Mondo Guerra - Shares his story

Mondo Guerra, the rocking 32-year-old breakout star from the eighth season of Project Runway, turned tear ducts to geysers during a past episode, when he revealed his HIV-positive status. Which was a secret he'd been hiding from his deeply religious family for ten years. Once the sobbing subsided, and Mondo laid claim to his much deserved third win in a row (the first turkey in Project Runway history!), a bigger question loomed in the minds of viewers: How did his deeply religious family take the news when they saw it? And did they watch the big reveal live with the rest of America, or were they prepped beforehand? In an interview with Stylelist, Mondo said he told his family just five days before the episode aired. During the challenge the contestants were asked to create a textile pattern inspired by old family photos, evoking "something deeply personal." Guerra created black, yellow and magenta plus-sign print pants, explaining, "The symbolism in the pants are these pluses are positive signs and I've been HIV positive for ten years. When I saw these pictures of my family, it brought back a lot of emotion, so I wanted to pull from the past but also give something back of who I am now."