Former Bachelorette contestant Josh Seiter is very much alive, and he says his Instagram account was hacked, resulting in the report of his death that was posted Monday.
Seiter, who came out as bisexual in June and has often talked about his mental health issues, discussed the situation Tuesday in an Instagram video.
“As you can see, I am alive and well,” he said in the video. “My account was hacked. For the last 24 hours, I have 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, and I’m sorry for all the pain they caused when they made that post.”
He said he and his team are investigating the situation and will post any further information they uncover.
The Monday post began, “It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share the tragic news of Joshua’s unexpected passing.” It went on to call Seiter “an incredibly bright light in an increasingly dim world” and asked for privacy for his loved ones. It did not state a cause of death but included a number for a crisis hotline.
Seiter competed on season 11 of The Bachelorette in 2015. He was eliminated the first week. He has also worked as an exotic dancer and an escort, and he announced this summer that he was beginning production of a series of adult films. He is popular on OnlyFans.
He came out as bi in a June interview with Instinct Magazine. He said his upbringing as a homeschooled member of a “Christian cult” kept him from acknowledging his bisexuality earlier in his life; he’s now 36. He has been linked romantically with several women and was engaged briefly to another male dancer, David, with whom he performed in the America’s Loverboys troupe.
He has often posted about his mental health struggles, saying he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder and that he attempted suicide at age 22. Last Thursday he posted, “Surviving depression and anxiety one day at a time with a smile.”
