Gareth Thomas: ‘I will be a voice for people with HIV. I won’t be derailed’

G areth Thomas isn’t sure where to start. Or, rather, if he should even try to. Mum, Yvonne, warned against it before he left Bridgend yesterday. The publicist now hovering in earshot seems unconvinced. Yet here the two of us are on a wintery March morning: sitting in a west London hotel lobby, to discuss a relationship he was in 10 years ago. His sex life, specifically. In how much detail remains uncertain.

Thomas retired from rugby in 2011, but through punditry, activism and reality TV, the former Wales international – recently made a CBE – has maintained a major public presence. As an LGBTQ+ pioneer, sporting giant and HIV advocate extraordinaire, he’s a national hero in Wales and beyond. In secret, however, Thomas has been facing years of complex legal wrangling, including a criminal investigation. In a recently settled civil case, an ex-partner – Ian Baum – alleged that Thomas “deceptively” transmitted HIV to him a decade ago. Only in August 2022 did some of the details become public. That wasn’t Thomas’s call – he was given six hours’ notice.

Until now, he hasn’t spoken about the case in any detail. “But now I think that the only way to move forward is to try to address certain things, where I can, just the once. To draw a line and move on. And while it’s not that I want to avoid anything…” His tattooed fingers dance nervously. “For me, for my husband, my parents, my stepdaughter, step-grandson – and financially, for my career – I can’t create more legal issues. And I don’t want to, either. I need to move forward.” He sounds resolute. “But I will not be silenced, or be discriminated against. It’s not about me – what this represents is what’s important.”

It’s alleged that Thomas lied to his ex about his HIV status