‘Brave’ I Kissed A Boy star praised for realistic account of living with HIV

Adam has been praised by I Kissed A Boy viewers for sharing his story about living with HIV (Picture: BBC)

The latest series of I Kissed A Boy has been showered with praise following incredibly open and emotional conversations about HIV.

Hosted by Dannii Minogue, the LGBTQ+ reality series – which made history in 2023 as the UK’s first-ever gay dating show – returned to the BBC in May after a successful first run.

With Aussie pop star Dannii playing Cupid once more, she matches single boys up based on what they’re looking for in a partner and, before even learning one another’s names, they share a smooch.

The singletons then enter a stunning Italian masseria where they’re free to either deepen their existing connections or, more often than not, let their eyes (and lips) wander elsewhere…

In the midst of all the lip-locking, however, this series has already aired some powerful and tearful moments between the contestants, the latest being thanks to Adam, a 27-year-old marketing and brand manager from Reading.

Having grown comfortable around his fellow cast members, episode 3 saw him take the plunge and open up about his brush with death after being diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Things got incredibly emotional in the Italian masseria as Adam revealed the diagnosis nearly ‘killed [him] off’ (Picture: BBC) ‘I was so uneducated around what it actually means’ (Picture: BBC)

‘I’ve got anxiety going through my body right now,’ he began, clearly flustered.

Join Metro's LGBTQ+ community on WhatsApp

With thousands of members from all over the world, our vibrant LGBTQ+ WhatsApp channel is a hub for all the latest news and important issues that face the LGBTQ+ community.

Simply click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don't forget to turn on notifications!

Assured by the other boys that he ‘doesn’t have to say it,’ he declared: ‘No, I want to say it.’

‘So, like, four years ago, I was diagnosed with HIV,’ Adam said.

‘When I was diagnosed, it nearly killed me off. Like, my whole body basically shut down until my body kind of regenerated when I was on the pills.’

It didn’t take long for tears to start flowing throughout the group, as the other boys told Adam how ‘proud’ they are of him.

‘I thought I was gonna die,’ he later told cameras. ‘And I was so uneducated around what it actually means. You know, there’s a lot of misunderstanding around HIV, but taking one pill a day means that you can’t pass HIV on and undetectable equals untransmittable.’

‘I’m in a good place now,’ he continued to the others. ‘And what it has made me is incredibly empathetic towards people. It’s just made me really aware of what people feel.

The other boys told Adam how ‘proud’ they were of him for opening up (Picture: BBC) The boys discussed how words can have an ‘impact’ and the language that shouldn’t be used around HIV (Picture: BBC)

‘This is another thing that someone said to me the other day. I went for a sexual health test, but they said, “Are you clean?”‘

‘I hate that so much!’, Aron, 27, chimed in.

‘But I used to say it as well, when I’d have sex with someone, “Are you clean?”, but you shouldn’t say that because, does that make me dirty because I have HIV and I’m undetectable? No, it doesn’t!’

‘I feel so proud of Adam,’ Ruben, 24, said. ‘I just wanna give him a huge hug and let him know how amazing of a person he is.’

‘As gay men, we all relate to the fear of being diagnosed with HIV, because it is prominent in our community. It’s just amazing to see how far the medicine has come,’ said Jack, 26.

‘I think it’s important to show that people can be successful, live healthy lives, and have relationships as much as people with HIV.’

Adam declared that he’s ‘in a good place now’ as he takes one pill a day (Picture: Jordan Peck/Getty Images) He was inspired to speak about his HIV by Lars, who created a ‘safe space’ by sharing his experiences as a trans man (Picture: Two Four Broadcast Ltd./Corinne Cumming) Undetectable = Untransmittable

Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) is a message used in HIV awareness campaigns to inform people that, if someone has an undetectable viral load, they cannot sexually transmit HIV to others, provided they are taking treatment.

This means there is zero risk of passing on the virus to another sexual partner.

An ‘undetectable viral load’ is when the levels are extremely low (below 200 copies/ml of blood measured).

After sharing a clip of the scene on Instagram, Adam was described as ‘inspiring’ and ‘amazing’ by his followers.

‘You should be proud of yourself for being brave and open. So many will be proud of you’, wrote @simonemowen.

‘And this is why this show is so important❤️ Proud of you x’, agreed @emmaruthcox.

Adam said he felt encouraged to share his story after 23-year-old Lars, the show’s first-ever trans star, spoke about facing ‘prejudice’.

‘People don’t think trans people are valid or they exist,’ he said, before declaring that gender-affirming healthcare ‘saved [his] life’.

‘I used to feel so much shame about who I was, and I’m, like, so over that.’

Stream I Kissed A Boy on BBC iPlayer.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.