One woman’s private life was made very public in a trial several years ago. With nothing left to hide, she’s even released a book on what she’s learned to inspire others.
In the following story, Diane Reeve talks about having a four-year-long relationship with a man and thinking that they were exclusive. She later learned there were other women and she tracked them down to let them know he’d infected them with HIV. Here’s how she helped prosecutors build their case.
Online Dating
In a story she shared with BBC, Diane Reeve explained that she had nearly given up on love after her 18-year-long marriage fell apart. But in 2002, when she was 50-years-old, her friends suggested she should get back out on the market, so Diane tried online dating.
Martial Arts Date
“It was pretty brutal and I was just about to give up when I got an inquiry from Philippe,” Diane said. While the conversation was brief, they decided to meet at a martial arts school, where Diane worked, and after that, they grabbed dinner and drinks.
Blossoming Romance
Philippe was a breath of fresh air for Diane, a woman who was used to doing all the talking on a date. She could tell she was interested in him early on, and they began dating regularly. Philippe worked as a security analyst for a large company but was laid off after one year when they started dating.
The Happy Couple
While he searched for another job, Diane asked him to help her out at the school. As the relationship progressed, they discussed being exclusive, as it was something both of them wanted. “I was happy, he was happy, it was good, and we were together for four-and-a-half years,” she said.
Daughter’s Wedding
In 2006, Philippe accompanied Diane to her daughter’s wedding ceremony, but when it was time for dinner afterward, Philippe was nowhere to be found. He called Diane from his cell phone and said, “I can’t go, I’m not feeling well.” But Diane was suspicious when she didn’t recognize the number he was calling her from.
Philippe’s Home
After going to the dinner herself, Diane drove by Philippe’s home to check on him. But when she arrived, the door was locked and his car wasn’t there. Since Diane had been paying for his cell phone, she was able to get into his voicemail and was shocked at what she found.
Voicemails From Other Women
Two women had left him messages and it was obvious from the voicemails that they were women he had plans with. After waiting for Philippe to arrive home for over an hour, Diane finally saw him pulling around the corner. But when he saw Diane’s car, he sped away.
Highway Chase
She followed him up and down the streets until he finally got on the highway. By then, he must have been driving 90 mph and Diane was right behind him. “I thought, ‘I can chase you all night, I got a full tank of gas,’” Diane recalled. But eventually, he pulled over and she yelled and screamed, accusing him of cheating.
Confrontation
Philippe was furious that she got into his voicemail and he became aggressive beating on her car. By that point, Diane was through with him. That following Monday, she was scheduled for a well-woman examination and when the results came back, she learned there were anomalies in her cervical cells. The doctor said it was human papilloma virus (HPV).
Philippe’s Cell Phone Records
Diane never had it before so she knew Philippe gave it to her. She was shocked and afraid and knew she’d have to have surgery to remove the abnormal cells, and she didn’t know if it would progress into cancer or not. Diane debated warning the other two women, so she went back through months of Philippe’s cell phone records to find their numbers.
Calling The Women
As she went down the list, she found more women who had dated Philippe and some of them were angry, some hung up on her, and others were appreciative for the call. Diane got all different types of responses. After meeting with one of the women at a jazz bar, and learning she too had a long relationship with Philippe, Diane received an unsettling phone call.
Health Department
She got a call from the health department, informing her she needed to come in for testing. She still had the phone number from the woman at the jazz bar, so she called her and asked if she knew anything about this. The woman responded, “We need to talk.”
HIV And AIDS
Soon, Diane’s doctor called her to tell her she had HIV. She dropped the phone and fell to her knees, thinking she was going to die. After going for further testing, Diane learned she had AIDS. This meant that her immune system was damaged to the point that she was very vulnerable to illness. Diane was petrified, after learning her health insurance didn’t cover HIV.
Support Group
Diane suspected Philippe have given HIV to her and other women, and after doing some research, she decided to file a police report. Out of the 13 women they found who were diagnosed with HIV, only five agreed to testify in court. Those five women formed a support group and they met at Diane’s house on a regular basis, to get through their diagnosis together.
Motive
One of their motives for going through with the prosecution was that Texas would pay for medical care that is needed as the result of a crime, and they were prosecuting Philippe for “assault with a deadly weapon.” Despite Diane battling AIDS and being exhausted, she was determined to stop him from giving the disease to anyone else.
Trial
In 2009, three years after Diane broke up with Philippe, the trial finally began. Diane was prepared for any dirty laundry Philippe had on her or the other women could be aired to the public. Besides, nothing could be worse than what everybody already knew.
Taking The Stand
She remembers being on the stand for about an hour, and after the sentencing, they rejoiced, praying for a happy ending to this nightmare. Philippe never even took responsibility and he claimed it was Diane who gave everybody HIV.
Conviction
Philippe Padieu was convicted of six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Dianne still struggles with forgiveness and the hardest part for her is that her ability to trust was destroyed. “I’m really lucky that I have a good relationship now with somebody who understands and loves and accepts me,” Diane told BBC.
Rebuilding Her Life
“We first started seeing each other in 2008 and I disclosed to him on the second date. I started crying and he held me and said, ‘It’s OK, my brother died of AIDS,’ and that was a very healing experience for me,” she added. Since her diagnosis, Diane has been on one pill a day and she has an undetectable viral load which means the virus is not detectable in her blood.
Living With HIV
Diane and the other women learned that it’s been shown that if you are living with HIV and you have an undetectable viral load consistently over six months, there is zero transmission risk. “That was a game changer for all of us,” she said. Dianne is still in contact with the other women and in fact, she vacationed in the Grand Canyon with one of them in 2017. She believes that if she did not meet her many years ago, that she would have never even got tested for the disease.
