Love Is Blind reality TV star Shaina Hurley speaks about cancer diagnosis while she was three months pregnant

Love Is Blind star Shaina Hurley has opened up about receiving the heartbreaking news when she was three months pregnant.

The 34-year-old TV personality, who now has a seven-month-old son named Yiorgos, was diagnosed with stage two cervical cancer after an abnormal pap smear around a year ago.

She told how doctors recommend a procedure to remove tissue from her cervix, but that she turned it down because it could have caused a miscarriage. She also said no to laparoscopic surgery, chemotherapy and the option to have an early delivery at 32 weeks. Instead, she chose to carry her son, who she shares with husband Christos Lardakis, until full term. Little Yiorgos was born healthy via C-section. 

Speaking to People, Hurley said: "I had no symptoms. But later, the doctor called me and said the pap smear results had come back as abnormal and they needed to get me in for a colposcopy. The problem is, I was pregnant. [The] cervix is what holds pregnancy. I was at just around three months and so I would most likely lose the baby. At that point, I just couldn't risk it."

She admitted that her decision caused some strain with her husband, who was worried about losing her but still supported her choice. She went on: "He wanted the baby but he would also say, 'Shaina, I don't want to lose my wife. I want you to be here to raise the baby’."

She said her "faith and strong will" helped her through the situation. Having previously experienced a miscarriage, she was determined that "nothing was going to stop" her from having a healthy pregnancy.

Just two weeks after giving birth in February, however, Hurley had a second major medical issue when she suffered a mini-stroke that left her with facial drooping and numbness in her hands. She recovered with no lasting impact on her health.

Several weeks after giving birth, the mum-of-one underwent two rounds of the surgical procedure to remove the tissue from her cervix. She was then given the all-clear and told she was cancer-free.

Hurley appeared on season 2 of Love Is Blind, which sees couples date sight unseen and then, after meeting in real life and dating for a few weeks, decide if they are going to get married.

She got engaged to Kyle Abrams on the hugely popular Netflix dating show. Hurley was conflicted over her feelings for fellow star Shayne Jansen, and also had concerns about her religious differences from Abrams. The pair called off their engagement before they got to the altar.

She had met her now-husband Lardakis in 2021, before appearing on Love Is Blind, but he wasn’t ready for a serious relationship so she went ahead with taking part in the show. They reunited, however, after her time on the show and they married in July 2022 before welcoming their son earlier this year.