Josh Seiter, who appeared on Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s season of The Bachelorette in 2015, has checked himself into a mental health facility just one month after a false announcement of his death.
According to the former reality star, his Instagram was hacked in late August with a post that claimed he had died at 36 years old. The post even included a false statement from his “family.”
Seiter took to social media the following day to clear things up, stating, “My account was hacked. 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, and I’m sorry for all the pain they caused when they made that post.”
On Monday, September 25, Seiter posted a statement on his Instagram page noting that he’s “logging off” social media and will be attending a wellness facility to “get a handle on” his mental health.
“For the last month I’ve received hundreds of hateful messages and unending harassment related to my account being hacked,” he wrote. “I wish I was stronger but I can’t take any more and am logging off social media for good and am checking myself into a wellness facility now to try and get some kind of handle on my mental health.”
He continued, “I am losing my phone in the next hour. I love you all. To the people sending me death threats, you win.”
Seiter appeared on the long-running ABC dating show in 2015, where he was eliminated in week one. Since then, he’s been open about his mental health issues and continues to be an advocate for those going through similar struggles.
Speaking to People after the false death report, Seiter said, “If you’re not open and honest, it precludes a connection to other people that are going through something similar. Silence is going to lead inevitably to more suffering and more pain. I feel like when you’re open about something, it opens up connections to other people who might be going through the same thing.”
If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
