The attraction was immediate when Eka Nasution met Rainer Oktovianus at a film festival in Jakarta in 2010. Rainer helped Eka start one of the films and noticed how cute Eka was. About a year into their relationship, Eka and Rainer went to get tested for HIV together — and discovered that Rainer was HIV-positive.
Eka and Rainer celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary earlier this year, and host Anita Rao talks with them about their long-term relationship as a mixed-status — or serodiscordant — couple. They discuss scientific advances, like the “undetectable = untransmittable” (or U=U) concept, and how medications like PrEP have affected their sex life. Rainer and Eka also share how Rainer’s positive status complicated their immigration experience when moving from Indonesia to Canada..
Rainer works as a photographer and user experience designer, and Eka works as a project management professional.
Anita also talks to Diana Koss, who was born with HIV, about how her diagnosis has impacted relationships with family, friends and romantic partners. Diana breaks down how she handles disclosure and the fear of rejection, and she talks about sharing her own journey to self-acceptance on her YouTube channel, Born Positive.
Special thanks to Bianca Ordoñez and an anonymous listener for their contributions to this episode. We appreciate you!
