Trisha Goddard has spoken in the past about her first husband, an Australian politician called Robert Nestdale, who was secretly gay and died of AIDS in 1989.
And appearing on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, the TV presenter, 63, said Robert risked her life to hide his sexuality, having sex with her when he was knowingly HIV positive.
Trisha said he ‘put my life on the line to hide his sexuality’ but admits she ‘feels sorry for him’ because he ‘must have been going through hell.’
‘He risked my life to hide his sexuality’: Trisha Goddard said on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories her gay first husband Robert had unprotected sex with her when he was knowingly HIV positive
During the interview, Piers, 55, askedTrisha: ‘Your romantic life, to put it mildly, has been eventful. Tell me about your first husband. You met him on a plane?
Trisha said: ‘Yeah. Oh, gosh. We always used to say, never date a passenger.
Piers pressed on: ‘He courted you very aggressively. But you married this guy within eight months, [in 1985].
Secrets: The presenter’s ex-husband, Australian politician Robert Nestdale, died in 1989, with Trisha only learning Robert had died of AIDS at his funeral
Trisha said: ‘Yeah. He was so charming.’
‘And well connected. Where did you get married?’ Piers chipped in.
Trisha said: ‘We were married in Sydney, with the who’s who of politicians there. And it was great, until the day after the wedding.
‘Then he went back to Canberra.’
Piers asked her if that was the moment alarm bells began to ring for her.
She replied: ‘It was the first DING. Yeah. Yeah. He always used to say things to me like, I’m very tactile. So if anybody ever tells you I’m homosexual, it’s just because I’m tactile.’
Sadly the marriage only lasted for eight months.
Piers said: ‘But then he died in 1989. And you thought he’d had Leukemia. He told you that but it turned out that he died of AIDS.’
Robert died just weeks after she gave birth to daughter Billie with second husband Mark Grieve – with Trisha only learning Robert had died of AIDS at his funeral.
They married in 1993 and the pair welcomed their second daughter Madison in 1996, with the couple splitting shortly after.
Trisha then went on to tie the knot with psychotherapist Peter Gianfrancesco in 1998, however, this married also didn’t last, with the duo divorcing in 2017.
And talking about Robert, Piers said: ‘Although you had not much of a physical marriage, you had had sex unprotected with a man who knew he was HIV positive.’
Trisha recalled she had a three week wait to find out if she was also HIV positive after taking a test.
She also had an to wait to see if she had given HIV to daughter to Billie, now 31, through breastfeeding, recalling that she didn’t ‘know how I got through it’.
Piers asked her: ‘Do you know how he got HIV? Did you assume after all that that maybe he’d been gay, but you think maybe he was leading a double life of some sort?’
Trisha admitted: ‘You know what? I feel sorry for him. I actually ended up joining the Terrence Higgins Trust. But you can’t come out.
‘If he said to me, you know, people were guessing that I’m gay. If he told me… His life must have been hell. But to put my life on the line to cover your secret up. No.’
Piers Morgan’s Life Stories airs on Thursday night at 9pm on ITV. To catch up on the series, visit the ITV Hub
Agony: Trisha Goddard has revealed her horror over thinking she had passed on HIV to her then baby daughter Billie, after learning her first husband secretly battled the virus (pictured in 2020)
Scared: In a new interview, Trisha, 63, opened up about the agonising wait to find out if she had carried HIV and had given it to Billie, now 31, through breastfeeding, recalling that she didn’t ‘know how I got through it’
Past trauma: Upon realising the truth about his illness, the new mum, then 31, was struck with panic at the thought of passing on the virus to her child and booked herself in for a test immediately (pictured in 2020)
Horrible time: ‘I’ll never forget this awful feeling, that I might have been passing on the disease through my milk. It was your worst nightmare’ (pictured in 2019)
Her girl: She went on to meet producer Mark Grieve in 1987, with the couple welcoming first daughter Billie in 1989, just weeks before Robert’s death (pictured with Billie, now 31)
Information about HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and how to maintain good sexual health can be found out at https://www.tht.org.uk/
Tough: The Dancing On Ice star went on to describe her short-lived marriage to Robert and told how she found it ‘hard’ to get over the fact that he had lied throughout their relationship and ‘all the way’ to his deathbed 9pictured in 2020)
