We didn’t meet on a dating app. We met in the comments section of a Facebook post about food. Someone had shared a post from Sweetie Pies, we both chimed in, and one friend request later, a conversation started that never really stopped.
We bonded over retail stories, long shifts, and customer chaos. When Carlos got sick and was hospitalized with stage 3 HIV (also known as an AIDS diagnosis), Darryl kept reaching out. Through messages, prayers, and small talk that turned deeper, our friendship became something more.
Once Carlos was stable, we began visiting back and forth between cities until it just made sense to be together. When the time came, Carlos told Darryl he was HIV-positive. He explained what he knew about U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable) and about PrEP as an added precaution. Darryl didn’t hesitate; he talked to his doctor and began PrEP right away.
Not everyone around us was as understanding. Darryl’s longtime roommate, who didn’t grasp U=U, accused Carlos of “giving him AIDS” and even called Darryl’s job to report “exposure.” We tried to educate him, but ignorance ran deep. Eventually, the roommate moved out, and life got quieter.
These days, we keep things simple: faith, food, and our favorite soap operas, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Beyond the Gates. Our evenings are spent together watching, laughing, and being thankful for the calm.
Darryl still takes PrEP, even though Carlos has been undetectable for years. We’ve talked about stopping, but he says it gives him peace of mind — and Carlos supports that completely.
Friends and family know our story, but not everyone at Darryl’s job does, and that’s okay. We’re private but not secretive, grounded but not guarded. We don’t see ourselves as “different” — just two people who found love and built a life around trust and mutual care.
Our relationship is living proof that serodifference isn’t a barrier. It’s a shared commitment to health, honesty, and love — and to showing the world that U=U really does mean what it says.
