Gay pro rugby player braced for hate after sharing wedding photo. Instead, he felt the love.
Kyle Tayler-Woolston tells Outsports he is embracing life as a publicly out gay pro rugby player after marrying his husband, George.
Mark
A professional rugby player whose wedding photo with his husband was shared on social media by his club has told Outsports he feels overwhelmed by the positive response.
Kyle Tayler has played for Newport RFC in Wales for over a decade, helping the Black and Ambers to the Super Rygbi Cymru national league title last year.
In July, he married George Woolston, with the wedding being the first to receive a same-sex blessing at their local village church. From now on, he’ll be going by the name Kyle Tayler-Woolston.
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The rugby club’s chaplain performed the service, and the following weekend, with the permission of the happy couple, Newport RFC posted congratulations via its social media accounts.
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The posts attracted thousands of comments and reactions from well-wishers, taking the news far beyond the club’s regular fanbase.
A month later, coverage in Welsh media brought Tayler-Woolston’s news to even wider attention, with the story subsequently picked up around the world.
The 34-year-old says it’s been a “whirlwind” few weeks that have ultimately changed his perspective on being visible as a gay man in sports.
Tayler-Woolston came out to his Newport teammates in 2018, soon after he and George became boyfriends, and the sense of freedom that followed helped the flanker to record his best season in club rugby in 2018/19.
However, it’s only now that he’s experiencing what it’s like to be publicly out.
“Before, I always perceived being gay as something personal to me,” he tells Outsports. “My friends, family and rugby colleagues know, so why go wider with it?
“But then, on the flip side, I’d think of when I was in the closet and if I had someone to look up to.
“We’ve had Gareth Thomas and Nigel Owens here in Wales, and they were at the top of their game, right in the limelight, which is good. But in community rugby, there wasn’t anyone.
“I was out in the environment I was in, and I didn’t realise until now the amount of impact you can have because it’s become normal life for me.
“The momentum is picking up, and it’s reaching people — so let’s go with that.”
Kyle Tayler-Woolston hopes his story can help other gay athletes
Tayler-Woolston admits to being a little nervous after agreeing that Newport RFC could share his wedding photo with his husband.
“Yet the amount of likes, shares, views and everything… I believe it’s one of the highest they’ve had on their social media platforms,” he says.
“I was surprised at the love because you always see hate comments and bad stuff. I was bracing for that. But even people who were making critiques about the story were getting shut down quite quickly.”
At his level of rugby, Tayler-Woolston is one of around 320 players in the league, where games are watched by hundreds of fans. Now and again, he would get into a conversation that would lead to another coming-out moment.
“Everyone’s assumed to be straight, so over the years I’ve had ‘how’s your girlfriend’ or ‘how’s your missus’ and I’ve had to correct them.
“But then the response from those people — players, supporters, coaches — has been to be quite embarrassed. They’re like, ‘oh my god, I didn’t know… I’m so sorry,’ and I say it’s fine. I’m breaking those stereotypes.”
Maybe it was the awkwardness of their reactions, or how it felt easier for both them and the flanker to brush the broken stereotype aside and move on. Either way, that’s been normal life for him for the last eight years.
But by getting married — a moment of public record and celebration — he’s broken through to another level of visibility. It’s as if the sunlight is streaming in.
“People are messaging me, some who I haven’t seen for years and some who are totally random, and they’re all saying, ‘I love your story!’”
Some of the messages have made him pause for thought before he can reply. “I found out that another rugby player is gay, but was having some difficulties in terms of accepting themselves.
“And I was quite open with him. I said if there is anything I can help with, I will.”
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A men’s pro team sports story like Tayler-Woolston’s is still rare and is very important for representation, but he and his husband have also made history in their local area by way of having their marriage blessed.
St Basil’s, the Anglican church in the village of Bassaleg, had never marked a gay wedding in such a way before.
More progress could be imminent in Wales. It’s not yet legal to perform a same-sex marriage at a Welsh church, but proposals to allow this are set to be brought forward in April 2027.
Through sharing his story, Tayler-Woolston recently met the Archbishop of Wales, Cherry Vann, who is the first woman to hold the position and who lives with her partner, Wendy. Same-sex civil partnerships are permitted for clergy in the Church of Wales.
“The Archbishop and I discussed common challenges we both faced within our careers and the importance of knocking down boundaries. She was brilliant,” he says.
At the wedding breakfast, there had been other signs of the changing times. “We had all these different types of spritz which people from the rugby club were drinking, and we had loads of rainbow stuff too.
“The club chairman is a big, tall guy in his 50s. He grew up when rugby was in the dark ages, and I see him going around in a rainbow hat… well, if you’d said that to me when I was younger, I wouldn’t have believed you!”
It’s been an unforgettable few weeks for the newlyweds. Now the new Super Rygbi Cymru campaign is about to begin, with Newport hosting RGC 1404 from North Wales on Saturday.
It will be Tayler-Woolston’s 11th season with the club. He’s been thinking about all that has happened to him, and how a young academy player today who is struggling with being gay or bi might feel.
“Our team is like a stepping stone for them. They come into our structure, gain experience of playing with older, more experienced players, and then they leave. Several have gone off into the international scene.
“If you’re chasing that goal while questioning your sexuality, in the back of your head, that could pull your energy away. You’re stressing, you’re worried about what other people think, you’re thinking about rejection…
“I’d say to that player, build your support network — the people you trust, close friends and family. You might be surprised when you tell them to find they don’t care.”
That’s how Tayler-Woolston came out at Newport RFC eight years ago. He selected a couple of people at the club whom he was sure would be understanding. Having told them his personal news, he felt confident enough to tell his coach, who was fully supportive too.
“And then it’s great! You can live your best life. You can show that love is love, and your performances on the pitch or whatever your sport is will likely get better too.
“A year after I came out to everyone, I won all the awards — I had the season of my life. I haven’t managed to hit that since, probably because I’m getting older now and the competition’s a bit harder.
“But I say to this day, it was all because in training, I had no fear. George was coming to my games, so were his family, people knew about us, and it wasn’t a drama. That’s where it goes.”
And there goes Kyle Tayler-Woolston — just married, just making a difference, just providing the rugby representation that could spark that life-changing, breakthrough moment for someone else.
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