Joe Amabile Says He's Learned He's Resilient' After Undergoing Brain Surgery: 'I'm Proud of Myself'

Joe Amabile, a.k.a. Grocery Store Joe from Bachelor Nation, is taking it one day at a time after undergoing successful brain surgery in August to remove a low-grade cancerous brain tumor.

"I think what I've learned about myself is that I'm pretty resilient, and the diagnosis and hearing everything and finding out that I have a brain tumor was really hard. But the way my wife and I handled it, I couldn't be more proud — and truly, for the first time, I'm proud of myself, and I've learned that it's okay to be vulnerable," the reality star, 40, exclusively told OK! on Tuesday, October 20, while promoting his partnership with Northwestern Mutual in New York City.

"I'm doing good. I can't complain. It hasn't been the easiest road, and I'm still in recovery. I'm probably going to be really tired after this interview, but every day I get better and better, and I've learned to give myself grace," he continued.

Amabile wasn't "nervous" about opening up about his health struggles, especially after receiving an outpouring of support from fans and fellow celebrities. Among those who reached out was Busy Philipps, who connected with Amabile after they both discovered brain tumors through Prenuvo scans.

"I can't say enough nice things about her," he noted of the actress. "She reached out to me. She made me feel so much more comfortable. Zac Clark, who's a friend of mine, who also had brain surgery, I think, whatever it was, 10 years ago. Once I put it out there on social, the results were better than I expected."

Now, Amabile, who is married to Serena Pitt, is trying to get back in the swing of things, which includes running the New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1.

"I do think I'm going to finish, and when I did find out I was having brain surgery, it was important to give myself a goal that was separate from that — and it kept my mindset positive. I just hope I finish, but it's okay if I don't," he shared. "But what I don't want to do is push myself to an extreme because I can't risk that."

Amabile is "training," but it looks different than prior years.

"I'm curious to see if it's easier because I think I trained so much last year that my legs were actually tired before the race, whereas now I feel like I'm pretty well-rested," he said. "What's difficult is I feel 100 percent at times, and I have to remind myself that I'm not 100 percent, and that can get confusing and exhausting and aggravating."

Amabile is hopeful that the rest of the year is filled with joyous moments.

"My first MRI back is at the end of November, and hopefully, knock on wood, that is clear, and there's no sign of disease," he said of the holiday season. "I think just being with people that I love, and family and my wife, and just honestly really taking it easy and just enjoying the moment."

In the meantime, the Bachelor in Paradise alum is also focused on his partnership with Northwestern Mutual for their “With You at Every Financial Goal” event.

"It's a great partnership. Obviously, I went through some big things this year, and some unexpected challenges, and one thing that was so important was to have my finances in order because it just takes one extra thing off your plate that could be very stressful," he noted. "If you don't know what you're doing, and most people don't know what they're doing, I suggest that you put people in your corner that do. I think it's really important to have experts and to set a goal because it just makes things easier when you can set a goal and then put a plan into action. And don't be worried if there are bumps along the road or if you need to change your plan. You can always keep the same goal."

"This partnership with Northwestern Mutual just makes the most sense. It aligns so much with my story, and again, I think it's just setting a goal. Unexpected things happen in life, but that doesn't mean you can't complete your goal. It's just a different path toward it," he concludes.