Former pro rugby player Campbell Johnstone marries partner Ben Thomson and shares wedding pics
"Nobody knew what was going on. Even our families didn’t know… We wanted to do it privately, just for ourselves”
Former professional rugby player Campbell Johnstone has tied the knot in a surprise wedding ceremony with his partner Ben Thomson.
The nuptials in The Flaxmill in Oxford, New Zealand saw the couple arrive in a helicopter piloted by rugby legend Richie McCaw.
Former All Black player Johnstone came out publicly as gay in 2023 – becoming the first, and so far only, New Zealand international men’s rugby player to do so.
“Even our families didn’t know” – Campbell Johnstone on his wedding
Sharing their wedding album with Women’s Day and , Campbell told the publication: “Nobody knew what was going on. Even our families didn’t know…
“We wanted to do it privately, just for ourselves.”
Ben meanwhile added of riding in the helicopter: “Richie did this really steep loop around the property and I lost my stomach a bit. Then he landed and we got out. Our parents congratulated us, people swarmed to take photos, then the wedding kind of kicked off from there.”
Speaking to Outsports after sharing the photos with the world, Campbell said: “The response has meant all those cool feelings and excitement that we had on the day have come back again. It was amazing, but it just went so fast!”
Of his coming out journey, he added: “There were parts of the whole experience I didn’t expect. So many other gay people shared their stories of giving up on the sport they’d loved because they didn’t fit the mould.
“They said my story had given them the strength to reconnect with their sport so that was really humbling.”
At the time, rugby star Devin Ibañez praised Johnstone, saying: “In [coming out] he has helped the global rugby community take a massive leap forward in LGBTQ representation at the highest levels of our sport.”