The Tragic Truth About Bill Rancic

Bill Rancic rose to fame when he won the very first season of "The Apprentice" and went on to have a successful career since. Starring in the competition show turned out to be life-changing for Rancic, as being a celebrity was what led him to meet his now-wife, Giuliana Rancic. As reported by E! News, the two met at a party, but Giuliana was with her boyfriend at the time. "He introduced me to Bill, but he goes 'I'm afraid the two of you would run off together.' Isn't that crazy? And we did ... like years later," she recalled. Unfortunately, their relationship wasn't a happily ever after, and although they're still together, the couple has faced some pretty tough times.

As a motivational speaker and author of several books, Bill looks like he has it made. However, between losing a loved one and being close to death, his life has been far from easy, proving that money and stardom don't always equate to happiness.

Bill Rancic showed no fear when he parachuted out of an airplane at the Chicago Air and Water Show in 2015, per NBC Chicago. The stunt was performed with the Army Golden Knights and Rancic made it safely to the ground where Giuliana Rancic and their son Duke were waiting. Sadly, the two following jumpers didn't fare as well and got injured when they crashed into each other in mid-air. "Thank you to the Army Golden Knights for taking me up today at the #chicagoairandwatershow. Praying for the two soldiers who jumped after me and were injured. Please pray for them and their families," Bill wrote on social media.

The day after the incident, ABC News reported that one of the injured men, Army Golden Knights member Sgt. Corey Hood, had died from the accident. "Our focus right now is on supporting Corey's family and grieving for our teammate," Lt. Col. Matthew Weinrich stated. A year later, Bill opened up to My Central Jersey about the harrowing event. "Seconds after I jumped, Corey Hood, 32, from our plane collided mid-air with a parachutist, Timothy Holland, from the Navy plane. Hood died and Holland survived," he shared. The entrepreneur added, "After surviving five tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, this was the way he died. It shakes you to the core. I was sitting with him, we jumped out 5 seconds apart. It could easily have been me. I think about him every night when I say my prayers."

Bill and Giuliana Rancic have been open about their struggles with fertility, with the "Fashion Police" alum going through three rounds of IVF before finally welcoming Duke via surrogacy in 2012. Sadly, their attempt at a second child resulted in a miscarriage. "Unfortunately our surrogate Delphine, who we love very much, had a miscarriage. It's something that we didn't see coming. We were devastated," Bill told People. He revealed that Delphine was around nine weeks along when they experienced the devastating loss. Bill added, "We experienced a miscarriage years ago when we were trying with Giuliana, so we had been keeping the pregnancy news tight to the vest."

After the miscarriage, Bill remained positive and shared with E! News that he's still hoping for another baby in the future. He also managed to find the silver lining in his grief, which was that his bond with Giuliana was stronger than ever. "Challenging times will bring you closer together in a marriage," the "First Light" author stated.

In 2011, Giuliana Rancic revealed on the "Today" show that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer (via The Hollywood Reporter). The tumor was found during a mammogram exam, which was performed prior to her third round of IVF. Giuliana shared that she would have surgery and then start radiation, but had a positive outlook on the outcome. During the interview, she praised Bill Rancic for being her rock. "The best thing about Bill is, he lets me cry when I want to cry," she stated.

While Bill was a strong support system for Giuliana, the cancer diagnosis wasn't easy on him by any means. "As a husband and as a man, you wish you could trade places with your wife, but you can't, and it sucks. I of course had my moments. But you know, you've got to be strong; I would never break down in front of her," he told Glamour. Bill went on to state, "I wasn't curled up in a fetal position in the shower, but there were moments when it was like, 'It's not fair. Why does she have to go through this?' There was anger."

When Giuliana Rancic was diagnosed with cancer, it was a double whammy for Bill Rancic, as he had lost his father to the disease as well. "I lost my dad to kidney cancer, so I'd been through this. Initially, I was like, 'Oh, God, is this a joke?' But I knew we had to just take control," he revealed to Glamour. It's been years but Bill naturally misses his father every day. When asked by City Lifestyle who the one person he wanted to have a meal with was, he answered, "My dad, I miss him every day. He died in 1999, so he never got to see the height of my success, so I'd love to have a meal with him."

In 2020, Bill shared a throwback photo of his mom and dad on their wedding day and wrote, "Not a day goes by that I don't miss you. Thanks for teaching me how to be a dad. Happy Father's Day in heaven, dad." Many noted the remarkable resemblance between Bill and his father. "You [look] exactly like your dad ...copy and paste," a fan replied.

The early 2000s were full of reality shows and Giuliana Rancic decided to hop on the train in 2009. Bill Rancic, however, was less than thrilled to have their lives taped for all to see. While the cameras didn't show all their bickering, Giuliana revealed in her memoir "Going Off Script" that the show caused major issues in their marriage. The former "E! News" host had to convince her husband to star in the show with her and when he finally did, he was unprepared for the crew disrupting their small apartment. "From the get-go, 'Giuliana and Bill' was a major bone of contention between us, and we argued about it constantly. But you can't break that invisible 'fourth wall' on TV and talk about being on TV while you're on it," Giuliana wrote. At one point, Bill got so upset that he asked her, "Why do you want to do this so bad?"

Despite Bill's reluctance, the reality show lasted for seven seasons before he and Giuliana quit. In an interview with HuffPost, Giuliana cited their son Duke as the reason for wanting to go off-air. "Some things have to be private. And Bill and I are very open. We share a lot, but it's our son. And so, until he has a say, we want to just protect him," she stated. Thankfully, she and Bill survived the reality television curse and are still happily married.