‘The Bachelorette’ alum Josh Seiter says Instagram hacker falsely posted that he had died

CORRECTION (Aug. 29, 2:48 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that former “Bachelorette” contestant Josh Seiter had died, citing a now-deleted Aug. 28 Instagram post shared to his account. The headline and article has been updated to reflect Seiter’s Aug. 29 Instagram post in which he says his account was hacked and he is alive.

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

“Bachelorette” alum Josh Seiter says that a hacker accessed his official Instagram account to falsely state that he had died.

In a selfie video posted to his Instagram on Aug. 29, Seiter addressed a post from the day before, which is now deleted, purported to be shared by his family and announced his “unexpected passing.” It also included a message for those experiencing mental health crises to call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

“I am alive and well. My account was hacked,” Seiter said in his video. “For the last 24 hours I have been desperately trying 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. I'm sorry for the pain they caused when they made that post. I just got back into my account. I'm going to do all I can with my team to try to identify who is behind this. But again, I apologize for the confusion.”

Seiter competed on Season 11 of the ABC reality television show when Kaitlyn Bristowe was looking for love in 2015. On social media, Seiter is open about his mental health struggles.

In a July 2021 Instagram, he described himself as “a suicide attempt survivor.” He wrote, “I battle OCD, Bipolar Depression, and GAD, but I refuse to give up. What did you survive?”

In a 2020 post during the pandemic lockdown, he noted how he “continued to put one foot forward, day after day.”

“After a lot of hard work and persistence, I was accepted into law school, improved my physical health and eventually became one of the most followed mental health advocates on social media,” he said. “Our current situation is not your forever, and even if you can’t see your future now, you need to keep pushing forward, because eventually your purpose will reveal itself to you.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com