TikToker Devlynn Cyr — who woke up after colon surgery in September 2023 to find out she had stage 3 colon cancer and doctors had to remove her uterus — shared that she and her husband Greg are separating.
After her social media followers noticed she wasn’t wearing her ring, Devlynn and Greg posted a joint video announcing their split.
“We made a decision together to part ways. Now before anyone gets goosebumps, Greg isn’t leaving me, I’m not leaving him,” Devlynn said, as Greg stood behind her. “We just need to take a few steps back before we can take three steps forward.”
The Alberta, Canada resident, who started cancer chemotherapy, said the treatment for her disease took a toll on their relationship.
“Cancer was not easy. I lost myself and who I am, and my ability to do things. “Unfortunately, I’m not like most people where I’m like, ‘I have to live my best life now in case something happens,'” Devlynn, 39, shared.
“I’m a person who shuts down, I don’t want to get sick and I don’t want to do anything that could make me go away for a long time. I’ve lost the ability to smile or do the things I love and just have fun, because it’s all about cancer.”
She said they decided to separate and take space to “find each other again. And that’s something we have to do ourselves.”
Greg added that it’s “less of a physical separation” and “more of a simple mental separation to just reset,” saying he still plans to accompany Devlynn to therapy and appointments.
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Devlynn went on to say, “We weren’t exactly the most intimate couple because it was really hard, especially with this diagnosis. Given my condition and how I’ve dealt with things between fear and closure and distancing, because that’s what I do.”
“Space is what we need. We hope to become friends again,” she said.
She said that they had hoped that the divorce would “take the pressure off”. And as she told PEOPLE exclusively, “I’d like to add that I have a great support system in the little group of ladies that I’ve created from TikTok.”
A study published in the National Library of Medicine shared that colorectal cancer survivors have higher rates of intimacy problems, and more than half “experience changes in body image.”
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Devlynn Cyr.
Courtesy of Devlynn Cyr
Devlynn also acknowledged the pressure on Greg. “With this diagnosis, ‘What am I going to have to do next for her?’ And that’s the right thing,” she said. “I understand Greg feels like a gopher sometimes,” she said. “But on the other hand, I try my best to try to do what I can, and then you kind of hit a wall.”
The couple tied the knot last March after four months of dating, during which Devlynn told PEOPLE they were “inseparable.”
Devlynn’s colon cancer surgery came just 8 months after their wedding – a deadline they both said took a toll on their marriage.
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“We literally walked away from this whirlwind romance and everything is great and fine with a few hospital trips,” said Devlynn, “From that point on it’s been nothing but hospital visits and pain… where do you have time to be married or newlyweds? We didn’t even do the first dance because I was in so much pain.”
“We’re taking a step back to find each other, and then honestly, I’d like to date my wife again,” Greg said.
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Devlynn and Greg Cyr.
Courtesy of Devlynn Cyr
“The goal of this is to start over and be friends and then hopefully date and then build on that, and start having the experiences that we should have had before this cancer diagnosis.”
Devlynn was quick to defend Greg when a commenter asked him, “Did you seriously abandon this woman while she is battling cancer. Passionately…”
“They won’t leave me while I’m going through chemotherapy,” she said. “He will continue to stay and help. Given the separation, the fact that someone is still willing to stay and help when it must be difficult is quite commendable.”
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They posted another TikTok update after her chemotherapy, with Devlynn saying the negative comments “confound me,” because “we don’t want a divorce. We’re trying to work things out, but we’re trying to do it the best we can.”
As Greg added, “I’m still here. She’s still here. The difference isn’t that we’ve been married for ten years… we met and got engaged and married so quickly and it doesn’t change the perception of who we want to be with.”
“He took us to a place where we didn’t have a chance to really get to know each other… To take a step back and still be married, we’re not getting divorced,” he added. “We’re just taking a step back to get to know each other again… It’s going to build us back up from what we both hope for, stronger and better.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education