Gareth Thomas resolves dispute with ex following allegations of HIV transmission

An ex-partner who claimed the former Wales rugby union captain “deceptively” transmitted HIV to him have settled their legal dispute.

Ian Baum filed a high court lawsuit against Thomas for allegedly concealing his HIV status and “failed to take reasonable care” to prevent the virus from spreading.

Thomas stated that by agreeing to the settlement, he had not admitted culpability and that he continued to maintain his innocence “in all the meritless charges.” Thomas will pay £75,000 plus fees.

According to court documents, Baum, a former police officer who dated Thomas from 2013 to 2016, said he was HIV-negative at the time of their relationship.

According to the records, Baum asked the athlete why he was taking tablets from bottles with the labels torn off but was assured they were multivitamins. He asserted that after looking up the pills online, he learned they were an HIV antiviral drug known as GSK1.

He claimed that after learning he was positive, he “immediately” went to obtain a quick HIV test and was “devastated” and “fell into shock.”

In court records, Baum’s attorneys claimed: “By infecting the claimant with HIV, the defendant has caused him substantial medical and psychological suffering.

The defendant’s public reputation as a person who has spoken out about his homosexuality and LGBTQ problems would have suffered greatly if that information had become known to the public.

Since then, the defendant has presented himself as an advocate for LGBT matters without ever disclosing that in 2014, he deceitfully gave the claimant HIV.

The defendant forced the claimant into unprotected sexual contact while knowing that doing so increased the claimant at danger of obtaining HIV. The defendant also lied to the claimant about his HIV status.

In a statement, Baum’s legal team, McCue Jury & Partners, said: “Ian stood up for himself in the face of all the obstacles. Ian is eager to put this horrible period of his life behind him.

“In personal injury lawsuits like this, the accuser has no financial consequences even if they lose, yet winning had tremendous financial repercussions for me,” Thomas wrote on Twitter.

In comparison to the many multiples of that amount I would have had to pay to successfully defend myself in court, paying £75,000 plus charges today is nothing.

“This closure and acceptance from the other side is a profoundly beneficial consequence for my own mental health and that of my family.”

Thomas made history in 2009 when he became the first openly gay professional rugby player in the history of the sport. Thomas has 100 caps for Wales and has played for his nation in four Rugby World Cups.

In 2019, he openly admitted to having HIV, and since then, he has worked with the Terrence Higgins Trust organization, whose patron he is, to promote HIV awareness.