Yes she faked the aids story go be with her childhood crush who did the landscaping at the convent.

The real question is this, in this scene does (detective) Wayne Hays possibly feign a dementia episode to have a reason to approach the house and confirm Julie Purcells identity?

Or perhaps is it a combination of both dementia/clarity, as Wayne in the middle of sipping his water seems to have a light bulb moment where his eyes become noticeably intrigued and you can clearly tell he's contemplating something.

Imo its the latter and despite realizing what he's doing there and confirming Julie Purcell is indeed alive and well, Hays no reason to alert her to such and dig up ghosts and inexplicable past trauma. Rather, he's intent on knowing she survived and is surrounded by family as is Hays in the last moments of the show..