Bachelor in Paradise’s Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt on His Brain Tumor Diagnosis and Marathon Comeback

October 27, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

When a Routine Scan Changes Everything

Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt, known to Bachelor Nation from Bachelor in Paradise, sat down with Carl Radke on More Life just weeks after a life-altering discovery. What began as a casual health screening—Joe had just turned 40 and figured he might learn he had an enlarged prostate—ended with a brain tumor diagnosis, surgery, and a radically different perspective on what matters. The conversation, recorded ahead of New York City Marathon week, covers the diagnosis, the decision to operate, the recovery, and what it means to run 26.2 miles nine weeks after brain surgery.

The Call That Changed the Year

Joe and Serena had been living their normal lives. The morning after a friend's birthday party—where Joe had been drinking cheap tequila—he got a phone call from the preventive health company Prenuvo. They had seen something on his full-body scan. "It's crazy how fast life happens," Joe says. "We were living our regular lives, and then that phone call changed the rest of this year."

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Show Intro & Guest Introduction** - Carl Radke introduces guests Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt, mentioning Joe's brain surgery and upcoming NYC Marathon.
2 (04:18) **Courthouse Wedding & Anniversary** - The couple discusses their secret courthouse wedding and how it was discovered by the press.
3 (08:41) **The Brain Tumor Diagnosis** - Joe and Serena recount the moment they discovered the tumor via a full-body scan.
4 (11:11) **The Phone Call & Research Spiral** - Details of the initial diagnosis and the couple's reaction to the news.
5 (16:17) **Surgery Decision & Second Opinions** - The couple discusses the decision to have brain surgery and the process of getting second opinions.
6 (25:32) **Finding Support & Sharing the Story** - Joe talks about connecting with Busy Phillips, who had a similar tumor, and the decision to go public.
7 (27:33) **Lessons Learned & Partnership** - The couple reflects on what they learned about themselves and their relationship during the crisis.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Bachelor in Paradise’s Joe Amabile had no symptoms, no warning, and no reason to think anything was wrong. Then a scan found a brain tumor, and everything else they’d been worried about didn't matter anymore.

Joe and his wife, Serena Pitt, met on Bachelor in Paradise and now host the podcast Not Married to This. On this episode of More Life , they sit down with Carl, a good friend who ran last year’s New York City Marathon alongside Joe, to talk about the phone call that changed their year. They get into the decision to have surgery, the recovery that followed, and what it was like for Serena to become Joe’s caretaker. Joe also shares why he’s still planning to run this year’s NYC Marathon, where he and Carl will start the race side by side.

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