Big Brother winner Dick Donato has been through a lot on reality TV.
Whether repairing a relationship with estranged daughter Daniele Donato, or battling with stiff competition inside the Big Brother house, the 51-year-old hasn't been afraid to open up his life to the cameras.
But on Wednesday's new episode of Couples Therapy, the self-proclaimed reality TV villain drops a private secret nobody saw coming: He has been HIV positive since 2011.
"It was just one of the most surreal times of my entire life," Donato confessed to Dr. Jenn Berman during an emotional therapy session.
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At first, the memorable contestant also known as Evel Dick had no plans to share his condition. In fact, his on-again, off-again girlfriend Stephanie Rogness-Fischer told him to never address it on Couples Therapy.
"Stephanie does not want this brought up with her or she'll probably leave," he shared on Wednesday's episode. "I talked to her and she was just really adamant not to bring it up."
But after careful consideration, Donato agreed to address it, just not with his girlfriend present. He revealed that when he was asked to compete in the Big Brother house for a second time on season 13, he happily agreed. Unfortunately, he had to leave six days later for his condition.
"There was a million rumors why I left but nobody knew and nobody ever found out," he explained. "When you go on that show, they give you a million tests and blood tests and so on and so forth and it turned out I was HIV Positive."
Today, the reality star has no regrets about coming forward with his health issues, even though he was incredibly nervous to share.
"I went public because I was sick of being worried someone would find out and ‘out' me," he wrote to his fans on Twitter. "I wanted to do it on my own terms, TV reaches most ppl."
He added, "I don't get nervous, but was nervous about this going public. It was a very thought out decision. Know I appreciate all the love & support"
Couples Therapy airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on VH1.