00:00This is Lexi. She fell in love with Jade.
00:04But Lexi has faced many struggles in her road to finding love.
00:08I was born with HIV.
00:11Dating is hard, even without HIV.
00:14When you told me, I felt scared, nervous.
00:17She said, have fun with that HIV, bitch.
00:20Can Lexi push past the hate she gets for living with HIV
00:24and enjoy being in love?
00:26Or will the haters get the better of her?
00:28Online judgment and hate and discrimination towards people with HIV is horrendous.
00:39HIV is a death sentence.
00:42But if you take your medication regularly,
00:45you can live a normal, healthy life,
00:48which is what I like to do every day.
00:52Dating is hard, even without HIV.
00:55Everyone has a preference of what they want to sign up for in a relationship.
00:59I dated this guy at one point,
01:02and he was terrified of me having HIV.
01:05He really struggled because he was a hypochondriac.
01:09And he would just be like, it just haunts me.
01:11Like, I just can't get it out of my head.
01:13He was absolutely terrified.
01:15I was born with HIV,
01:17but our family didn't actually find out about it until I was two years old.
01:21My mother had HIV, but was unaware that she had it.
01:24And she ended up getting very sick.
01:26I was about four and a half years old when she passed away.
01:30I was told I wasn't going to live past 13,
01:33because the medicine wasn't what it is today.
01:36Today, it allows me to live a normal life, just like everybody else.
01:41When dating with HIV,
01:43I find that it's so much better to tell the person in the beginning that I have HIV
01:49before emotions are really involved.
01:54Hi, babe.
01:55Hello.
01:56What you making?
01:57Avocado toast.
01:59Ooh.
02:00Can I help you?
02:01Yeah. Wash those for me, please.
02:03When I first moved out here to Vegas,
02:05I worked for a company,
02:07and we sold cologne and perfume.
02:10And I tried to get her attention to sell her some perfume.
02:14She kind of waved me off.
02:15She's like, oh, I don't wear that stuff.
02:17She turned around, she goes, you cute, though.
02:19And I hopped up.
02:20I'm like, who, me?
02:21I was like, okay, let me get your number, then.
02:23So she gave me her number,
02:24and ever since then, we have not stopped hanging out.
02:28What do you like about me, babe?
02:30I like that you make me laugh,
02:32that you know how to dance.
02:34I like that she's not scared to be my girlfriend.
02:39I told Jade I had HIV actually sitting at this table.
02:44When you told me, I felt scared, nervous for you.
02:49Prior to meeting Lexi,
02:50I did not have much knowledge about HIV.
02:54I just knew that it was, you know, sexually transmitted,
02:57that you can get really sick and die.
03:00I just went right into it,
03:02and I educated her right away.
03:05I take one pill once a day,
03:07and it creates the virus to become undetectable.
03:10I didn't have all the knowledge,
03:11so I was nervous, I was scared,
03:13but you broke it down for me
03:15and helped ease me a little more.
03:17So what do you think, babe? Is it good?
03:19Yeah, I made it very good.
03:22The hardest thing about my diagnosis
03:24was everybody hating me for it
03:26and treating me differently.
03:28Growing up, I experienced a lot of discrimination.
03:32People randomly beating me up,
03:35spitting on me, pushing me in shove huddles.
03:38I was tripped.
03:39I was booed off an auditorium stage.
03:42In my younger years, I had my own bathroom,
03:45my own water fountain,
03:46my own corner of the classroom,
03:48and none of the kids' parents
03:49would allow me to play with their children.
03:52I believe there's still so much stigma
03:54surrounding HIV because
03:56we don't have enough education about it,
03:58and that's really it.
04:00Online judgment and hate and discrimination
04:02towards people with HIV is horrendous.
04:10How have people in your life
04:12dealt with me having HIV?
04:14My mom, she was just concerned
04:16about us being safe,
04:18me being safe and not contracting.
04:21What was the experience
04:22with other people close to you?
04:26Have fun with that HIV, bitch.
04:30I wasn't, like, offended.
04:32I was just like, you know, dang, yikes.
04:35But I didn't take it personally
04:36because I understand that people
04:39who are hurt or upset
04:41will find anything that they can throw
04:43at you and use as a weapon.
04:45You know, it's crazy.
04:46I never thought I'd be so in love
04:49with somebody who has an STI.
04:52That always scared me,
04:53especially growing up.
04:54But I didn't let my lack of knowledge
04:57stop me from pursuing.
04:59Okay.
05:00Hello, you hear me?
05:05I'm exhausted.
05:06Me too.
05:07I think I ate a little extra too many tacos.
05:09Maybe.
05:11So if every single person
05:13went in right now to get tested for HIV
05:16and those who were positive
05:17got on medicine within one to three months,
05:20they would become undetectable,
05:22allowing them to live a normal life,
05:24to not pass it to others,
05:25and then HIV would be done.
05:27It would end with the last person
05:29who contracted it,
05:30and we wouldn't have an HIV pandemic anymore.
05:32Essentially, the cure is to get tested
05:35because the risk is not knowing.
05:38She's a free spirit, just like me,
05:40and you don't come across that often.
05:42She's amazing.
05:43She's dope.
05:44If I said every single thing that I liked about her,
05:46we'd be here forever.
05:48Being accepted in a relationship in general
05:51is a wonderful feeling,
05:52and it's a great thing
05:53whether you have HIV or you don't.
05:55So I'm very grateful
05:57that I'm with somebody
05:58who loves all of me for me.
06:11People leave nasty messages.
06:13You're a pervert.
06:14There's something wrong with you.
06:15Yeah, that hurts.
06:16I feel like they're hurting your feelings.
06:18They're hurting you.
06:20People perceive us as weird as a couple
06:23because we don't follow the regular status quo.
06:26You know, what the hell is she doing
06:28with that little old wrinkly, ugly dude?
06:31She must be cheating on him.
06:33There's a lot of people that will bash us
06:35at any chance that they possibly can.
06:37It's so unbelievable that she's together
06:39with me that there's no way that she's a real woman.
06:42There's no way this could be real,
06:43so she must be in danger.
06:45You're too short, and he's too big.
06:47People just don't get it.
06:49He's crazy. He lost his mind.
06:51What's wrong with him?
06:52It never deterred me one bit.
07:04Interabled relationships are beautiful.
07:08You can date somebody who's transgender
07:10and not be thought of as a weird person.
07:12I know that it looks weird from the outside,
07:14but it just makes my little puppy heart happy.
07:17Humans today, we are all judgmental.
07:20All I know is I love her, and she loves me.
07:23We're just gonna continue loving each other.
07:25No matter what, nothing's gonna change us.
07:28The thing I love most about Mason is how cute he is
07:33and nothing else.
07:36It doesn't matter your gender, your height, your disability.
07:41Love is love, and love will conquer.
07:46F*** the haters.
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