John Tesh, 73, opened up about the pivotal role his wife, Connie Sellecca, played in his battle against cancer, describing her support as life-saving.
According to Fox News, while speaking with Good Morning America, Tesh reflected on the long journey since his prostate cancer diagnosis in 2015, which doctors initially said would give him just 18 months to live.
“The doctors said, ‘You should probably get your affairs in order because we can’t operate on this,’” Tesh recalled.
The “Roundball Rock” composer credits his wife’s faith and determination for helping him find the strength to keep fighting.
“I just was like, ‘OK, this is over.’ And so, there was some tears. It’s like getting a brick in the face,” he said. “And my wife, who is a faith-filled Italian girl from the Bronx, just rose up, and she [said] that ‘this is not us.’”
Tesh admitted the cancer diagnosis nearly strained their marriage, as he struggled with alcohol and fell into what he described as a “pity party.”
“It breaks couples apart, prostate cancer, and it almost did us,” Tesh said. “I was not behaving. I was drinking too much, and when you’re a terminal patient, you can get any meds you want, and so, I was – Connie calls it – I was in the middle of a pity party, and so she just said, ‘Come on, snap out of it,’ and she wasn’t having any of it.”
The singer said the fight was a shared one, adding, “The expectation that I was gonna live as long as my Aunt Omegene, which is 100 years old, it was a battle, and it was a couple’s battle, and we’ve won it.”
Tesh and Sellecca, married since 1992, share a daughter and he is also a stepfather from a previous marriage. Reflecting on his journey, Tesh said he wouldn’t be alive without her guidance.
“I’m able to look back at the things that have happened in my marriage and look at the strength that Connie imparted to me. If you unplug that piece from my journey, I’m not here,” he said.
Tesh’s story highlights not only his personal resilience but also the profound impact a supportive partner can have in facing life-threatening illness.
