In 1989, Thom left his popular role of Philip on the number one daytime serial "The Young and the Restless" to pursue big screen stardom, but a horrific tragedy occurred when his paranoid schizophrenic brother Troy killed their mother with a baseball bat. His brother is serving life in prison. His other brother Craig, in a deep depression, shot himself in 2000. It was then Thom decided to come out as a gay man and share his experiences with the world through his paintings and autobiography, "Forgiving Troy".