FORMER WALES INTERNATIONAL Gareth Thomas says a journalist told his parents about his HIV status before he had a chance to discuss it with them.
The 45-year-old revealed his diagnosis to the public last weekend and spoke at the time about blackmailers threatening to reveal the sensitive information before he made an announcement.
Thomas also said that he had been “living with this secret for years”, explaining that he contemplated driving off a cliff to prevent people from discovering that he was suffering from the virus.
Today, he has opened up about an unnamed journalist, who approached his parents to tell them about his condition.
“A journalist knocking on my parents door and telling my parents that I’m living with HIV, or as they say ‘I have HIV or Aids’, because they’re so uneducated about the subject,” he told BBC.
“Imagine the position that puts me in. They took that right away from me.”
"I will never, ever get that moment back with my parents"
— BBC Wales News (@BBCWalesNews) September 18, 2019
Ex-Wales rugby captain @gareththomas14 tells of the moment a tabloid journalist told his mum and dad he was living with HIV
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An emotional Thomas went on to criticise the actions of the journalist during the BBC interview.
He thanked his parents for their continued support while reiterating the pain he felt in not having the opportunity to talk them through his diagnosis.
“They love me whatever,” he began.
It’s just I can never have that time back, I can never have that moment back to sit down with them and be able to explain to them why their son is going to be okay and is going to be able to live through this, and live a healthy life.
“I can never take that moment back. That person came and took that moment away from me.”
"I can never have that moment back."
— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) September 18, 2019
A journalist told @gareththomas14 ‘s parents about his HIV status before he had. This is what it means to him.
🎧 Listen via @BBCSounds pic.twitter.com/HIWZKHwAmJ
“My parents will say that they’re fine because that’s my parents but I can’t really tell you how they felt because I can’t imagine how they would feel.
Can you imagine somebody coming to your door and saying something so personal and so intrusive to you about the person that you [would] love and protect through anything.
“Can you imagine how that would feel? I can’t so I can’t really tell you. But what I can tell you is that I have the best parents on this planet because to this day, they stand by me and they believe in me.
“They believe in what I’m doing now.”
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