I have a partner who is negative or untested ·
Finding out you have HIV can put stress on many areas of your life, including your relationships.
If you were already in a relationship before your HIV test, you may have decided to test with your partner or it may have been an individual decision.
If you and your partner are both positive, the stress of getting your diagnosis may still cause pressures in your relationship, but if your partner has not tested or has tested negative, questions of safer sex and the risk of infecting him obviously arise.
Some men experience a positive test result as leading to their relationship becoming stronger, while for others it can lead to the relationship ending. Both these things can happen whether or not your partner is also positive.
Some men who test positive withdraw from physical contact and sexual activity, at least temporarily. Others continue to have casual sex but find it difficult to sustain a relationship, as this involves HIV disclosure or changing the way they have sex. It takes a while to rethink these aspects of life.
It’s important that decisions you make about your relationships are not based on HIV status alone. If you and your partner are able to talk about your worries and concerns, your relationship has more chance of lasting than if you bottle up your fears.
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