Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has quietly tied the knot with his long-time partner Thomas, revealing the news more than a year after their wedding.
The heavy metal legend shared the intimate detail on Queer the Music, a podcast hosted by Scissor Sisters singer Jake Shears. In part two of their conversation, Halford said he had proposed to Thomas “many times” over their 35-year relationship but believed his partner’s “extremely conservative” background was behind the initial hesitations.
Eventually, the tables turned.
“Suddenly on one of our night walks, [Thomas] goes, ‘I think we should get married,’” Halford recalled.
Wasting no time, Halford phoned around to find someone to officiate. The ceremony was small and heartfelt.
“It was a very simple ceremony. Obviously me and him, and an officiant,” he told Shears. “There were just four of us around the pool, around the cactus, the heavy metal cactus. And it was over in an instant. But it was just a beautiful, simple ceremony.”
“It Takes the Commitment to Another Level”
Though Halford has been openly gay since 1988, this is the first time he’s publicly shared that he and Thomas had married.
“It seems like you’ve completed something in your relationship,” he said of finally tying the knot. “More than anything else, the commitment goes to another level when you get married. It’s a great thing to do. And if it doesn’t work, that’s life. But, I think after being together for 35 years, it’s working.”
Homophobia in Metal Still Lingers
Despite his wedded bliss, Halford reflected on the persistent challenges of being openly gay in the heavy metal world — particularly in the United States.
“America is still incredibly homophobic,” he said. “I’ve lived here for a long time and I’ve seen a lot happen since the ’80s, and it really gets me angry and upset.”
Even now, Halford said, he still meets male fans who rush to clarify they’re “not gay” after expressing their admiration for the band.
“That still lives with me now to some extent,” he added. “But when I walk out onstage when Priest is doing headline tours, and I know that everybody has come there to see this band… surely they’re there with complete acceptance in their heart. Everybody in that room is like, ‘We don’t care.’ As they shouldn’t.”
The 74-year-old English rock icon now splits his time between the UK and the US, and remains an enduring figure of LGBTQ+ visibility in a genre often resistant to it.
