Short answer: Hailey Merkt was a Canadian photographer, marketing and communications professional, and reality-TV contestant from Vancouver. She appeared on Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor in 2017. After an acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis in August 2023, she underwent extensive treatment and died on July 26, 2024, at age 31.
| Key fact | Detail |
| Known for | Contestant on Season 21 of The Bachelor |
| Canadian connection | From Ontario and closely associated with Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Reality-TV role | Introduced as a photographer; left during the second week |
| Career beyond television | Worked in branding, marketing, communications, and online media |
| Cancer diagnosis | Acute myeloid leukemia, diagnosed in August 2023 |
| Date of death | July 26, 2024, at age 31 |
Key takeaways
- Her public life involved much more than a brief reality-TV appearance, including photography, branding and communications work in Vancouver.
- Her treatment journey included chemotherapy, an experimental therapy and a stem-cell transplant before the leukemia returned.
- Friends, relatives and former Bachelor cast members remembered her for her humour, warmth and commitment to enjoying ordinary moments.
Who Was Hailey Merkt?
For Canadian readers, her story starts well before reality television. A 2018 Daily Hive profile described her as being from Ontario while calling Vancouver home. She had also lived in Australia and had experience across communications, broadcast journalism, and print journalism. By then, she was working as Daily Hive’s Brand & PR Manager in Vancouver.
Her professional path was varied. She explained that she had worked in several marketing-related roles before taking on broader marketing responsibilities and eventually moving into brand and public relations work. That background helps put her television appearance in context. Reality TV brought public attention, but it was never the whole of her career.
That broader Canadian-career approach is also used in Lifevoria’s profile of Toronto artist and inventor Craig Small.
Her Brief but Memorable Time on The Bachelor
She joined Season 21 of ABC’s The Bachelor, which premiered in January 2017 with Nick Viall as the lead. Coverage in Contemporary Vancouver introduced her as a 23-year-old model and photographer representing Vancouver. She was one of the Canadians competing that season.
Her run was short. Viall sent her home during the second week, but he still remembered her years later. After news of her death, he described her as sweet and kind and said he vividly remembered her despite not having known her well during filming.
The show became the reason many people first recognized her name, but later coverage increasingly focused on her Canadian career, friendships and health journey rather than her short reality-TV run.
Readers interested in other Canadian entertainment careers can also explore Lifevoria’s guide to actress Celeste Desjardins and her film work. Celeste Desjardins movies and Canadian screen career
A Career Beyond Reality Television
By 2018, she had moved firmly into branding and public relations. In her Daily Hive profile, she described her role as helping create awareness and cohesion for the company while taking on projects that crossed into general marketing.
Later reporting described her as a senior marketing and communications manager who had worked with several brands, including Daily Hive. That professional record offers a fuller picture than the label “Bachelor contestant” alone.
Photography also remained part of her early public identity. When The Bachelor introduced its Season 21 cast, Vancouver reporting described her as both a model and photographer. Her career later shifted toward communications and brand work.
Hailey Merkt’s Leukemia Diagnosis and Treatment Timeline
Her health changed sharply in August 2023. Daily Hive reported that she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, after going to the hospital. She later said she remained there for six weeks and went through two chemotherapy approaches that did not work. Reporting also described a mutation associated with the difficulty of treating her cancer.
AML is a cancer involving blood-forming cells, and acute leukemia develops quickly. The Canadian Cancer Society explains that acute leukemias require prompt medical care and that chemotherapy is a major treatment option. Individual treatment depends on the exact disease and patient.
Her treatment later included an experimental medicine and a stem-cell transplant. In April 2024, she shared the hopeful news that she was leukemia-free. The remission did not last. An update from her family’s GoFundMe said leukemia cells were detected again about six weeks after the transplant had taken.
The fundraiser also said her brother Kyle provided the stem cells used in the transplant. Her mother Michele, sister Jenny, brother Kyle, friends and partner Henry were credited with supporting her through the illness.
She died on July 26, 2024. Her family announced the news several days later, saying she had spent her final period surrounded by people she loved and doing things that mattered to her.
Why Her Story Had a Strong Canadian Connection
Vancouver ran through several chapters of her adult life. She represented the city on American reality television, built a marketing and communications career there, and received cancer treatment in British Columbia. Her mother travelled from Kitchener to support her after the diagnosis.
Her 2023 interview also carried a message with particular relevance in Canada. She encouraged people who could do so to donate blood and platelets and consider joining a stem-cell registry. She said donated blood products had played an important role during her own treatment.
Canadian Blood Services says stem-cell transplants can treat leukemia and many other serious diseases. Its registry seeks eligible donors aged 17 to 35, while Quebec residents use the Héma-Québec system.
Remembering a Life Beyond the Headlines
Coverage after her death repeatedly returned to her personality rather than television fame. Fellow Season 21 contestants remembered her friendship and warmth, while Viall recalled her kindness. Her family emphasized her humour, independence and ability to enjoy everyday pleasures even during serious illness.
That distinction matters. Her public biography includes The Bachelor, but also a Canadian communications career, close relationships, creativity, and an illness that brought her community together.
Lifevoria readers looking for another fact-first story about a Canadian public figure can continue with its profile of Olympic champion and broadcaster Cassie Campbell.
A Respectful Next Step
Her story is worth remembering as more than a reality-TV footnote. If the donor message she shared during treatment stays with you, review the official Canadian Blood Services eligibility information rather than relying on social-media summaries. You can also continue exploring Lifevoria’s fact-checked profiles of Canadians, careers, and culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
She was known publicly as a Canadian contestant on Season 21 of The Bachelor. Outside the program, she worked as a photographer and later built a career in branding, marketing, and communications in Vancouver.
She was 31 when she died on July 26, 2024. Multiple reports published after the family announcement confirmed both her age and the date.
She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in August 2023. Her treatment included chemotherapy, experimental medication, and a stem-cell transplant. She reached a period of remission, but the leukemia returned several weeks later.
She appeared on Season 21, starring Nick Viall, in 2017. She entered the show as a Vancouver-based photographer and was eliminated during the second week.
Canadian Blood Services provides information on blood donation and the national stem-cell registry. People who meet its eligibility rules can check whether registration is right for them. Quebec maintains its own stem-cell donor system through Héma-Québec.
