After his debut on Tuesday's episode, Giannikopoulos shared that he had tested positive and crashed his car in the same day.
Peter Giannikopoulos made his debut on The Bachelorette on Tuesday night, as one of four new suitors brought in to round out Tayshia Adams' midseason restart. But the 32-year-old real estate adviser unfortunately wasn't able to celebrate as planned, as he revealed on Instagram on Wednesday that he tested positive for COVID-19 and suffered a serious car accident.
"The past 24 hours have truly been some of the hardest in my life," Peter shared on Instagram, alongside a shirtless selfie that shows a scrape on his nose. "Yesterday I tested positive for Covid and have begun two week quarantine. I am going through a lot of emotions at the moment with so many thoughts in my head as to how this happened. I felt lousy for a few days but didn’t believe I would contract the virus when I have been wearing a mask in public, washing and sanitizing hands regularly, and following social distancing protocol during work. This is an example no matter who we are or what we do, we are all vulnerable."
"As if the positive news wasn’t bad enough, while driving home from the clinic my anxiety started to get the best of me," he continued. "As a result of the anxiety, I lost consciousness behind the wheel and my car went off road through a guard rail and hit a pole. The air bag deployed, driver side door was wedged in, broken glass everywhere, and I was 5ft away from smashing into a building. All I remember was waking up to people shouting for help, as I was in a deep daze and confusion. I didn’t know where I was, how I got there, or what happened. Luckily I came out of it with only a small gash on my nose. Truly a blessing as I am a firm believer I had angels watching over me."
"Covid is something we all need to face head on and stay positive during these times," Peter concluded. "We can’t run away from it nor pretend it does not exist. It creates immense anxiety as a result of me losing consciousness behind the wheel. In moments like this, lean against each other for support and positivity. Although my symptoms are evident, I am going to fight this and win. I understand so many lives have been impacted and my heart goes out to every single person affected. It’s okay to be nervous, anxious, and feeling uncertain, but just remember we are all in it together."
Peter got his limo entrance on Tuesday's The Bachelorette as he and three other men -- Spencer, Noah and Montel -- were added to Tayshia's dating pool along with 16 remaining suitors from Clare Crawley's start to the season.
"Look at that smile! Wow! I could see it from inside!" he gushed while meeting Tayshia.
Not only are multiple new men joining the season, but the new Bachelorette will have multiple love stories. When asked by ET how many guys she ended up falling for, Tayshia admitted, "Way more than I thought [I would]."
"I didn't know it was possible to fall in love with multiple people," she added. "But when you just really lean into the journey and really be vulnerable, you never know what can happen. And it happened to me."
Tayshia also shared that she says "I love you" during her season "multiple times" and even dons a wedding dress at one point -- but she played coy when asked if she's currently in love or engaged, saying only, "possibly!"
The Bachelorette airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. See more in the video below.
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