Joe Amabile is not about to let brain surgery stop him from doing anything. He had a cancerous tumor removed in August. The Bachelor Nation star, 40, revealed shocking plans just a few months into recovering from the scary surgery. Keep reading for all the details.
Joe Amabile Shares Brain Surgery Update
Joe Amabile didn’t impress Becca Kufrin on The Bachelorette. He never made it past the first night. However, he impressed viewers. “Grocery Store” Joe became a fan favorite and a longtime fixture in the franchise. He finally found love with Serena Pitt on Bachelor In Paradise. They celebrated their third wedding anniversary recently.
Joe Amabile was unexpectedly diagnosed with a brain tumor earlier this year after undergoing an elective full-body MRI scan. The tumor was successfully removed in August. He shared an update on his current health situation.
“Overall, I feel good,” he told PEOPLE magazine this week. “It’s obviously been challenging and tough at times, but I’m definitely better and I’m getting better every day.” His recovery has gone well, but there are still some issues that come and go.
“My head can feel a little off and it’s just recognizing that and just not overdoing it and telling myself to stop.” Despite vowing not to overdo it, the Bachelor In Paradise alum has plans for an extremely difficult physical challenge.
Reveals Shocking Plans Amid Brain Surgery Recovery
After a difficult discussion, Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt decided to make New York City their home over her hometown of Toronto, Canada. They’ve fully embraced the New York lifestyle. As soon as he was cleared by his doctors, Joe Amabile hit the ground running, literally.
Despite having major surgery just a few months ago, Joe Amabile is competing in the 2026 New York City marathon. He’s not the only Bachelor Nation star running the marathon. Matt James is also running the popular race on November 1. Joe Amabile opened up to PEOPLE magazine about why he decided to run the marathon so soon after brain surgery.
“It felt good and reassuring just to feel like you’re back. When you go through something like brain surgery, there’s a big risk of how you could come out of it,” he explained. And where the tumor was in my brain, there was a chance that I could be paralyzed for the first two weeks. So, it was just nice to have control back and know that my body’s okay.”
His doctors cleared him for the race. However, he’s not in it to win it. “I’m gonna run slow and that’s kinda it. And then if it gets too challenging, I told myself to give myself grace and that it’s okay to stop, you know? I want to finish but I don’t have to finish it,” he said.
This isn’t Joe Amabile’s first race. He did the New York City marathon in 2023 and 2025. His times were just under four minutes in both races. The average completion time is four and a half-hours. Serena Pitt will be on hand to cheer him on.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger