Woman infected on wedding night marks 10th anniversary of living with HIV.

Usually, couples mark landmark anniversaries such as the fifth, 10th, etc., wedding anniversaries with stories of love and pledges of eternal togetherness...

However, a Florida woman is marking the 10th anniversary of her HIV infection, instead of what otherwise should have been her 10th wedding anniversary.

Unknown to her, the man she was married to was HIV-positive but had refused to disclose this to her.

She only got to know that she had been infected when she had HIV screening a few months after their wedding.

On her social media page, Renee ‘LadyByrd’ Burgess-Benson narrates her story, “10 years ago on this date was the first time I was exposed to his HIV.

“Before this date, we had never had unprotected sex. I was very adamant about it.

“Your wedding night is the time to consummate the marriage. Well, my wedding night we did that, but it also knowingly exposed me to his HIV.

“I trusted him with my life and he took my life into his own hands and chose to lie in the most explainable way…”

She went on to divorce the man.
Renee, who was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America, is the mother of four children — three girls and a boy.

She says she became HIV activist in 2008 a few months after she was diagnosed with HIV at the end of 2007.

She is currently the Chief Executive Officer at LadyByrd Live Foundation, Inc.
In one of her motivational posts, she advises people: “Being HIV Positive does not mean BE DESPERATE! I am so tired of men and women with HIV thinking that the world is going to end if they don’t have a girlfriend, boyfriend, or spouse.

“The biggest turn off for me is someone in love with me before they even know if I got all 10 fingers and toes LOL. Both of us having HIV does not mean we are compatible and if you are “hiding” or not open with your status, then we definitely can’t be together.

“I will NEVER stop my awareness! Get to know someone before you just jump to “Let’s get married”.

“Oh and STOP making the conversation always about sex! That … is NOT cute! Sex isn’t going to make someone want you. If anything, it pushes people away. Because if you talking about sex with me, you talking about it with everyone you talk to and that’s just ugh!”

See her post:

Posted by @pocarlee