Gareth Thomas shares a kiss with his husband Stephen in loved-up snaps after revealing people ‘still walk out of a restaurant when he enters’ because of his HIV positive status
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Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas has shared a series of loving photos with husband Stephen after revealing the stigma he still faces from others due to his HIV-positive status.
The 51-year-old athlete, who captained both Wales and the British and Irish Lions during his career, announced that he was HIV positive in 2019 after announcing that he was gay in 2009 and that he was in undetectable status, meaning that he was not contagious.
Gareth shared sweet images of the two kissing with his wife.
In June, the rugby legend celebrated his eighth wedding anniversary with his wife with a touching post on Instagram.
She wrote: ‘Eight years ago today I married the most amazing person I could ever wish to meet. He makes me smile even on my bad days. ‘I love you so much, Stephen.’
Gareth broke new ground by becoming rugby union’s first openly gay professional player.
Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas has shared a series of loving photos with husband Stephen after revealing the stigma he still faces from others for being HIV positive.
The athlete, who announced that he was gay in 2009, announced that he was HIV positive and undetectable in 2019, meaning that he was not contagious.
Since going public with his HIV diagnosis, Thomas has advocated for HIV awareness and acceptance.
Medical advances over the last decade mean that most people who contract HIV will live long, full lives.
New treatments also mean the chances of transmission are incredibly low for those taking effective medication.
The worst outcomes often affect those diagnosed late due to lack of knowledge about symptoms or fear of discrimination.
Last year, Gareth shared that despite his undetectable status, he was still treated differently in society.
“I know, and my husband and family know, that this disease cannot be transmitted by sharing the same knife and fork, sharing the same drink or sitting on the same toilet seat,” she told The Telegraph.
‘But when you walk into a restaurant and people are leaving… or people don’t want to share drinks or shake hands. It happened often enough to make me realize that the next time I walk into a restaurant I’ll know if this is happening.
‘It’s not like this could happen once and scare me; This has happened so many times that every time I enter a restaurant I feel like I have to evaluate my own happiness, my husband’s happiness, or the happiness of the family I’m with.’
Gareth shared sweet snaps with his wife, including the two kissing
In June, the rugby legend celebrated her eighth wedding anniversary with her husband with a touching tribute on Instagram
Last year, Gareth shared that despite his undetectable status, he was still treated differently in society.
Thomas has been campaigning for many years to reduce the stigma around HIV and said public stigma was ‘the only thing that scares me’.
The police intervened when her former partner Baum ‘deceptively’ accused her of infecting him with HIV.
The allegations refer to a period between 2013 and 2018 when Thomas was diagnosed with HIV.
Thomas was sued for £150,000 by his former partner Ian Baum over claims he failed to take ‘reasonable care’ before passing the virus on to himself.
The former Wales captain decided to settle with Baum, paying £75,000 plus costs ‘for the sake of my own and my family’s sanity’, insisting the move was ‘not an admission of responsibility or guilt’.
He was also married to Jemma Thomas between 2001 and 2009.
