Jill Martin has shared insight into what it was like battling cancer and dealing with a divorce in the same year.
The Today contributor said she was “operating with generosity and kindness and trying my best” as she grappled with two major and difficult challenges within a short period of time, speaking on the Wednesday, October 16 episode of the “Making Space with Hoda Kotb” podcast.
“People are like, ‘How are you?’ I’m like, ‘Not great. I had cancer and I got divorced in a year,’” Martin, 48, said, but added that she is “thriving under the circumstances.”
In July 2023, Martin shared on the Today show that she had been diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer and announced she would be undergoing a double mastectomy.
“I am telling this story now because I couldn’t go through months of operations, and start to recover both physically and mentally, without shouting from the rooftops telling everyone to check with their doctors to see if genetic testing is appropriate,” she wrote in an essay for Today’s website. “By the time I recover from my first surgery, I hope that many of you will know your results and can make proactive decisions with your doctors, families and loved ones.”
Martin’s treatment since diagnosis also included chemotherapy and radiation, reconstructive surgery and preventative surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes.
Four months later after announcing her diagnosis, she revealed that she had completed chemotherapy by sharing an Instagram video of herself ringing a bell in the hospital.
While Martin may physically be in remission, she spoke candidly to Us Weekly on October 1 about the lingering emotional effects of her cancer battle.
“I’ve spent the last year just trying to save my life,” Martin told Us. “And now, I’m dealing with the mental trauma of it all. And I think a lot of survivors will tell you, it’s never over. It’s not like, ‘When are you done?’ or ‘Is it over?’ It’s never over. This is a fight I will fight my entire life. I think about chemotherapy every single day.”
In the midst of her cancer battle, Martin’s marriage to Erik Brooks also collapsed, with the news of their divorce announced in September.
Brooks filed divorce papers in Massachusetts on July 30, according to court documents obtained by Us on September 5. He cited their date of separation as one day earlier.
Martin touched on the split during her podcast interview with Kotb, sharing there were problems in the marriage before it ended.
“I had a beautiful love affair, but like some stories, unfortunately, have beginning, middle, and end,” she said. “And we both put the period on it this time. So, if everything were great, we would be married. So obviously there were issues.”
Martin said that she and her ex-husband “are holding different things that are important to each of us, and they’re not right or wrong.”
The former couple met on a dating app and announced their engagement in 2019. They split shortly thereafter but eventually reconciled. By November 2021, Martin and Brooks were engaged once again. They got married in September 2022.