Hailey Merkt appeared on season 21 of The Bachelor as a contestant, which aired in 2017, where she competed for the affection of Nick Viall. Merkt, who was around 24 years old at the time of her appearance on the franchise, was eliminated in the second week of the competition.
Following her time on the series, Merkt worked as a model and photographer, specializing in home decor and fashion. In 2023, the reality star took to Instagram to blog her journey following her diagnosis of leukemia, a form of cancer of the blood cells. Hailey underwent a course of chemotherapy, with a link to her GoFundMe for treatment and support on her profile.
In April of this year, Hailey announced she was cancer-free, writing “The experimental treatment that needed to put me into remission in order to get the stem cell transplant worked! And with only a 2% chance of it working!!!!”
However, Merkt noted that she was not out of the woods health-wise yet, adding that her “immunity will be the same as a new born up till 12 months post transplant.”
In a later update following the announcement of her death, the 31-year-old’s family informed well-wishers on GoFundMe that “[Hailey] was told she had nine months to not even think about cancer, but in truth she only had 6 weeks before she got the terrible news that leukemia cells were back and moving fast.” The family also revealed that she was given stem cells by her brother Kyle, and the funds for her treatment on the site were a “lifeline” for her medical treatment.
“The efforts were not in vain, as er trial medicine which did in the end give her an extra 8 irreplaceable months,” they wrote. “It gave her the ease to feel she was still living her life in the time she had left.”
Hailey’s family announced her death on Instagram on July 30th, writing “It is with broken hearts we share that our beloved Hailey has passed away after a courageous fight for her life.”
“Her determination, courage, and will to live surpassed every timeline the doctors gave her, and she chose to spend her final moments surrounded by loved ones and doing what she cherished most with no regrets.”
As noted in the post, the GoFundMe is being kept open to help provide support and funeral expenses for Hailey’s family, raising over $100,000 so far.
Merkt’s season 21 co-stars paid tribute to her on social media. Danielle Maltby commented on the announcement of her death “I count myself so lucky to know your laugh and grateful to have met and loved the realest, warmest, most beautiful soul in the weirdest of places. Forever grateful for your friendship there and in the real world…. What a force my girl, rest easy. So much love to all your people.”
Similarly, Raven Gates responded “Oh my gosh!!! I’m so so sad to hear this. I was so hoping for her recovery. Rest easy, Hailey, you’ll never be forgotten.”
Published: Jul 31, 2024 12:44 pm