Campbell Johnstone, the first openly gay All Black, has tied the knot with his partner Ben Thomson.
In January 2023, Campbell revealed in an interview on New Zealand TV show Seven Sharp that he is gay, Speaking at the time, Campbell said: “If I can be the first All Black that comes out as gay and take away the pressure and stigma surrounding the issue it can actually help other people.”
The wedding of Campbell, 44, and Ben, 37, wasn’t exactly traditional – the biggest surprise was that the grooms wed secretly back in October.
Ben 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.”
“It was literally just us, the two photographers and the videographer on that hill, so it was quite cool,” recalls Ben. “We didn’t even have a celebrant.”
The 165 guests who gathered in Oxford, New Zealand for champagne, food and tunes did get to see the video, which the grooms projected on a big screen.
“We meant it to look like we came straight from the video,” says Campbell. “I think some people thought it was live.”
Life been a whirlwind since Campbell – who played three tests for the All Blacks in 2005 – became the first All Black to come out as gay.
While he expected his story would resonate in New Zealand, he had no idea his admission would go global, with media coverage of the interview airing in countless countries.
In 2023, the now-retired rugby star said: “It’s been a really rewarding and humbling few months.
“It seems to be helping people, which is the main thing. I’m still getting messages even now thanking me for what I’m doing, which blows my mind. There were two just yesterday – one from Brussels saying how he wished he had someone like me around when he was growing up.”