9 Essential Dating Reminders for 2025: Navigating Herpes With Confidence
Reminders for dating with herpes in 2025…
This year marks ten years of me living with herpes, which doesn’t feel real. Here are a few reminders for you, whether you’re newly diagnosed or still working through a healing period of your life.
1. You don’t owe anyone your herpes story (tbh you may not know when or where you got it, either)
2. Disclosure might feel awkward and unnatural at first (because most of us weren’t taught about it). Practice helps, whether you have herpes or not—we all have an STI status to share.
3. Some people will surprise you with their acceptance.
4. Rejection is often less about you, and more about misinformation
5. It’s okay if you feel like you need a break from dating
6. Finding support (friends, groups, online, therapy) can make a big difference in your healing, acceptance, and empowerment.
7. You can empower your partners, but you don’t have to teach them everything about herpes.
8. Your go-to disclosure method may change and evolve over time. Maybe you used to share your status via app and now you’ve grown to a place where you prefer in-person. Go with what feels right with this version of you.
9. Don’t sacrifice your values for someone who doesn’t value your honesty.
I know I’ve needed different reminders depending on where I was in my journey.
You deserve love, affection, pleasure and so much more—and an important part of that journey is allowing yourself to experience all of it. Oftentimes, that starts with you.
What’s a reminder that resonates most with you? Whether it’s on this list or not, leave it in the comments below, you never know who needs to hear it 🫶🏻