‘It’s so evil to risk someone else’s life’
When Diane Reeve W met Philippe Padieu at the age of 50, she was on the verge of giving up on love. Divorced for two years, she’d had no luck on the dating scene but decided to give it one more go and met Philippe, an IT technician, on a dating website in 2002.
French-born Philippe seemed like the perfect man – he was good-looking, funny and they had a lot in common, including a love of martial arts.
Diane recalls: “Philippe was flirty and charming – and we quickly fell into the routine of seeing each other at least three times a week.
CHEATING BOYFRIEND
“As our relationship progressed, we travelled the world together and never fought. I was in love and thought we had the perfect relationship. My daughters, Stacy, now 39, and Megan, now 33, liked him and Philippe seemed completely trustworthy.”
However, in May 2006, just before they were about to move in together, Diane discovered that Philippe was cheating on her.
Diane, who had employed Philippe as a tai chi instructor at her martial arts school, walked in after a lesson to discover him having sex with another woman.
Diane says: “I was devastated – I’d had no clue. I ended the relationship, but he begged for another chance and said it was a one-off mistake. I was deeply in love with him and felt he was my last hope for romance, so I took him back.”
RAISING SUSPICIONS
For two months, the couple carried on as normal, but Diane became suspicious when Philippe left her daughter’s wedding early, claiming to
be ill. She hacked into his voicemail and heard messages from two different women. Diane ended it that night and tried to put all thoughts of cheating Philippe behind her.
She says: “I was miserable and felt like an idiot. I’d loved him so much and trusted him – I was devastated.”
But far worse was to come. In January 2007, Diane received a phone call out of the blue from a health clinic to say that someone had tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease and named her as a person at risk.
The clinic would say nothing about the identity of the person who named her, although it turned out to be one of the women Philippe had cheated on her with.
Diane says: “I was terrified and I’d been feeling under the weather. After the phone call I instinctively knew that it was HIV and it must have come from Philippe as he’d been my only sexual partner since my divorce. We hadn’t used protection because I was past the age of being able to get pregnant.
TEST RESULTS
“I went to my doctor for a test and the following day she called me and said: ‘Diane, I’m sorry, you’ve tested positive.’
“I dropped to my knees. The rest of the conversation was just a blur. I hung up, curled up into a ball and cried. It felt like a death sentence. I beat myself up – how could I have been so stupid? I had daughters and now they were going to live without their mother.”
A week later, further tests revealed Diane was living with AIDS, the condition that develops after the HIV virus has caused considerable damage to a person’s immune system and makes it hard for them to fight any kind of infection.
She says: “It was like being punched in the stomach. The nurses assured me that I’d live a long life thanks to the medication, but I didn’t believe them. I was convinced that I was going to die soon and leave my family behind.
“I didn’t want any other woman to go through the same horrendous feelings and I felt like I had to warn them.”
Diane, who is now 66 and lives in Texas, USA, went to the police and six months later Philippe was arrested. In 2009 he stood trial, where 10 other women he’d infected also gave statements.
Philippe was sentenced to 45 years for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for infecting the women. But he still denies responsibility, despite the court being able to prove that he knew he had HIV in 2005 after medical records revealed he had previously been tested. MOVING ON Now Diane is taking anti-viral drugs and says she feels as healthy as ever. She adds: “It took me years to believe Iwasn’t going to die –so far I feel fine. “I’ve never confronted Philippe and I don’t know why he didn’t tell any of us – I believe he did it maliciously. I don’t hate him any more, but I’ll never forgive him. “As for me, I don’t think I’ll ever find love again now. But if I did, I know that I’d tell a new partner straight away that I’m living with HIV. It’s so evil to risk someone else’s life. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust anyone again or if I’ll meet someone who sees past my condition.
“But I’m happy – I have my children, my grandchildren and my work. That’s enough for me.”
❛It felt like a death sentence. I beat myself up – how could I be so stupid?❜