AceShowbiz -

"Big Brother" champ Dick Donato has revealed that he's HIV positive. The 51-year-old reality star opened up about the diagnosis in the Wednesday, October 1 episode of VH1's "Couples Therapy", saying that he had been living with HIV for three years.

Speaking to Dr. Jenn Berman, the 51-year-old Donato shared that his girlfriend Stephanie Rogness-Fischer told him not to say anything about it. "Stephanie does not want this brought up with her or she'll probably leave. I talked to her and she was just really adamant not to bring it up," he said.

Donato found out that he had HIV in 2011. "When you go on that show, they give you a billion tests. And it turned out I was HIV positive... It was just one of the most surreal times in my entire life," he admitted during the emotional session. "The reason I left Big Brother 13 - and after six days I left - every news station was stalking me for a long time. There were a million rumors [as to] why I left. I'm coming clean, I'm going public with this whole thing."

Following the revelation, Donato took to Twitter to thank fans for their support. "I went public because I was sick of being worried someone would find out and 'out' me. I wanted to do it on my own terms TV reaches most ppl. I don't get nervous, but was nervous about this going public. It was a very thought out decision. Know I appreciate all the love & support," he wrote.