02 October 2023 , 11:57
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Gareth Thomas said he's been 'subjected to so much s**t' for being gay as he opened up about his past on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The former Welsh rugby player, 49, stars in the current series of the Channel 4 endurance show in which a host of celebrities fight their fears. Nicknamed 'Alfie', Gareth was the first Wales rugby union player to play in 100 test matches, and is currently the sixth-most capped Wales player. However, when he came out as gay in 2009 before revealing he was HIV positive, the star said he suffered horrific abuse.
Opening up about his experience, he told chief instructor Mark 'Billy' Billingham and his directing staff (DS) Jason 'Foxy' Fox, Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver on Sunday: "I struggle with myself. In my life I have been subject to so much s**t, but I refuse to be the victim."
Welsh rugby star, Gareth Thomas, has opened up about the 'horrific abuse' he's received for being gay and HIV positive (Channel 4)Gareth shared how he remembered hearing crowds of rugby fans calling him a "f****t" – while revealing ignorant people still move away from him in restaurants as they believe they could get HIV from him.
Speaking about his rugby career he said: "I wanted to represented my country. Those that didn't like I was gay couldn't drop it I was petrified of people thinking I was gay. For some matches there were people in crowd calling me a f****t for 90 minutes straight. 10 years down the line I was blackmailed by someone who was going to say if I had HIV."
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He added: "HIV is not a limit to my physical and mental capabilities, but people move away from me in a restaurant, they think that is where transmission comes from. They go to shake my hand and then stop."
Gareth is battling it out on Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, which is filmed in Vietnam (Channel 4)Gareth, who was married to wife, Jemma, until they divorced in 2009, told the Daily Mail previously, "I don't want to be known as a gay rugby player. I am a rugby player, first and foremost. I am a man". In an interview with the BBC, he also talked about how he hoped his coming out would mean that in the future, a young gay rugby player would be able to still be accepted as a "talented gay rugby player". Gareth also said: "What I choose to do when I close the door at home has nothing to do with what I have achieved in rugby".
The star is now battling it out on Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, which is filmed in Vietnam, alongside the likes of former model, Dannielle Lloyd, former footballer Jermaine Pennant and disgraced MP, Matt Hancock. Jermaine and Hancock came to blows during filming after the sports star punched the former Health Secretary to the ground in a boxing challenge.
•Celebrity: SAS Who Dares Wins is on Channel 4 on Sunday at 9pm