Gareth Thomas has revealed the way his parents found out about his HIV diagnosis.
The rugby star became emotional as he recalled a reporter telling his parents he was HIV positive after knocking on their front door.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, a Gareth said he can’t “imagine how they felt” being told that way.
View this post on InstagramToday I choose life, happiness And confronting all my fears. @dave_tonge @heathwoodswimming
He shared: “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 he’s going to be able to live through this and live a healthy, normal life.”
Gareth went on: “I can never take that moment back, that person came and took that moment away from me. My parents will say that they’re fine because that’s my parents but I can’t really tell you how they felt, I can’t imagine how they felt.
“Can you imagine someone coming to your door and saying something so personal and so intrusive to you about the thing and the person who you would love and protect through anything?”
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He added: “All I can tell you is I have the best parents on the planet. To this day they stand by me and they believe in me and they believe in what I’m doing now.”
Gareth was recently forced to reveal he is HIV+ after being “blackmailed” by people who knew about the diagnosis.
In a video message shared on his Twitter account, he said: “I want to share my secret with you. Why? Because it’s mine to tell you, not the evils who’ve made my life hell, threatening to tell you before I do.”
Gareth revealed: “I’m living with HIV.”
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Saying that the revelation doesn’t make him “weak”, Gareth admitted that it does make him “extremely vulnerable”.
He added: “Now, even though I’ve been forced to tell you this, I choose to fight to educate and fight the stigma around this subject.”
Since revealing his diagnosis, Gareth has received an outpouring of support from people praising his bravery, including Prince William.
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