The blood tests are extremely unreliable. And I don't say this to say "Yeah you have it dummy", just that you really can't know for sure and IT DOESN'T MATTER because almost everyone has it anyway. Watch videos on youtube by doctors addressing herpes and you'll see that they just don't see it has a big deal because it's so common. Most don't even think you should do blood tests because they're basically worthless, and that's why they aren't included in a standard STD panel.

I recently had to learn all about it after a potential partner disclosed, and I found this British doctor's youtube channel to be incredibly straightforward and informative:

https://www.youtube.com/@DrBretPalmer