October 7, 2016
'Finding Prince Charming' Suitor Opens Up About HIV Status
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
[Spoiler alert: This story contains spoilers about the most recent episode of "Finding Prince Charming."]
Weeks before Logo's controversial "Bachelor"-style gay dating show "Finding Prince Charming" was set to air, TMZ reported one of the suitors vying for the titular prince charming revealed he is HIV-positive.
Host Lance Bass, along with Prince Charming himself Robert Sepulveda Jr., both confirmed one of the contestants is HIV-positive.
"It's true," the former *NSYNC singer told People magazine. "This is one of the things I love about the show - it's a fun reality show, it's dramatic, but there's a lot of heart in it and amazing story lines that you're going to shed a tear over. And one of those is finding out about this guy's HIV."
On the Thursday night episode of the reality show, Eric Leonardos, a 35-year-old celebrity hairstylist in Los Angeles shared his status with a fellow suitor Justin Roisom before telling Sepulveda.
"Ten years ago I found out that I was HIV-positive," Leonardos told Roisom. "When I realized I was gay I was so ashamed, the way that I was raised, the way that I was brought up-it wasn't an option. Then when I found out I was HIV-positive, I was so ashamed."
Leonardos also opened up to People magazine in a lengthy interview, saying he was nervous about revealing his status on TV.
"I'm sharing this not only with Robert, I'm sharing it with my peers on the show, I'm essentially sharing this information with anybody who's going to watch the show," he said. He added that the experience was "very freeing" and he hopes he raises HIV awareness.
Read the full People magazine piece by clicking here. Also, watch the clip of Leonardos speaking with Rosiom below.
