Fans of the reality TV franchise 90 Day Fiancé were alarmed last weekend, when 90 Day: The Other Way alums Mary and Brandan Denucciõ shared a fundraising page for Mary, where the reality star was stated to have been diagnosed with colon cancer. The page was shared on the stars’ social media channels, asking followers to donate to help pay for Mary’s life-saving surgery.
On the since-deleted webpage (archived here by the Wayback Machine), Mary Denucciõ wrote in a message to fans “I’ve been diagnosed with colon cancer yesterday (Feb. 17 2024),” adding that she was informed by a doctor that she needs surgery to remove the cancerous growth. The fundraising page for the surgery was only up for a few days before it was taken down, raising $1,322 from well-wishers before its mysterious disappearance.
Mary, who is said to be 23 years old, stated that she had been suffering from the condition which caused her to defecate blood since high school before her diagnosis, which caused many fans to call into question the validity of Mary’s claims regarding her health. In the fundraiser description, Mary also stated that she doesn’t have “financial support”, and that she was the “only one working in the family”. Her husband Brandan, who she shares a daughter with, seemingly confirmed this when he posted the page to his own Instagram story, with the song “Keep Going” by Common Heights attached.
The promotion of Mary and Brandan’s fundraiser – and its swift withdrawal – in the wake of what would typically be a huge life update for the young couple has left many supporters and fans confused about Mary’s health, as well as the overall truth of these claims.
So, does Mary Denucciõ actually have colon cancer?
On Tuesday, Mary shared an update on a now-disappeared Instagram story, where she clarified her health status. “I just wanted to say sorry for everyone [sic], I posted saying I have colon cancer,” the post began. “Because when the doctor told me I have colon issue [sic] I thought that means [sic] I have colon cancer,” Mary explained, confirming she does not, in fact, have a colon cancer diagnosis.
She then explained why she posted that she had the condition on social media. “I got anxiety attack [sic] and I thought I have colon cancer [sic] and posted without thinking,” she wrote. “It’s my fault and I’m very sorry about it.”
This sudden U-turn quickly made waves on social media, with fans viewing Mary’s false announcement as pretty tasteless, as well as accusing the couple of scamming 90 Day Fiancé viewers. Speaking to TMZ, Mary stated that “I know I announced I have colon cancer. It’s just I’m so scared that time because I was in pain and I got all the symptoms,” adding that “we are still going back and forth to the hospital and have do all the laboratory requested by the doctors.”
While Mary and Brandan maintained that their GoGetFunding page was reported and taken down due to the backlash, a rep for the fundraising website told TMZ that Mary and Brendan took down their page. So far, Mary and Brandan have not updated their followers about Mary’s health status, but it is safe to say they certainly jumped the gun by announcing the worst-case scenario.
