Former Scotland wing Thom Evans has said he felt like he lost his identity after his rugby career was ended by a broken neck suffered against Wales in Cardiff. The injury occurred during a Six Nations match in 2010, with Evans winning his 10th cap.
Evans was injured following a collision with Welsh full-back Lee Byrne. The quick work of Scotland doctor James Robson prevented serious injury, with Evans said to be a mere millimetre from paralysis, or even death. He was forced to retire four months after the initial injury in the Welsh capital.
Career cut short at 24
Speaking to Scotland Rugby News, Evans said: "When my rugby career ended, it was like I lost my identity. It was something I’d worked my whole life to achieve. The only thing I wanted to do was represent Scotland and play international rugby, and I’d finally cemented my place in the starting team."
He added: "Then, obviously, at 24 years of age, I had a career-ending injury, and that was taken from me. So I was thinking, ‘What do I do now? What is my purpose? What is my identity?’"
Rebuilding through TV and wellness
Four years after the injury, Evans was invited to take part in Strictly Come Dancing, with the opportunity helping to rebuild his career. "That opened so many doors for me," he said. "I built myself back together through wellness and fitness, and I was lucky and blessed that other avenues opened up for me, which I tackled head-on."
He continued: "But it definitely hit me a couple of years after the injury. It was the understanding that I was never going to play again. It was tough, I’m not going to lie." Two years after Strictly, he took part in the first series of Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls, before competing in The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019, as part of a band which also featured fellow rugby players Ben Foden and Levi Davis.
Engaged to Nicole Scherzinger
It was on The X Factor that he first met Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, with the pair now engaged. The couple confirmed their relationship in January 2020 and Evans proposed in June 2023, while on holiday in Portugal.
Evans and Scherzinger are still waiting to tie the knot due to the latter’s work commitments. Speaking last year on American radio, Scherzinger said: "Yes, we will get married. We're engaged to be married when I'm not working. Thank God he is so patient."
While his life after rugby has proved successful, Evans admits that, even now, he still wonders what could have been. "Sometimes being near the action brings back some sad memories, in terms of what I could have gone on to achieve," he added. "But then I’m quickly reminded that I’m forever grateful for the recovery I made. It’s a 50/50 feeling."
