Why Chicago Med Fans Convinced Nick Gehlfuss' Wife Has Cancer?

Summary

• Ever since Nick Gehlfuss left Chicago Med in May and up until now, fans have been discussing why the beloved actor is no longer on the show.
• One suggestion was that the actor left to support his wife in her rumored battle with cancer.
• But most likely, such speculation is the result of the Mandela effect and misinformation related to the flaws in Google's algorithms.

We live in a world of simulacra, folks. In the age of information technology, the validity of certain data is increasingly difficult to verify, as yellow press, rumor, and speculation alienate the audience from the truth, which is incredibly difficult to achieve.

This often extends to the entertainment industry as well. We can observe thousands of flashy news headlines and no less flashy insider reports that are not always accurate. Search engines, whose algorithms are based on queries rather than facts, also influence the situation. This happened in the case of very inappropriate rumors about the departure of Chicago Med's main star, Nick Gehlfuss - many believed that the reason was his wife's supposedly diagnosed cancer, but the validity of this information is rather doubtful.

News of Gehlfuss' Departure From Chicago Med

In May of this year, it was announced that Nick Gehlfuss had left Chicago Med. His character, Dr. Will Halstead, left Gaffney in the Season 8 finale due to the conflict surrounding OR 2.0, as the attending physician with a strong sense of justice realized that it was just a business venture for profit that threatened the lives of his patients. As a result, he moved to Seattle, where he reunited with his sweetheart, Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto).

Fans Believed It Was Because of His Wife's Supposed Illness

Some One Chicago fans were convinced that Gehlfuss left the show ostensibly to support his wife, hotel marketer Lilian Matsuda, in her battle with cancer. In doing so, fans said, he was willing to give up his career to spend more time with his loved one. That's incredibly commendable! Except that it may turn out to be gross misinformation and the result of the Mandela effect.

The first premise for the speculation was a post by Matsuda herself on her personal Instagram account, in which she shaved her head.

But what many didn't consider was that the post was made in 2020, three years before the actor left the series and at the height of the COVID pandemic. The reasons could be endless, including wanting to look new, trying to entertain herself during a time of prolonged isolation, or supporting others going through chemotherapy. There is nothing to suggest that Matsuda herself had cancer at the time.

The second premise was the argument of some fans that if you start typing 'Nick Gehlfuss wife' into the Google search box, the search engine will offer to complete the phrase with the word 'cancer'. However, if you go through this query, there will be no information. There will only be news about the confirmed cancer of another Chicago Med star, Marlyne Barrett. It's probably this kind of fan speculation that prompted Google to suggest such a query.

Of course, we should not exclude the possibility that the couple simply tried to remove all news about it, as well as clean up posts on social networks, in order to remain private. If this is the case, we wish Lilian strength, and we will not speculate further. However, information should always be double-checked, folks!

Actual Reason for Actor's Departure

But while we can't confidently say that assumptions are invalid, Gehlfuss himself told People the day before the final episode aired that 'You want to continue building your career, and an actor is definitely attracted by the variety and the versatility of the profession.' In other words, new career opportunities await him. However, he noted that it is still possible for Will to return to the show.

Chicago Med Season 9 will premiere on January 17th on NBC.

Source: People.