Former rugby player Gareth Thomas has said he would “absolutely not” have revealed his HIV status if a newspaper had not made threats to publish it.
The ex-Wales captain made the announcement on Saturday, the day before finishing an Ironman triathlon.
Thomas told BBC Wales the tabloids would “create their own law” and he did not have the money to fight them.
It comes after cricketer Ben Stokes criticised the Sun for running a story about his family.
Thomas said keeping a secret had been the hardest part of the diagnosis.
He told BBC Radio Wales: “I’ve been living in fear of it being published,” adding: “The tabloids will create their own law.
“You’ll send them a letter and all they’ll do is ignore it. I haven’t got the money to be able to fight a giant tabloid in court.
“When they do it they’ll somehow find justification for doing it. They’ll say it’s ok, a family member told us something.”
In a Twitter video, Thomas had said he was compelled to make the announcement after threats were made to him by “evils” to reveal his HIV status.
Asked if he would have spoken about his HIV status without the press involvement, he replied: “I would love to sit here and say yes but I’d be a hypocrite if I did.
“Absolutely not. It’s got nothing to do with anyone else.”
Thomas revealed a journalist had told his parents he had HIV before he had spoken of it to them himself.
He said: “Imagine what position that puts me in. I can never, ever, ever have that moment back with my mother and father of sitting down and telling them something so personal to me.
“They took that right away from me.
“I’m lucky that I have parents who love me and will support me through anything, but I deserved to have that moment with them.”
He spoke out the day after Stokes called a front page story in the Sun newspaper about his family “utterly disgusting” and “the lowest form of journalism”.
It had dealt with “deeply personal and traumatic events” that had affected his family in New Zealand more than 30 years ago.
The Sun told the BBC it had received the co-operation of a family member.
