrote.
"The last pic was about 10 days after surgery we went for brunch. Way too soon lol."
Joe revealed to Good Morning America earlier this week -- about three weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a slow-growing malignant tumor in his brain -- that his speech hasn't fully returned yet.
"I still struggle a little bit," Joe told GMA.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW"I could think of what to say, but I would have a hard time vocalizing it. And I would say I'm about 90% back."
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Despite the challenges that are still ahead of Joe, his doctor, Dr. Alexandra Miller -- the chief of neuro-oncology at the Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York -- said he has a "good prognosis" and "it was a really good thing and very lucky that he was able to find it early."
Joe elaborated of his low-grade astrocytoma, "According to my doctor, I wouldn't probably know about this until I eventually had a seizure."
Joe has been documenting his health crisis on social media for weeks.
The Bachelorette 14 alum explained of his decision to be so candid about his experience with fans, "I think being able to share so other people can relate, and people who are going through it, I think is, it's super important."
Shortly after having 23 staples removed from his head, Joe revealed on social media last month that he was able to run over three miles and hopes to participate in the 2026 New York City marathon.
Joe was discharged from the hospital post-surgery on August 6, and on August 12, he said that he was already off heavy painkillers.
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Joe explained that his treatment going forward will be a pill "every day for the rest of my life to put the bad cells to sleep."
"And hopefully they stay asleep. And that's it, that's all I can do," he concluded.
Joe first revealed his brain tumor diagnosis to the world on July 13.
"I had to go get a brain MRI, and there was a blueberry-sized lesion in my brain that looks to be a glioma, which is a tumor," he told his fans via Instagram last month.
Joe said he "definitely wasn't expecting" to need brain surgery.
"I think it's one of those things where you're like, 'Oh, something like this would never happen to me,' and here I am. They say it's really early stages. I hope they are able to get it all, and I'm fine," he shared.
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Joe and Serena subsequently discussed Joe's brain lesion during the July 16 episode of their "Not Married to This" podcast.
The Bachelor in Paradise couple shared how they both had full-body MRI scans with Prenuvo -- with whom they were doing a professional partnership -- just to be proactive about their health.
About two days later, Joe said he received a phone call and thought he was going to be told he had an enlarged prostate because he tends to pee a lot during the night.
But when Joe spoke to his doctor on the phone, the Bachelor in Paradise alum was informed he had "a lesion" in his brain about the size of a marble or small grape.
"It's in the frontal lobe of my brain. The doctor was pretty alarming where he was like, 'You've got to go get this checked within the next week or two. It's urgent,'" Joe recalled.
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Joe said the news was pretty shocking because, "for the most part," he wasn't experiencing any symptoms.
"Now I kind of feel like I might have symptoms, but some of them are self-induced. So that's a difficult territory," Joe admitted.
He elaborated, "The symptoms I'm having now are more like lightheadedness, and I think a lot of it now is more anxiety, I believe. But who knows? What I would be experiencing more of [based on] where it is in my brain would be lack of motor skills, personality changes, and memory loss."
Joe acknowledged at the time that a craniotomy is "very dangerous" and "scary," and Serena added how titanium screws were going to be used to close up Joe's skull.
"Even though it's slow-growing, the likelihood of it growing into something aggressive or problematic is very high," Serena noted. "They are amazed we caught it so early... so that's good news."
Joe found fame when he competed on Season 14 of The Bachelorette starring Becca Kufrin in 2018.
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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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
