Early Life and HIV Diagnosis

• 💡 Zoe grew up in a small New Zealand town with a normal childhood and supportive parents.
• 🎯 At 19, she met a man at a wedding who was later revealed to be gay and HIV positive.
• ⚠️ Despite knowing his status, Zoe engaged in unprotected sex due to her youth and attraction, contracting HIV herself about a year later, shortly after her 20th birthday.

Descent into Addiction and Prostitution

• 🚀 The relationship with her HIV-positive boyfriend led to drug use, specifically meth, which he introduced her to.
• 💰 Facing financial struggles and a desire for a party lifestyle, Zoe began working as a prostitute, initially through online classifieds.
• 🏠 She describes the transactional nature of her work, often feeling detached and prioritizing payment over enjoyment.
• ⚠️ A particularly dangerous experience involved being in a house during a home invasion by gang members while with a client.

Life in Brothels and Risky Encounters

• 🇦🇺 Zoe moved to Sydney, Australia, to work in a large brothel, finding the competition and environment intense.
• 💊 She recounts an incident where she overdosed on Xanax provided by a Chinese drug dealer, leading to a fire in the brothel's accommodation and her dismissal.
• 💔 Her relationship with her boyfriend ended when he became violent and stole her car, prompting her to seek help from her mother.

Recovery and New Beginnings

• 🌱 After living with her mother and traveling, Zoe eventually became clean and sober.
• 🐎 She met her now ex-husband while working as a horse wrangler in Croatia, a role she exaggerated her experience for.
• ✅ Zoe disclosed her past, including her HIV status, to her husband, who accepted her, and they married and had children.
• 💡 Today, Zoe is a personal trainer, having successfully navigated a challenging past to build a stable life.