‘The Bachelor’ Alums Trista and Ryan Sutter Celebrate 17th Anniversary Amid ‘Mysterious Illness’ Battle

Trista Sutter and husband Ryan Sutter, who married after starring on the first season of The Bachelorette, celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary as a couple on Sunday. Ryan, 46, is battling an unknown ailment, and Sutter, 48, praised him for his “bravery and resilience.” Sutter, who also appeared on the first season of The Bachelor, told fans about Ryan’s unknown ailment in a post after Thanksgiving. At the time, Sutter said the couple was “struggling for months” to find answers.

On Sunday, Sutter posted a black and white photo from their 2003 wedding, which was featured in a Bachelorette TV special. “More handsome today than he was on this day 17 years ago, but not only because I see him through the eyes of the mother of his children,” Sutter wrote. “Because he continually works to better himself…and us. Because he is the most humble, hard-working, generous, sincere, kind-hearted human with the biggest heart and even bigger muscles.”

She went on to note that his “bravery and resilience” are something she “personally” strives for. As for his smile and eyes, “they pretty much slay me,” she wrote. “Happy anniversary, Mr. Sutter and thank you for giving me the best years of my life,” she added. In the end, Sutter shared the hashtags, “my love,” “my best friend” and “my hero.”

Ryan shared a more recent black and white photo of Sutter, taken in Avon, Colorado. He thanked her for the 17 years they have been together and noted how she “stood by me through change and sympathized with me through struggle.” Sutter has also “shown me grace and taught me gratitude,” he wrote. “You challenge me and inspire me. You exemplify love and are a wonderful mother. You are my light, my reason, and my hero. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me and the love of my life.”

The Sutters are parents to two children, Maxwell Alson, 13, and Blakesley Grace, 11. After Thanksgiving, Sutter revealed Ryan was struggling with an unknown illness, reports E! News. They spent “months” searching for answers but did thankfully learn Ryan does not have cancer. Ryan also published a statement on the situation, noting that he has also never tested positive for the coronavirus. “Most days, I feel about 70%,” Ryan wrote on Dec. 1. “Somedays I feel a bit better, and somedays I can barely get out of bed. I don’t believe I have anything contagious as no one else in my family has been sick, nor has anyone I have worked with or associated with [being] sick.”

In another post on Dec. 1, Ryan told fans not to worry about him because he has his own support system, including “the best wife in the world.” He went on to tell fans to continue supporting each other and be [there] for one another. The former ABC star also thanked fans for the outpouring of support. “I can not imagine the healing power that amount of love and caring would have on the world should we all choose to apply it?” he wrote. “Maybe let’s find out.”