{"id":8700,"date":"2025-07-04T12:28:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T12:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/?p=8700"},"modified":"2025-07-11T20:26:43","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T20:26:43","slug":"patient-stories-evin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/patient-stories-evin\/","title":{"rendered":"Patient Stories: Evin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to another instalment of Better2Know\u2019s Patient Stories.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Better2Know, we believe that sharing personal experiences can help break down the stigma many people feel around getting tested for STIs. We’ve gathered stories from people who have gotten tested to inspire and encourage others to take this important step for their sexual health.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certain names and details in these stories have been altered.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Your sexual health is important. Get tested with Better2Know’s Full STI Screen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Get tested<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

When Evin met Rose, he didn\u2019t expect to get the shock of the year. Like many young adults, Evin was navigating the dating scene in Bristol in the late 2010s when a Tinder date turned into an emotional conflagration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLooking back, it sounds silly,\u201d Evin told Better2Know over a video call. \u201cBut I was really scared. More scared than maybe I should\u2019ve been. An anxiety just took hold of me. I couldn\u2019t think about anything else for days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, Evin shared a flat in Bedminster with three friends and worked in marketing for a collections agency in the city centre. He\u2019d moved to the city for university, getting a history degree at the University of Bristol, but found himself listless and perusing Bristol\u2019s nightlife. Most of his dates came from his weekly meetings at a local board game shop where he\u2019d play Magic: The Gathering<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI liked being single, I think. It was exciting. You never know who you\u2019re going to meet, what\u2019s going to happen. I put myself out there a lot. Sometimes, I may have let things go too far too soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evin, now 32, is short with a huge mane of bleached blonde hair, with features so round that he looks much younger than he is. He speaks softly but quickly, like he\u2019s trying to get something out without being overheard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember thinking she had beautiful hair. I could tell from her pictures that she liked to do cosplay for conventions. Comic book stuff. She seemed just my type.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though she lived in Cardiff and I lived in Bristol, both of us went out of our way to travel. I liked her and I\u2019m pretty sure she liked me, too. We became close very quickly.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Evin met Rose over the dating app Tinder, taking advantage of the app\u2019s \u201csuperlike\u201d function to seal the deal on a chat. After a few days of texting, they met for a first date in Cardiff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though she lived in Cardiff and I lived in Bristol, both of us went out of our way to travel. I liked her and I\u2019m pretty sure she liked me, too. We became close very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, things progressed pretty fast. After a few days, they decided to get intimate. But the highs of this new relationship made Evin think twice about what happened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’d had sex a couple of times without a condom. I didn’t think much of it then, but a couple of days later, it started to play in my mind. I realised I didn’t know this person very well at all. We never talked about protection, whether we had anything. I started to get scared that I’d caught something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evin didn\u2019t wait \u2013 he acted quickly. \u201cA few days after I became concerned, I ordered a test online. Nothing held me back. Rose went on holiday that week, so it felt like a good time to get checked, just in case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike a lot of people, he didn\u2019t come up against any barriers to getting tested. He just went online and ordered a testing kit. \u201cThe test I ordered was pretty discreetly packaged, and the samples were easy to take. I did worry how accurate a home test can be, but I looked into it and I know now that they’re pretty reliable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After a few days, the results came in. He was negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mostly felt relieved, but I also felt a bit guilty for not using protection when I should’ve. It was really irresponsible. After I got the result, I talked to Rose about it. Since we weren’t exclusive, I wanted us to use condoms from then on. I just thought it would be safer. She agreed, but things soured between us after that. She didn\u2019t text or call me as often. The next month, we decided to go our separate ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked Evin why he thought that was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not entirely sure. Maybe it was a lack of communication. I think the fact that I got tested before talking to her gave her a bad impression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evin doesn\u2019t regret the experience, though. It taught him to be more careful. \u201cI just think, shoot, I should\u2019ve been safer. I never really thought about it before then. Now, I\u2019m getting regular checks every few months just to be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said his perspective on STIs has changed for the better. He was pretty straightforward when we asked him what he\u2019d tell someone who was thinking about getting tested. \u201cFrom what I\u2019ve learned, getting an STI isn’t a big deal. It’s leaving it untreated that causes harm. If you know you have it, you can do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we asked him if he was still on Tinder, he chuckles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThought I\u2019d give real life a go for a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t leave your sexual health to chance. Book an STI test at a sexual health clinic near you. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Get tested<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Welcome to another instalment of Better2Know\u2019s Patient Stories. At Better2Know, we believe that sharing personal experiences can help break down the stigma many people feel around getting tested for STIs. We’ve gathered stories from people who have gotten tested to inspire and encourage others to take this important step for their sexual health. Certain names […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":""},"categories":[20,14,19],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[732,568,755,1951,570,563,706,705],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8700"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8700"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8712,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8700\/revisions\/8712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8700"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=8700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}