Gareth Thomas, who became the first openly gay professional rugby player after coming out in 2009, appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show last night to promote his new autobiography, Proud.

In this interview, Thomas revealed he felt he couldn't continue playing rugby as an out athlete because the historically homophobic nature of the sport.

He also speaks about "living a lie" while he was married to a woman for six years, and what his coming out has done for other people:

I didn't come out because I wanted to be the first person to do it. I came out because I came to the crossroads of living or dying, and that's why I decided to come out. Because I wanted to live.

I get stopped, even today, constantly on the street by people I have never met in my entire life, and they'll say to me, 'I Just want to thank you for helping my brother, mother, father, sister, auntie, uncle, because you gave them the strength to be who they want to be...I have won every trophy that I can ever dream of winning but when you affect somebody’s life, in a way that this person is going to have a life that they never thought they could have because of me, stupid old me, because of that they could do that, it’s amazing.

When asked if he may someday marry his partner, Ian Baum, Thomas responded:

We’ve known each other for two years and we’ve been living together for a year and I am very much in love with Ian.

I’m extremely happy and I’m sure one day down the line [we may get married], we’re settling in but I definitely wouldn’t write it off because I really feel I’ve found my soulmate and the person I can spend the rest of my life with, I really do.

Proud is out now.

h/t Gay Star News