Weeks after winning Big Brother, Rick Devens and his wife, Becca Devens, revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“We just wanted to let you know some important news because it would be weird if we didn’t tell you before I have to go have surgery,” Becca said in an Instagram video posted on Sunday, October 25.
Becca explained that she learned the news about her health after Rick, 42, won the CBS reality show earlier this month. “That sucks,” she added, noting her doctors found her cancer early due to her routine mammograms.
“I am going to get my double mastectomy and that will be fun,” she continued. “Because we caught it early, that’s all we have to do, which is great.”
The couple noted that their kids, Jack and Juju, are “doing good” before urging others to send positivity their way.
“I have an MRI Tuesday and after that I will know for sure that’s where we think it is,” she concluded. “If you guys want to just send good vibes and prayers for that, that’s good.”
Rick was officially crowned the winner of Big Brother 28 on October 1. He was awarded the $750,000 prize and took home the coveted title of America’s Favorite Player, which added another $50,000 into his pocket.
“I was away from my family for so much longer for Big Brother than I ever was for Survivor,” the reality star exclusively told Us. “If I concentrated on how much that hurt, it was just going to kill me. So I’d already kind of compartmentalized that and blocked off that emotion, and then because of that, I was able to kind of block it off with the rest of the game.”
Rick gave credit to his wife, their kids and fellow Survivor alum Dee Valladares — who also appeared on Big Brother this season — for helping him stay grounded for nearly three months.
Many celebrities have spoken out about their personal battles with breast cancer over the years. Julia Louis-Dreyfus went public with her breast cancer diagnosis in September 2017 via Instagram. Nearly one year later, she had successfully beaten the illness and returned to work on Veep. “It sounds kind of corny, but there’s something about after […]
“And I think Dee was a really good bad influence because Dee is a killer and she’s able to compartmentalize in that same way,” he quipped. “So we kind of fed off each other, and she was a huge, terrific ally to have in the game.”
Rick also gushed about Becca’s support before he went into the competition.
“I’m the luckiest dude in the world. Like, those three power me through everything,” he said of his family. “I had their blessing to be on the show. Never would have happened without Becca. I was getting ready to say no, and she said, ‘What? You have to do it. This is the only chance you’re ever going to have.’”
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