First Out Gay All Blacks Player Marries Partner In Secret Ceremony
Image: Image: womensdaynz/Instagram
Campbell Johnstone, former professional rugby player and first New Zealand All Blacks team member to come out as gay, has married partner Ben Thomson in a mountaintop ceremony.
Speaking to Women’s Day, Johnstone said that they married secretly before celebrating with their loved ones.
“Nobody knew what was going on. Even the groomspeople and our families didn’t know” he said.
“We had a day with just the two of us, when photographers videoed and photographed us getting ready together in a hotel. Then we went out to Castle Hill Station and held our ceremony on top of a mountain,” Thomson explained.
“It was literally just us, the two photographers and the videographer on that hill, so it was quite cool. We didn’t even have a celebrant.”
“We also thought it should be a moment just for us,” Johnstone said. “That was really special because we just got to enjoy the day together.”
A video of the ceremony was projected onto a big screen at a later celebration with family and friends.
“We meant it to look like we came straight from the video,” Johnstone said. “I think some people thought it was live.”
The pair got engaged in July 2023, and have been together since meeting in a Cambridge pub in 2016.
“Another barrier has been broken”
Johnstone came out in 2023, where he shred his stress at leading a “double life” while he was a member of the team.
“If I can be the first All Black that comes out as gay and take away the pressure, I guess, the stigma surrounding that whole issue then it can actually help other people and then the public will know that there is one in amongst the All Blacks,” the then 43-year-old told TVNZ network’s One News channel.
“If I open up that door and magically make that closet disappear, then we’re going to help a lot of people.”
New Zealand’s then Minister For Finance Grant Robertson, who is openly gay himself, welcomed Johnstone’s announcement, congratulating him in a Facebook post.
“In the Black Ferns (New Zealand’s women’s rugby union team), we have had role models for the Rainbow community for some time. And now with the All Blacks, another barrier has been broken. I hope it inspires future generations to be open, happy and comfortable. There is still a long way to go but feels a very significant step. And from one prop to another, nga mihi Campbell!”
