Former Bachelorette contestant Josh Seiter's Instagram account spreads death hoax
Josh Seiter/ Instagram Josh Seiter
Former Bachelorette contestant Josh Seiter is "alive and well" after a social media hoax falsely announced his death.
A day after a statement posted to his verified Instagram account said he had died, Seiter, 36, resurfaced Tuesday with a video claiming that his account had been compromised. "As you can see I am alive and well," he said. "My account was hacked. For the last 24 hours I had been trying desperately to get into it." (EW has reached out to Meta, Instagram's parent company, for comment.)
Adding that "somebody was playing a cruel joke and mocking my mental illness and the struggles I've gone through with depression and suicide attempts," Seiter apologized to his followers for the confusion.
On Monday, a statement posted to Seiter's Instagram page said he had died unexpectedly. Numerous outlets, including EW, erroneously reported Seiter's death, citing the Instagram statement.
The statement, which was unsigned and has since been deleted, alluded to Seiter's history of mental health struggles, about which he has been open.
In a 2021 Instagram post, he identified himself as a suicide attempt survivor. Last week, he posted a selfie with the caption, "Surviving depression and anxiety one day at a time with a smile."
Seiter is known for competing on Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of The Bachelorette, which aired in 2015. Described as a law student and exotic dancer from Chicago, he was eliminated in week 1 of the dating show.
Earlier this year, Seiter came out as bisexual. He had previously identified as pansexual. Prior to that his dating seemed to revolve around the reality television space, with him being linked to women from 90 Day Fiancé and Love After Lockup. After coming out as bisexual, he announced plans to star in a series of adult films in an Instagram post that has since been deleted.
Seiter has also been romantically linked to another reality contestant, RuPaul's Drag Race's Monica Beverly Hillz, the show's first queen to come out as trans during the main competition back on season 5. She recently competed on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8.
The pair previously shared social media posts together, but those have since been deleted. On Monday, Monica posted a photo of her and Seiter with the caption "RIP my honey." The post was deleted Tuesday.
[This article has been updated to reflect that Seiter is alive after being falsely reported dead.]
If you or someone you know need mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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