On Sunday, former Rugby star Gareth Thomas came out as HIV+.
Thomas posted a video on Twitter where he said he wanted to share his “secret” before he was outed.
“Now you have that information, that makes me extremely vulnerable, but it does not make me weak. Now even though I’ve been forced to tell you this, I choose to fight, to educate and break the stigma around this subject,” he said.
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He also announced that to help break the stigma, he is taking on the Tenby Iron Man to “push myself physically to the limits.”
“I’m asking you to help me to show that everyone lives in fear of people’s reactions and opinions, but that doesn’t mean we have to hide,” he added.
Both Prince Harry and Prince William, who are advocates for HIV/AIDS awareness because of Princess Diana’s work, showed their support for the former captain of the British and Irish Lions on social media.
The Duke of Cambridge rarely tweets himself, but took this moment to write, “Courageous as ever – legend on the pitch and legend off it. You have our support Gareth.”
The Duke of Sussex also showed his support for the Rugby legend through Instagram.
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“Gareth, you are an absolute legend! In sharing your story of being HIV+, you are saving lives and shattering stigma, by showing you can be strong and resilient while living with HIV. We should all be appalled by the way you were forced to speak your truth, it is yours and yours alone to share on your terms and I and millions stand with you,” Prince Harry wrote.
In a new documentary on BBC One Wales, Thomas talks about how a tabloid found out about his diagnosis and surrounded his parent’s home threatening to release the information.
“I needed to take control of my life,” he said in the documentary, according to the BBC. “When you have a secret that other people know about it makes you really vulnerable towards them. And I just, I felt like I had no control over my own life.”
