Dick Donato's HIV-Positive Reveal Has Gotten Positive Attention Despite His Fears

Earlier this month, Big Brother alumnus Dick Donato revealed on Couples Therapy that he was HIV-positive, but the reality star didn't expect to get such positive support.

"The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive," Dick "Evel Dick" Donato told People. "Absolutely fantastic."

As MStars News previously reported Donato revealed he has been HIV-positive since 2011. He found out while on Season 13 of Big Brother as producers took a routine blood test to check the health of the contestants. In Donato's case, his tests would reveal a life-changing diagnosis.

"They told me that something was wrong with my blood test," he told Dr. Jenn on Couples Therapy. "They had done two HIV tests. One had come back positive and the other had come back negative. When they told me, I just went numb. They had a car take me from CBS to my mother's house. She was the first person I told."

Since his reveal, Donato, 51, has been receiving such positive feedback and encouragement from viewers on social media. Some people have even begun to practice safer sex since hearing his news and have gone to get tested.

"A lot of good seems to be coming out of it as well. Which is all the better," Donato said to People.

Donato even tweeted today, Oct. 29, that he'll be covering Aids United Magazine in December.

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, currently an incurable disease. According to the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, 34.2 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2011. That same year, 2.5 million people became newly infected, and 1.7 million died of AIDS-related causes.