Former Bachelorette Winner Opens Up About Battle With Mystery Illness

Ryan and Trista Sutter recently celebrated 17 years of marriage, but the couple from season one of The Bachelorette also opened up about Ryan’s recent health struggles. On December 1, Ryan posted on Instagram about his lengthy battle with a mystery illness that he has been frustratingly unable to get diagnosed.

“In February I started my fire career over and began an 18 week fire academy,” Ryan wrote in the post. “Towards the end of that process I felt more and more worn out and began feeling occasional ‘flu like’ symptoms. I was tested for COVID multiple times but never tested positive. I completed the academy and believed/hoped I would begin to recover and feel better. It’s been five months now and, if anything, I feel worse.  

“Though I am functional and continue to work my regular fire schedule, I am experiencing a battery of symptoms which include: fatigue – sometimes almost paralyzing, deep body and muscle aches, fevers, night sweats, full body itching with no rash, headaches, neck and throat swelling, congestion, light headedness, nausea, and just general all around not feeling good. I have had several blood tests and a CT scan. I have a high ANA Titer and low WBC but nothing else has proven anything conclusive.

“I am not taking any medications, maintain a healthy diet and am doing my best to get rest.  Most days I feel about 70%. Somedays I feel a bit better and somedays I can barely get out of bed. I don’t believe I have anything contagious as no one else in my family has been sick nor has anyone I have worked with or associated with been sick.”

Those details came just days after Trista posted that the couple was relieved to learn “Ryan doesn’t have cancer.” On an Instagram story, Ryan said doctors have looked at “Everything from Lyme Disease to immune disorder, autoimmune disorders, viruses, bacterias, and cancers and all sorts of stuff.”

Trista & Ryan Are Bachelor Nation’s Longest Lasting Couple

The Bachelor franchise has a poor track record when it comes to successful marriages. None of the first 16 men to be the lead of The Bachelor are still with the woman they awarded the final rose, although Jason Mesnick is still married to his runner-up, Molly.

None of the seven women who led The Bachelorette after Trista are with their final rose recipient either.

That makes Trista and Ryan, who married in December 2003, easily the longest-lasting relationship in the franchise’s history. They have two children, Max and Blakesley, who were born in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

Trista Finds the Evolved Version of The Bachelor/Bachelorette ‘Frustrating’

A lot has changed since Trista picked Ryan from a group of 25 men on The Bachelorette. The show has leaned into drama between contestants, unexpected twists, and risqué group dates.

During an appearance on Bachelor Happy Hour, Trista said that the current style of the show makes her nostalgic for how things were during her time on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

“It is frustrating to me,” Trista said. “It was very innocent back in the day and there was no drama with the guys. They had so much fun on my show, and even on the first Bachelor, it was not catty at all. Like we all truly got along.

“I think through casting they realized that maybe ‘we need a villain, so who’s going to be the villain?’ And then they go on to encourage a little more drama by the questions that they ask you and kind of leading you down a certain path. It’s unfortunate, but as a viewer and someone who lives in the real world and is realistic about this stuff, I think they need that drama in order to hold our attention as viewers. But it’s frustrating knowing that Ryan and I have the successful story that we do and knowing that we were just there to find love.”

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