Celebrity Big Brother runner up Austin Armacost has opened up for the first time about the time he feared he had contracted HIV after being ‘date raped’ by a man who’d tested positive with the virus.
Writing for gay website GuysLikeU.com he spoke about how he had been assaulted 10 years ago in Chicago, while on a night out with a man he had “considered a friend”.
The US reality star who famously became best buds with The Apprentice star James Hill in the summer 2015 series of CBB, explained that on the night out, everything went blurry and woke up in the guy’s flat TWO DAYS LATER!
Traumatised by his experience Austin went on to explain how he shut himself away in his apartment and worried about his health when it dawned on him that the guy he had been with was HIV positive.
“After a week filled with crippling anxiety, heavy drinking, and no human contact I decided I had to take myself to the clinic to see what I needed to do if unfortunately something had been transmitted,” he revealed.
When he attended the STI clinic for treatment, he was told it was too soon to be tested and was advised to return three months later as the virus can be in an “incubation” state early on – however, he never did, until many years later when he was relieved to find out he was negative.
Speaking about his experience he admits that during the nine years since the attack, he has been ‘haunted’.
“As a result of the unwanted assault, I was terrified of sex for years following that experience. It haunted me every day. It also contributed a large part to my drug and alcohol abuse in my twenties,” he bravely wrote.
“I would see this person out and my body would literally shut down. Terror, fear, anxiety, hatred were just a few of the many emotions that would flood my brain every time I saw him. I was never able to confront him because I never got closure.”
However, now he is negative and has more confidence he says that if he were to see the guy again, he is ready to confront the man.
The star went on to say that he hopes to raise awareness thanks to his account, revealing that he believes PrEP – Pre-exposure prophylaxis, a pill to prevent those at substantial risk of contracting HIV – is a blessing and will greatly benefit the gay community.
Austin, who came second to James Hill in the 2015 summer series, is rumoured to be one of the Big Brother stars set to return to the show for its allstar special in January alongside Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt.