Gay rugby star Gareth Thomas’s ex-wife speaks out: “What happened to us is just so terribly sad.”

Back in the 80s, I was involved in a couple of fairly serious relationships with women who were first-rate individuals and loved me greatly. But as we all know now, I was hiding the fact that I was gay from them and everyone else.

Thank God I stopped living that lie by my late 20s but I still feel regret over the emotional damage I caused. So the story of Welsh rubgy star Gareth Thomas strikes a particular cord with me as does the story of his former wife, Gemma Thomas, who talks about their relationship in an interview with the Daily Mail.

Gareth finally told her the truth in 2006 and she was heartbroken.

But she has forgiven the man who she says she “absolutely adored Gareth with every bone in my body … As I said my vows, all I could think was: “He’s mine, this wonderful, amazing man is all mine.”‘

‘I still love Gareth and I will never stop loving him,” she adds. ‘What happened to us is just so terribly sad. He really was the perfect husband in every other way.”

Gemma, 33, has moved to Spain to escape the scrutiny and the memories but she has a really good perspective on what has happened:

“I’m incredibly proud of him for coming out and if anyone thinks any less of him because of it, then they are stupid. I know it was a massive relief when he told me, his family and close friends three years ago, and it will be even more of a relief now that everyone knows.

‘He is now free to be who he is and I, and everyone else who knows and loves him, am happy for him because he is a very special person. I don’t feel angry, embarrassed or humiliated, nor do I regret marrying Gareth for a second. I know with all my heart that he adored me as much as I adored him on our wedding day, and I had the most fantastic years of my life with him.

‘It would be easy to wallow in self-pity and dwell on the negatives, but I am a positive person and I’m grateful that he loved me so much he had to tell me the truth because he felt I deserved better.

‘He released me and in doing so he released himself. Gareth could have waited for years to tell me, wasted my life, and where would that have left me? I was only 30 when he told me, still young enough to meet someone else and have children.'”