Ex-‘Bachelorette’ Contestant Josh Seiter Says Death Was a Hoax

Former Bachelorette competitor Josh Seiter confirms that he's "alive and well" less than 24 hours after a death announcement was posted to his official Instagram.

"Hey, guys. As you can see, I am alive and well. My account was hacked," he said in a video shared to the platform on Tuesday, Aug. 29. "For the last 24 hours, I've been trying desperately to get into it. Somebody was playing a cruel joke and mocking my mental illness and the struggles I've gone through with depression and suicide attempts."

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Seiter was one of Kaitlyn Bristowe’s suitors on Season 11 of The Bachelorette in 2015, but was sent home in the first week. He's frequently opened up over the years about his struggles with depression and anxiety.

In a social media post five days ago, for instance, Seiter shared a grinning selfie and wrote as a caption, “Surviving depression and anxiety one day at a time with a smile.”

Furthermore, one of his social media posts from 2021 read, "I’m Josh Seiter, and I’m a suicide attempt survivor. I battle OCD, Bipolar Depression, and GAD, but I refuse to give up. What did you survive?"

In the video posted today, Seiter apologized for any "pain" his false death announcement may have caused others.

"I'm sorry for all the pain they caused when they made that post," he said. "I just got back into my account. I am going to do all I can with my team to try to identify who was behind this but again, I apologize for the confusion. And I will update you guys as more facts come in. Thank you, guys."

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org