It has been a whirlwind 48 hours for Josh Seiter and his family after his Instagram account (with nearly half a million followers) was hacked and he became victim to a death hoax.
On Monday night, several outlets reported the news that the former Bachelorette contestant, 36, had passed away. A statement allegedly from his family was shared on his account, which in part read: "It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share the tragic news of Joshua’s unexpected passing.
"Although our heartache at Joshua's passing pains us beyond measure, we find comfort in knowing that he is finally at peace."
The statement has since been deleted and in turn replaced with a video of Josh himself confirming he is very much alive. In the aftermath of the traumatic ordeal, he opened up to HELLO! about the frightening last 48 hours.
"I realized my account was hacked two days ago," he recalled, noting: "I couldn't access my account."
He continued: "I was frightened and reached out to my team to try to figure out what was going on," as he admitted: "I'm not technologically savvy."
Josh was part of Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of The Bachelorette back in 2015, though he was eliminated after the first week. He has since explored a career as an exotic dancer, as well as law school.
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"It's been a crazy 48 hours," he continued, adding: "But I hope the silver lining in all this can be great awareness for mental health and I hope that people realize there's nothing funny about death or suicide."
Josh has been open about his struggles with mental health on his Instagram, and in a 2021 post, he recalled attempting suicide when he was 21, and undergoing electroshock therapy as a result.
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"It's an issue that affects so many people from so many backgrounds," he further told HELLO!, maintaining: "We really need to do better as a citizenry and country."
He concluded: "For now I just want to keep focusing on finding peace and happiness, and keep talking about my experiences with depression and anxiety," and noted: "I don't have any grand plans on the horizon."
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