- The Gareth Thomas Welsh Rugby Legend revealed that it was HIV positive in 2019
- He was the first Welsh rugby player to play 100 times for the national side
Gareth Thomas has opened on how he feels that he is perceived in society because he has HIV, despite not being contagious.
Thomas captained Wales and the British and Irish lions during his illustrious career, who saw him become the first Welshman to be crowned 100 times by the national team.
His exploits are also seen by third place in the ranking of proof goals of all time for Wales, as well as the sixth highest number of caps, and also played four times for the Rugby League team in his country.
In 2009, two years after his final test for the Union team, Thomas came out as Gay and was then appointed the hero of the year of Stonewall.
In 2019, he announced that it was HIV positive with an undetectable status, which means that it is not infectious, and for a long time has defended equality and inclusion, even for all those who live with HIV, and has been a respected spokesman for the LGBT community.
He was also accused of transmitting “deceptively” to HIV to his former partner, Ian Baum, which caused a police investigation.
Gareth Thomas has opened how he is treated by members of the public since he announced his HIV positive state
Thomas has long been an activist to eliminate stigma around HIV in society
His former partner, Ian Baum, accused Thomas of transmitting HIV “deceptively.”
Thomas is one of the best Wales players that he has presented 100 times for his country and captained British and Irish lions
Thomas has now admitted that despite their undetectable status, people in public still treat it differently.
“I know, and my husband and my family know it, sharing the same knife and fork or sharing the same drink, or sitting in the same toilet seat, which cannot be contracted,” he said The telegraph.
'However, when you enter a restaurant and people leave … or people don't want to share a drink or hold your hand. It has happened enough to make it aware that when I enter a restaurant next time, I will know if it is happening.
'It is not a case that it happens once and made me fear; It has happened enough times that every time I enter a restaurant now I feel that I have to evaluate, for my own happiness, that of my husband or the family I am with '.
Thomas has campaigned for many years to reduce the stigma that surrounds HIV, and has said how this stigma is “the only thing that scares me” in public.
Police got involved when former fellow Baum accused him of transmitting HIV “misleading.”
The accusations, which referred to a period between 2013 and 2018, were presented before Thomas announced in an interview and documentary of the BBC in 2019 that carried HIV.
Thomas had been sued for £ 150,000 in damages by former partner Ian Baum for stating that he had not taken the 'reasonable care' before the virus allegedly passes on him.
However, the former Wales captain made the decision to establish himself with Baum, and pay £ 75,000 more costs 'for my own mental health and that of my family', insisting that the measure was not 'admission of responsibility or guilt'.
He was also married to Jemma Thomas between 2001 and 2009.