You may remember Danny Roberts fromThe Real World: New Orleansback in 2000.
Roberts more or less retreated from the public eye after his trip through the MTV reality machine.
He is also living with HIVsomething he’s revealing publicly for the first time exclusively toEntertainment Weekly.
Credit: Courtesy of Danny Roberts
Roberts says he found out he was HIV positive around 2011.
One weekend, he had passed out and woke up in a pool of blood.
Concerned, he called his doctor and told him what had happened.
MTV/Photofest
Instead, he delivered the news to Roberts over the phone.
“My first reaction was shock.
Then I was angry, then lots of denial,” he says.
“Those early years were very difficult and very lonely.
You don’t know whom to turn to have conversation and people don’t know what to say.
It’s not something that people have experience with,” he explains.
The Georgia native is forthright, articulate, and introspective as he talks about living with HIV.
He has obviously done an enormous amount of research and reflection.
“The last thing I ever want is pity.
I just want people to know and be aware.
I knew so little myself so I get it.”
The two are still very close.
“She’s my life sister,” Roberts says.
“She was one of the first people I turned to and talked to.
She has been strong and helped me through this.”
He also hopes to help others avoid the pain he endured.
“I had so many negative feelings I was forced to face,” he says.
“I’ve been on such a journey to overcome that.
In a way, this has really been like my second coming out.”
For more information on HIV, visit theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention.
And if you wish to spread some holiday cheer, like consider donating to theElton John AIDS FoundationoramfAR.
