Alumna of Bacheler University Hailey Merkt has died at the age of 31 after a battle with leukemia.
In a post on her personal Instagram page after she died, the news of her death was confirmed.
The post with Hailey’s picture said that she had died.
“It is with broken hearts we share that our beloved Hailey has passed away after a courageous fight for her life,” said the post.
“Hailey went on this trip with unimaginable bravery, sophistication, and kindness. Her bravery, determination, and will to live went beyond every time frame the doctors gave her. She chose to spend her last moments with family and friends doing what she loved most, with no regrets.
What the post said about Hailey was that she was “never dull, always hysterically funny, and fully in the present moment.”
“Hailey embraced life with an unmatched zest; her beautiful spirit has touched countless lives,” it said.
The post went on to say, “Hailey will be deeply missed by everyone who knew her.” Her love, laughter, and lively spirit will always be remembered in our hearts. We are sad about her death, but it makes us feel better to know that her spirit will live on in everyone she touched.
“Rest in peace, Hailey.”
There is a GoFundMe page set up to help Hailey’s family deal with her death.
Over $112,208 has been raised through the page, which will stay open until August 10.
Bachelor fans first met Hailey in Season 21 of the show in 2017, when she competed for Nick Viall’s heart.
In the second week of the competition, she was kicked off.
THINKING ABOUT HAILEY
“I feel so lucky to know your laugh and thankful to have met the kindest, most beautiful person in the strangest places.” Thank you for being my friend there and in real life…. Girl, you’re a force of nature. Take it easy. In a comment on the post about her death, Danielle Maltby, who was on the same season of The Bachelor, wrote, “So much love to all your people.”
“Oh my God!” It makes me so sad to hear this. I was really hoping she would get better. Do not worry, Hailey. “I will never forget you,” Raven Gates wrote.
It made me feel lucky to have known and talked with such a beautiful and strong soul. She wrote, “Hailey, I’ll never forget you.”
Dear Love, I hope you are in a beautiful, peaceful place. “It’s hard to believe I won’t see you again, but I’ll treasure every memory,” Dominique Alexis wrote.
Battle of Hailey
Hailey told everyone online about her fight with leukemia.
She told everyone in April that she was “leukemia free,” which gave them hope.
Things went badly three months later, though.
“After the bone marrow transplant had taken, she was told she had nine months to not even think about cancer, but in truth she only had 6 weeks before she got the terrible news that leukemia cells were back and moving fast,” according to her GoFundMe update.
“Her first reaction was to say, ‘I don’t care about myself anymore, but I can’t bear being the cause of so much pain for the people I love.”
Hailey posted photos and videos of her progress and setbacks during her battle with cancer.
In October 2023, she posted a picture of herself smiling while getting treatment and said it was a “rare moment.”
Before she made that post, her feed was full of selfies, dog pictures, modeling photos, and occasional glimpses into her daily life.
