“They gave me 12 months to live.”
First Dates viewers have praised a contestant for discussing his terminal cancer diagnosis.
Julian appeared on the UK version of the show last night and went on a date with Becca. He told the property consultant that he used to be a football coach but that he hadn’t worked in a year because of his brain tumour diagnosis.
“I love doing it, it’s a good job teaching kids,” he said.
“I became ill last year, I got diagnosed with cancer. I’ll be honest with you, they gave me twelve months to live.
“This was last year. Even though certain things happen there’s no point giving up. Just because they said it’s terminal doesn’t mean… you know, you go on.”
Julian went on to say that he doesn’t hide his diagnosis from any women.
He added that he’s not “looking for a wife” or trying to force anything. He just wants to have fun.
“I’m still going strong you know what I mean, so with the illness it kind of changes everything,” he said.
“To me, I want to enjoy life now. I don’t want to waste time worrying about where I’m going in the future because my future is different, my future is not guaranteed.”
Although Becca opted not to go on a second date with Julian, the pair did organise a skydiving fundraiser after their dinner.
Viewers were, understandably, in bits, calling the 29-year-old an inspiration and applauding his decision not to give up.
https://twitter.com/Ghost3d12Ammee/status/1069727058488684545
https://twitter.com/MelanieRJay/status/1069728148152041474
Julian what an inspiration ❤️❤️ #FirstDates
— LadyDady (@TrickiG) December 3, 2018
Cancer is a c**** #FirstDates
— Jaqs (@Jaqs1111) December 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/mariemurphy74Mi/status/1069743606171426816
Julian also took to Twitter to share a message of his own following the show.
He said:
Also just to clarify my appearance on #FirstDates isn’t to try to make a claim to fame, Its mainly to inspire people & to show them that no matter what your going through in life, there is always a way to overcome it and also to never give up. ✌🏼& ❤️ people!!
— Julian® (@j_fiano) December 3, 2018
