“I was afraid of being single after catching herpes, but now I work as a risky model: STDs can be hot.”

On Halloween night of 2020, Tricia Wise had a one-night stand that changed her life forever.

The casual link left her with genital herpes, a sexually transmitted infection that is manageable rather than curable.

Two years later, the 27-year-old, who runs a sex toy business, rediscovered her sexuality by joining OnlyFans.

But his courageous empowerment journey began with a struggle.

“It was definitely a traumatic experience,” Tricia reminded. I was so scared that no one would want to go out with me or have sex with me. I thought I had to be single.

“I had never had an STI before and knew nothing about herpes other than the stigmatizing jokes about it that went on forever.

“It makes herpes positive people dirty and shameful. I had my first outbreak three days after the one night stand and had typical flu symptoms.

“I was diagnosed in emergency care and immediately started crying as soon as I left. I hadn’t gotten out of bed in days and felt so alone.

But that dark sense of isolation is now a thing of the past.

This is because Tricia has an army of followers on her “Safe Slut” social media platforms, where she helps people with STDs while breaking the sexual stigma.

And just two weeks ago, he opened a lively OnlyFans page.

In our exclusive interview, she said: “I’ve always been a very sexual person and I’ve wanted to participate for a while and I finally decided to do it.

“It was very inspiring and I was telling my friends at school and college that I wanted to be a porn star, so I do.

“I wanted to not only express my sexuality on my terms, but also show that we herpes positive people are still attractive and sexually worthy.

“I also intentionally put herpes in my username because I want it to be very clear that I am positive for herpes and that it is part of my destigmatization work.”

Tricia, who lives in New York, continued: “I had a breakout last week so I had hot nudes in the bathroom where you could clearly see the eruption.

“I posted them with the caption ‘f * m join my bud with me’. They are half funny and I don’t care and half like I’m here to destigmatize.

“We need visibility because we are always cordial and dignified even in the event of an epidemic”.

Symptoms of herpes can cause small blisters that leave red sores around the genitals, but luckily for Tricia, hers are rare.

The sexually transmitted disease activist now offers people diagnosed with herpes simplex virus (HSV) phone calls with her so they aren’t as lonely as she is.

Remember: “There really isn’t enough awareness about sexually transmitted diseases, just a lot of misinformation and stigma sadly.

“Before I got herpes, I didn’t know much. In most of our sex ed classes as we got older, we were shown the worst cases and told to say no to people like me.

“It’s a way to spread fear, and it’s actually very damaging to society, as most sexually active people will have STIs at some point.

“And once you educate yourself on herpes, you will learn that the worst part is just the social stigma and it’s not that bad.”

HSV is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases and is the same virus that causes cold sores.

Treatment includes antiviral medications and creams and in terms of counseling others, Tricia said: “Just know that you are not alone and still deserve love and sex.

“There will be many people who will want to go out with you.”

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