Bachelorette alum Josh Seiter preaches being 'open and honest' about mental health after death hoax

Josh Seiter, the Bachelorette alum who said that his verified Instagram account was hacked as part of a "cruel joke" falsely announcing his death, is proclaiming the importance of having frank discussions about mental health.

In an interview with PEOPLE published Tuesday, Seiter, 36, called the death hoax "very unfortunate" and said he wants to keep up conversations about mental health to help people "make what is already a difficult journey a little more bearable."

"If you're not open and honest, it precludes a connection to other people that are going through something similar," Seiter said. "I feel like silence is going to lead inevitably to more suffering and more pain. I feel like when you're open about something, it opens up connections to other people who might be going through the same thing, and through those connections, I feel like you can find mores strength — it's kind of like strength in numbers."

The interview came a day after a statement posted to Seiter's Instagram said he had died unexpectedly. The post, which was unsigned, didn't specify a cause of death but alluded to Seiter's struggles with mental health. Numerous outlets, including EW, erroneously reported Seiter's death based on the statement, which has since been taken down.

In a selfie video posted to social media Tuesday, Seiter showed that he was "alive and well" and said, "My account was hacked. For the last 24 hours I had been trying desperately 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."

Apologizing for the "pain" and "confusion" caused by the hoax, Seiter added, "I just got back into my account. I am going to do all I can with my team to try to identify who was behind this… and I will update you guys as more facts come in."

Instagram's parent company, Meta, didn't immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

Seiter also denied an allegation from his ex, Drag Race star Monica Beverly Hillz, that he perpetrated the hoax himself. In an email to EW on Tuesday, he said, "Those are all ridiculous accusations made up by somebody with nothing better to do with their time. As a mental health advocate, issues of suicide are very sensitive for me. To suggest that I would orchestrate a death post around that issue is sickening. I have dedicated the last 8 years of my life blogging and raising awareness about mental health, and I will continue to do so. Regardless of what my detractors have to say."

The false news of Seiter's death came weeks after a similar hoax involving rapper and social media star Lil Tay, who was reported to be alive in the wake of an Instagram statement saying otherwise.

Seiter is best known for his appearance on Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of The Bachelorette, the show's 11th installment, which aired in 2015. He was introduced as a law student and exotic dancer from Chicago, and was eliminated in the first week of the dating show.

In recent years, Seiter has been candid about his struggles with anxiety and depression, including a 2021 Instagram post in which he identified himself as a suicide attempt survivor who battles OCD, generalized anxiety disorder, and bipolar depression.

Seiter told PEOPLE that, moving forward, "I just want to keep working on myself." He added, "I want to keep living. I want to keep searching for peace and happiness. I don't have any grand goals of conquering the world or anything, I just want to find meaning in life."

If you or someone you know need mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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