The co-founder of the End-to-End has expressed his hope that the people of Bermuda will find it in their hearts to accept the legality of same-sex marriages.

Paul Rowlerson moved to Bermuda in 1985 to work for a reinsurance firm and lived on the Island for 17 years during which time he helped establish the annual charity event.

He told The Royal Gazette that he had always kept his homosexuality a secret for fear of losing his job while in Bermuda.

“It was certainly not something I discussed with anyone,” he said. “Back then there was the generally held view that you could lose your job. But I believe we live in a better world now. Legally sanctioned discrimination does not belong in a modern, forward-thinking society like Bermuda although it still survives in the totalitarian and theocratic states in the world.”

Mr Rowlerson left Bermuda in 2001 and moved to the United States to work. In 2006 he and his partner entered into a civil partnership in London, before their union was officially recognised as a marriage as a result of a change of legislation in the UK earlier this year.

The 64-year-old said: “Once I left the Island I was able to marry my husband in the UK, a mostly secular country that recognises equal marriage and we now live in Spain, a majority Catholic country that also fully recognises our marriage.

“When these countries passed the legislation, did the sky fall in? No.

“Did the institution of marriage crumble? Far from it.

“Every other family carried on and society remained secure. All that changed was my life. I was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the man I love and share that relationship with friends and family.”

Mr Rowlerson has returned to the Island several times in the last ten years, often in his capacity as the co-founder of the End-to-End event.

He said: “If you are a gay man that alone does not define everything you are. If you can not express that side of you it is not the end of everything.

“It is a part of your life you have to keep out. It does not make life unbearable. I had excellent friends and a great job, and I was very happy when I lived in Bermuda. “But during my time there I was often in the public eye whether it was to do with the End-to-End or other roles, and I hope that if people remember who I was they will remember me kindly, and they will take a little bit of what I say into account.”