Gareth Thomas

At 50 years old, Gareth Thomas has this physical status:

Gareth Thomas (born 25 July 1974), also known as "Alfie," is a Welsh former professional rugby footballer who played for Wales in both rugby union and rugby leagues.

He was the most captained Welsh rugby union player until being overtaken by Stephen Jones in September 2011.

He is currently ranked 13th among international try scorers, and second highest Wales try scorer behind Shane Williams.

He also gained four rugby league caps for Wales, scoring 3 times. He appeared as a fullback, wing or center for Bridgend, Cardiff, the Celtic Warriors, Toulouse, Cardiff Blues, and Wales in rugby union.

He made his mark in 2010 by playing for the Crusaders in the Super League and for Wales.

In October 2011, he resigned from rugby as gay, although in December 2009, he came out as gay.

On Sunday, he was named the most influential gay person in the United Kingdom by The Independent, and was given the Bronzewall Hero of the Year award for the first year.

Personal life

Thomas was born in Sarn near Bridgend in July 1974. In 2001, he married Jemma Thomas, whom he encountered when both were teenagers. The couple married in St Brides Major, near Bridgend, in 2007 and declared for divorce; it was approved in 2009. Jemma suffered three miscarriages during her marriage.

Thomas denied publicly that he is gay in December 2009. "I don't want to be identified as a gay rugby player," he told the Daily Mail. I am a rugby player, first and foremost. "I am a man." Thomas' public declaration of his sexual orientation made him the first openly gay rugby union player. Thomas wondered how coming out would guarantee that a young gay rugby player would be able to come out and be recognized as a "talented gay rugby player" in a BBC interview. "What I do when I shut the door at home has nothing to do with what I have learned in rugby," Thomas said. Thomas has been a vocal promoter of the NSPCC and ChildLine, a telephone counseling service run by the NSPCC for children and young people since being out. "I don't know if my life is going to be simpler because I'm out," Thomas said in a video, but if it helps someone else, it would have been worth it."

In February 2006, he had a major health scare. During a match, he sustained a blow to his neck, and later that afternoon, when watching a televised recording of an interview he had given regarding his resignation as a result of a ruptured artery in his neck, he collapsed ill and was rushed to the hospital with a suspected stroke. It was feared that this might lead to his unrest, but he revived playing in France's 2006–07 season.

His act of commemorating slapping his head comes from "the Ayatollah," a common celebration among Cardiff City followers.

In 2015, Michael Calvin's autobiography Proud was named Sports Book of the Year.

Thomas was stabbed in Cardiff on November 17th, 2018 because of his sexuality. He ordered that South Wales Police deal with the 16-year-old assailant by way of restorative justice.

Thomas declared himself HIV positive on September 14, 2019, indicating that he is not infectious. He competed in the Ironman Wales event in Tenby on the following day, finishing 413th out of 2,039, vowing to "shake the stigma" surrounding the condition. Thomas filmed a documentary with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and the Terrence Higgins Trust, which aired a few days later on September 18th, feeling press pressure to do so and for National HIV Testing Week. He told a BBC Radio 5 Live interviewer that a journalist had revealed his HIV status to his parents before he had the opportunity to do so himself. Although Thomas declined to name the journalist or the paper they wrote for, he did say "everybody will know, particularly late," leading to the press's suggestion that it be The Sun, after being chastised the previous day for reporting about England cricketer Ben Stokes' family. Gareth Thomas: HIV and Me, a BBC documentary, aired in September 2019.

In the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to sport and wellbeing, Thomas was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

According to High Court legal records, Thomas is accused of "deceptively" transmitting HIV to a former partner.

In November 2011, actor Mickey Rourke said he was going to appear Thomas in a film of his life; the film was set to begin in February 2013. Thomas was later discovered to be working with a writer on the script of the biopic. Thomas said in March 2012 that Tom Hardy was in negotiations to portray him in the film on RTÉ's Craig Doyle Live. Rourke revealed that he had given back the role to the designers. The film project eventually fell apart, but Thomas said in 2015 that he was working on a new one with a different writer.

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Media career

Thomas was an analyst for ITV Sport's coverage of the Rugby World Cup tournaments in 2011, 2015, and 2019.

Thomas was a housemate in the ninth series of Celebrity Big Brother in January 2012 and placed third overall on the final night. Thomas made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of Sky 1 comedy drama Stella the year before. Thomas is also one of eight celebrities selected to participate in an intensive week of learning Welsh in an eco-friendly chic campsite in Pembrokeshire's series cariad@iaith:love4language, which was on S4C in May 2012.

He told a crowd of 300 people in November 2012 that he would be competing in an ice dancing competition, and in December 2012, he was officially announced as one of the contestants in the eighth series of ITV's Dancing on Ice. Robin Johnstone, his partner, was in charge of his care. Every week, he was at or near the top of the leader board. He had nausea and motion sickness during his "flying" routine in week 9, but was advised not to do it and then be asked to leave the series due to this.

Thomas appeared on celebrity talent show Get Your Act Together on January 18, 2015. He appears on the Pinc List of Welsh LGBT leaders.

Thomas appeared in the fourth series of The Jump in 2017. Lydia Bright was replaced by him in the final on March 7, 2017.

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