AFL star Jeremy Finlayson and his terminally ill wife Kellie celebrated the sale of their Adelaide home for a price far beyond their expectations, after Kellie revealed a shock setback in her battle with terminal cancer.
The Port Adelaide star and his influential wife, both 28, announced in August that they were selling their home so they could find a place to care for Kellie at home.
The social media influencer is battling colon and lung cancer after being diagnosed in November 2021 following the birth of their daughter Sophia.
She underwent multiple surgeries and chemotherapy after her original diagnosis at stage 3 worsened to stage 4.
In In July, she confirmed the sad news that she had to resume chemotherapy to get the cancer under control as soon as possible, as it had started growing again after she stopped chemotherapy and radiation in favor of natural and alternative treatments.
On Tuesday, the couple sold their home at auction for $915,000, with the bidding price starting at $700,000 but quickly rising from there.
There was a lot of interest in the house and it was eventually sold to a local buyer.
“The sale price exceeded Kellie, Jeremy and I’s expectations,” said selling agent Rachel Lawrie of Ray White North Adelaide.
Jeremy Finlayson and his terminally ill wife Kellie (pictured with their daughter Sophia) have sold their Adelaide home for a price that far exceeded their expectations
Kellie (pictured) has been battling colon and lung cancer for over two years and recently announced the sad news that she will have to resume chemotherapy.
The couple bought the house in May 2022 and hoped to live there for many years to come.
“I really wanted a period house, a villa with hardwood floors, and this house was in really good condition,” Kellie told Adelaide Now.
“It has the largest backyard in the world and we wanted to expand, but because of my health that didn’t work out.”
Unfortunately, Kellie’s ongoing illness has meant that the couple need more space to care for her, so they have decided to look for a rental property.
“This was supposed to be our permanent home, but I guess life had other plans,” Kellie said.
In January of this year, Kellie stopped her chemotherapy and radiation treatments to focus on natural therapies and alternative medicine.
The Finlaysons’ Adelaide home sold at auction on Tuesday for $915,000
The couple had hoped that the house would be their home for many years to come
Unfortunately, due to the severity of her battle with cancer, this was impossible.
“Cancer, especially recurrent cancer, unfortunately grows very quickly. If we see a millimeter of growth on a scan after a few months, we know it’s growing and we need to take action,” Kellie said in a video she posted to TikTok.
“Normally I walk out of a meeting with my oncologist and he tells me we’d like to watch and wait. That’s not the case today.
‘Next week I will be seeing a surgeon and a radiation therapist to discuss all options before I possibly start chemotherapy again.
“I think I’m one of the lucky ones because we know chemotherapy works really well for me, but chemotherapy is f*cking bad anyway and not what I want to do.”
Port Adelaide star Jeremy said the unrest of recent years has taken its toll and impacted his football career.
“I tried to keep a brave face despite everything,” he said.
“When I see how strong Kellie is, and how she tries to be her rock and how she manages to put a smile on her face on the football field for her and Soph.”
Kellie recently started a new round of chemotherapy for cancer that has spread to her lungs
Kellie hopes she can keep the disease under control with treatments that will allow her to survive for many more years.
‘As long as [the cancer] is maintained, I feel like I have the potential to live a very long life. I could see Sophia’s 21st birthday already!’ she said.
“I hope to see her first day of school. That’s years away, but it’s taking longer than I expected when I first heard the diagnosis.”