NEED TO KNOW
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Jake Rosmarin is currently in quarantine in Nebraska after potentially being exposed to the dangerous hantavirus while aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.
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The 29-year-old travel content creator has mentioned that planning his wedding has helped him manage feelings of fear and uncertainty during this time.
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“It was so nice to have a moment of normalcy,” he expressed.
Jake Rosmarin has been wedding planning throughout his 42-day quarantine.
The 29-year-old travel content creator is in quarantine in Nebraska due to potential exposure to the hantavirus while on the MV Hondius cruise ship. In a recent interview with CBS Evening News from the National Quarantine Unit, he discussed how wedding planning has been a source of comfort amid the anxiety.
“When I was in my darkest place on that ship, we had a wedding planning call. It felt refreshing to experience something normal and not be confined to this little box on the ship with so many unknowns,” he noted.
Rosmarin is set to marry his fiancé, Alex Cestari, on May 6, 2028, according to their wedding registry. The couple got engaged in Sydney, Australia, on August 28, 2025, shared through a joint Instagram post.
Despite his excitement for the wedding, he feels saddened about missing his cousin’s wedding while being in quarantine.
Earlier this week, Rosmarin spoke about how his “trip of a lifetime ended in a nightmare.” On May 3, the night before disembarking from the MV Hondius, he found out that someone on board had tested positive for hantavirus. This news sent him into “panic mode,” prompting him to look up stats related to the disease and call both his mother, a pediatrician in New York, and his fiancé in Boston.
“My mom knows a lot of doctors and tried to reassure me based on her research. I remember thinking that wasn’t enough,” he explained. “Eventually, she spoke to others and managed to get more info, trying to calm my fears a bit, but the fear lingered.”
Rosmarin mentioned receiving “a lot of love and support” from friends and family, but he still faced various emotional ups and downs. After the ship docked in the Canary Islands on May 10, he learned he would be sent to Nebraska for quarantine and arrived at the National Quarantine Unit the next day.
Since then, he’s been working on staying positive and is documenting his experiences during isolation as medical staff keep an eye on him.
The CDC is currently monitoring 41 people across the U.S. for hantavirus.
