Josh Seiter, a 2015 contestant on “The Bachelorette,” confirmed he was alive in an Instagram video on Tuesday, only a day after reviews he had died on the age of 36.
Seiter posted a brief video saying his account had been hacked and apologizing for any ache attributable to the fabricated demise announcement.
“As you can see, I am alive and well,” he mentioned in a video posted Tuesday afternoon, after a number of retailers, together with HuffPost, reported on his demise. “My account was hacked. … 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.”
Seiter mentioned he was locked out of his account for twenty-four hours however lastly capable of get again in on Tuesday. He promised to supply additional updates on the matter.
HuffPost has reached out to Seiter for additional affirmation. He didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The unique put up, which has since been deleted, learn like a touching tribute to the social media persona. It presupposed to be from Seiter’s household.
“It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share the tragic news of Joshua’s unexpected passing,” the deleted assertion attributed to his household mentioned. “As all who knew him can attest, Joshua was an incredibly bright light in an increasingly dim world. His fearless voice and indomitable spirit helped thousands of people in their darkest moments feel just a little less alone.”
“Although our heartache at Joshua’s passing pains up beyond measure, we find comfort in knowing that he is finally at peace,” the assertion continued. “We hope and pray that his spirit can continue to live on in the pictures and words on this page, which we will leave up for the time being. While we do that, we would kindly ask for privacy as we grieve.”
Whereas Seiter was despatched residence throughout Week 1 of “Bachelorette” Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season, he was capable of channel the fact TV consideration into a sturdy social media following and modeling profession.
Seiter has been public about his psychological well being struggles, overtly sharing his expertise with despair and anxiousness on-line.
In a 2021 Instagram put up, he recognized himself as a “suicide attempt survivor” however informed followers, “I refuse to give up.” Within the caption, Seiter additionally disclosed that he had been recognized with bipolar dysfunction, generalized anxiousness dysfunction and obsessive-compulsive dysfunction.
Seiter posted a selfie to Instagram final week with the caption, “Surviving depression and anxiety one day at a time with a smile.”
In case you or somebody you recognize wants assist, name or textual content 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for psychological well being help. Moreover, yow will discover native psychological well being and disaster sources at dontcallthepolice.com. Exterior of the U.S., please go to the Worldwide Affiliation for Suicide Prevention.
