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Gareth Thomas sued after allegedly infecting ex-partner with HIV
By Ian Cameron
Gareth Thomas is being taken to court by a former partner who has claimed he was infected by the former Wales star with HIV – a diagnosis he says the ex-rugby player ‘concealed’.
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It is claimed that Thomas – who revealed his HIV diagnosis in 2019 – infected former partner Ian Baum after having failed to reveal his diagnosis and having not taken ‘reasonable care’ to ensure he did not transmit the virus.
Thomas and Baum are understood to have had an on-again, off-again relationship roughly ten years ago. Baum (59) has accused Thomas in the High Court of ‘assault, battery, infliction of intentional harm and negligence’.
Thomas denies the claims.
The case will put forward that Baum first learned of Thomas’ diagnosis when he found discarded pharmaceutical packages that it turned out were for anti-retroviral drugs.
Thomas is thought to be the first British sportsman to go public about living with the virus, and has revealed that he was driven to suicidal thoughts as a result of his diagnosis.
The 48-year-old – who came out as gay in 2009 – went public with his illness after being put “through hell” by blackmailers who threatened to expose his secret.
In 2020 Thomas said: “We still live in a society and a world where stigma holds back people being able to be honest about living with HIV. Because the truth is, I live with HIV, I take a single tablet every day.
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“I’m on effective treatment that means I can’t transmit HIV in any way, shape or form. I live my life with HIV with no limitations. I’m not saying that people who stigmatise are wrong and should know better, because I had my own stigma. When I found out I was living with HIV, I thought I was going to die.”
Thomas said at the time that his husband Stephen, who he met after his diagnosis and married six years ago, does not have the virus.
The former Cardiff Blues player won 103 caps and scored 41 tries for Wales between 1995 and 2007, and he is 13th on the all-time international test try-scoring list.
