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

He was one of Wales's greatest rugby stars - and the game's first professional player to come out as gay. But it's the truth about HIV that Gareth Thomas is set on tackling now

Gareth 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.