Tom revealed to the world that he was in a relationship with a man in a candid YouTube video.
He said: ‘I came out on YouTube as I wanted to say what I wanted to say without anyone twisting it.’
Speaking to The Mirror, he said: ‘I am a gay man now.’
Tom admitted that the thought of coming out ‘terrified’ him.
‘I told my family before I told the world. I was terrified,’ he said. ‘I did not know what the reaction was going to be.’
Continuous questioning about Tom’s sexuality prompted him to make the video.
‘I did it on YouTube because people were constantly digging and asking questions.’
The YouTube video inspired many people to bravely come out to their families and Tom received a huge amount of positive feedback.
He said: ‘Two days later after I posted the video I was on my way to Houston to a training camp and this old lady comes up to me in a wheelchair, and wheels over and says, ‘I would like to say thank you’.’
‘You inspired my son to be able to tell me he was gay.’
'I was like, ‘Oh wow’ and then she goes, ‘But he is married with three kids!’ I was like, ‘Have a nice flight...’
Tom thinks that coming out should not be as big a deal as it’s made out to be.
‘It should not really matter. Nobody should care. It is not what people like and don’t like, they should mind their own business.’