Judas Priest’s Rob Halford Revealed He Got Married Last Year To Long-Time Partner Thomas

Judas Priest’s Rob Halford revealed that he tied the knot with his long-time partner, Thomas, last year at a small ceremony after 30 years of dating.

Judas Priest frontman and metal legend Rob Halford revealed that he married his longtime partner, Thomas, last year.

Speaking on the most recent episode of Queer the Music podcast, hosted by Scissor Sisters vocalist Jake Shears, the Halford shared that, “We got married by the cactus outside on December the something or other, about a year or so ago”

Halford and Thomas have been together for 30 years, but put off getting married for a long time, due to Thomas being “from the South. He’s from Alabama – extremely conservative, God,” Halford would explain.

“I stopped asking, ‘Let’s get married.’ No, I don’t want to get married.’ ‘Oh, let’s just get married. We’ve been together forever.’ ‘No, I don’t want to get married,’ the singer said. “And then suddenly on one of our night walks, he goes, ‘I think we should get married.’ [I went] straight home [and got] on the phone to get a pastor.”

Halford would go on to describe the small and hastily planned wedding on the podcast, which he would describe as a “simple ceremony”.  “It was obviously me and him and an officiant, as they call them, who are legalised to marry people. Two of my dearest friends, Jim Silvia, who was Priest’s [tour] manager forever, and his wife. 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.”

The frontman would go on to explain why getting married was so significant for him, despite being in a relationship for 30 years. “Is marriage important? I’ll leave that up to you,” he said. You decide whether you think a piece of paper is valuable. In some cases, it is – it’s extremely valuable. But for us to tie the knot, it’s just nice. It’s just a nice thing. It seems like you’ve completed something in your relationship, 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.”

Later in the podcast, Halford would also share that he believes America still has a long way to go in support of LGBTQ+ issues. “America is still incredibly homophobic,” he’d share. “I’ve lived here for a long time and I’ve seen a lot happen since the 80s. It really gets me angry and upset.”

He’d recount experiences with fans who would approach the singer to let him know that, “I love Judas Priest, but I’m not gay”.

“This labelling, it shouldn’t be a part of anything,” the singer says. “They shouldn’t care. It’s about what you’re doing. It’s about your art and your craft and your work. That’s all that matters.”

You can listen to the full podcast here.