Latest news with #DustinLanceBlack
The Advertiser
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Tom Daley talks of 'lonely experience' as a gay athlete
Tom Daley had a "very lonely experience" as a closeted athlete. The 31-year-old diver has now been married to Hollywood director Dustin Lance Black, 50, since 2017 but endured some personal struggles before disclosing his sexuality to the world in his late teens, and wants to help those in a similar position to him avoid ending up in a "dangerous" place. He told Variety: "They don't know what to do, how to navigate and obviously coming out in certain places is a very different experience than coming out in the UK or the US, so it can be quite dangerous. "I always say to them that I can be there as a sounding board just because it is a very lonely experience." Daley- whose father Robert died from a brain tumour in 2011 at the age of 40 - has sons Robbie, six, as well as two-year-old Phoenix with his husband and admitted that losing his dad was one of the "most difficult" things he has ever had to go through but still takes inspiration from his dad when it comes to his parenting style. He said: "I model lots of my parenting and lots of the things that I do every day around what I learned from my dad. He my biggest cheerleader. He was there for every training session, every competition, and he was a huge part of my life, day in, day out. "Losing him was one of the most difficult things that I ever had to deal with. "Yet I was dealing with that in a very public way in the UK. Looking back on all of that footage was quite challenging to watch because I felt really sorry for the younger Tom that I kind of was just carrying on and putting on a brave face, and I didn't ever want to bother anyone with how I was feeling because I didn't want to ever make anyone else feel uncomfortable." The Olympian has discussed his life and career at length in the new documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, but admitted that he initially had reservations about speaking about such personal things on camera. He said: "I wasn't sure about doing it initially. You know what? This is something that I would love to be able to then show my kids in the future and be able to be like, 'Look, this is what Papa did. This is the thing that Papa was doing day in, day out' And the things that I did, and be able to get to know the relationship I had with my dad and all of that stuff." Tom Daley had a "very lonely experience" as a closeted athlete. The 31-year-old diver has now been married to Hollywood director Dustin Lance Black, 50, since 2017 but endured some personal struggles before disclosing his sexuality to the world in his late teens, and wants to help those in a similar position to him avoid ending up in a "dangerous" place. He told Variety: "They don't know what to do, how to navigate and obviously coming out in certain places is a very different experience than coming out in the UK or the US, so it can be quite dangerous. "I always say to them that I can be there as a sounding board just because it is a very lonely experience." Daley- whose father Robert died from a brain tumour in 2011 at the age of 40 - has sons Robbie, six, as well as two-year-old Phoenix with his husband and admitted that losing his dad was one of the "most difficult" things he has ever had to go through but still takes inspiration from his dad when it comes to his parenting style. He said: "I model lots of my parenting and lots of the things that I do every day around what I learned from my dad. He my biggest cheerleader. He was there for every training session, every competition, and he was a huge part of my life, day in, day out. "Losing him was one of the most difficult things that I ever had to deal with. "Yet I was dealing with that in a very public way in the UK. Looking back on all of that footage was quite challenging to watch because I felt really sorry for the younger Tom that I kind of was just carrying on and putting on a brave face, and I didn't ever want to bother anyone with how I was feeling because I didn't want to ever make anyone else feel uncomfortable." The Olympian has discussed his life and career at length in the new documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, but admitted that he initially had reservations about speaking about such personal things on camera. He said: "I wasn't sure about doing it initially. You know what? This is something that I would love to be able to then show my kids in the future and be able to be like, 'Look, this is what Papa did. This is the thing that Papa was doing day in, day out' And the things that I did, and be able to get to know the relationship I had with my dad and all of that stuff." Tom Daley had a "very lonely experience" as a closeted athlete. The 31-year-old diver has now been married to Hollywood director Dustin Lance Black, 50, since 2017 but endured some personal struggles before disclosing his sexuality to the world in his late teens, and wants to help those in a similar position to him avoid ending up in a "dangerous" place. He told Variety: "They don't know what to do, how to navigate and obviously coming out in certain places is a very different experience than coming out in the UK or the US, so it can be quite dangerous. "I always say to them that I can be there as a sounding board just because it is a very lonely experience." Daley- whose father Robert died from a brain tumour in 2011 at the age of 40 - has sons Robbie, six, as well as two-year-old Phoenix with his husband and admitted that losing his dad was one of the "most difficult" things he has ever had to go through but still takes inspiration from his dad when it comes to his parenting style. He said: "I model lots of my parenting and lots of the things that I do every day around what I learned from my dad. He my biggest cheerleader. He was there for every training session, every competition, and he was a huge part of my life, day in, day out. "Losing him was one of the most difficult things that I ever had to deal with. "Yet I was dealing with that in a very public way in the UK. Looking back on all of that footage was quite challenging to watch because I felt really sorry for the younger Tom that I kind of was just carrying on and putting on a brave face, and I didn't ever want to bother anyone with how I was feeling because I didn't want to ever make anyone else feel uncomfortable." The Olympian has discussed his life and career at length in the new documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, but admitted that he initially had reservations about speaking about such personal things on camera. He said: "I wasn't sure about doing it initially. You know what? This is something that I would love to be able to then show my kids in the future and be able to be like, 'Look, this is what Papa did. This is the thing that Papa was doing day in, day out' And the things that I did, and be able to get to know the relationship I had with my dad and all of that stuff." Tom Daley had a "very lonely experience" as a closeted athlete. The 31-year-old diver has now been married to Hollywood director Dustin Lance Black, 50, since 2017 but endured some personal struggles before disclosing his sexuality to the world in his late teens, and wants to help those in a similar position to him avoid ending up in a "dangerous" place. He told Variety: "They don't know what to do, how to navigate and obviously coming out in certain places is a very different experience than coming out in the UK or the US, so it can be quite dangerous. "I always say to them that I can be there as a sounding board just because it is a very lonely experience." Daley- whose father Robert died from a brain tumour in 2011 at the age of 40 - has sons Robbie, six, as well as two-year-old Phoenix with his husband and admitted that losing his dad was one of the "most difficult" things he has ever had to go through but still takes inspiration from his dad when it comes to his parenting style. He said: "I model lots of my parenting and lots of the things that I do every day around what I learned from my dad. He my biggest cheerleader. He was there for every training session, every competition, and he was a huge part of my life, day in, day out. "Losing him was one of the most difficult things that I ever had to deal with. "Yet I was dealing with that in a very public way in the UK. Looking back on all of that footage was quite challenging to watch because I felt really sorry for the younger Tom that I kind of was just carrying on and putting on a brave face, and I didn't ever want to bother anyone with how I was feeling because I didn't want to ever make anyone else feel uncomfortable." The Olympian has discussed his life and career at length in the new documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, but admitted that he initially had reservations about speaking about such personal things on camera. He said: "I wasn't sure about doing it initially. You know what? This is something that I would love to be able to then show my kids in the future and be able to be like, 'Look, this is what Papa did. This is the thing that Papa was doing day in, day out' And the things that I did, and be able to get to know the relationship I had with my dad and all of that stuff."
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Daley looks back: ‘My management said if I came out, I'd lose sponsorship'
Interactive Born in Plymouth in 1994, Tom Daley is Britain's most decorated diver. He was 13 when he made history as Britain's youngest competitor at the 2008 Olympics, and the following year became a world champion. He won gold at the Tokyo Olympics with his synchronised diving partner, Matty Lee, before retiring from diving in 2024. He is married to the screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, with whom he has two sons. The documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, is available to stream on Discovery+ from 1 June. Advertisement I used to be obsessed with wearing tea towels. I'd make sure the fabric was completely lined-up and tucked in neatly. If it was in the slightest bit ruffled or messy, I would get upset and rip it off and try it all over again. This was the beginning of my perfectionism – and possibly the first signs that I might not be 100% straight. My mum says that as a kid, I was very sweet but I knew what I wanted. What did I want? To do the best I could at anything that I tried. That is still my mentality today. If I'm going to try something and it doesn't work out perfectly, I don't have tantrums any more, but I do get frustrated. That's the thing about being an athlete: being good is not enough – you have to be the best. It's not something you can teach, but every athlete who gets to an Olympic level has that same drive. We know our flaws before anybody else can point them out. I was seven when I started diving. I loved the water but found swimming up and down a little bit boring – diving was much more fun. I started out jumping off the side of the pool, then tried the one-metre. The first time I tried the 10-metre platform I was eight years old. I remember crawling to the edge because I was too scared to walk – the board seemed to reduce in size with every step and suddenly looked like a tightrope. I was peering off into the water, thinking: 'There's no way I can jump off this.' But once I was in the air, there was no going back. It was a surreal and euphoric moment – freefalling for 1.6 seconds. As soon as it was over, I knew I wanted to do it again. My childhood was brilliant. I was always outdoors, and we used to go for weekends away in our caravan in Newquay. I felt very safe, loved and cared for. Because I was so happy with my family, I used to hate travelling for competitions – I would get so homesick. It was terrifying to be on the other side of the planet from your parents when you're 10 years old – especially when everyone else competing was much older. I can't imagine how painful it was for my parents to hear their son crying on the end of the phone. Advertisement Related: Jeff Goldblum looks back: 'My brother was an interesting dude. When he died it was terrible, monumental' My dad Rob was my biggest cheerleader. He would work all day, pick me up from school, take me to the pool and stay all evening until I finished training. He would be there for every competition. We were a team, and it was our dream together. He was great at teaching me about perspective: if I bombed out at a competition, he would say: 'You came 30th, but you're still the 30th best in the world.' When dad died [of a brain tumour in 2011], I went to training the next morning. I carried on competing without a proper break. Maybe it's a British thing, but me and my family wouldn't speak about his passing that much. It's as if we didn't want to upset anyone, or make them feel uncomfortable. I also felt that I had to be the strong one – the person who could support my family. It was only when I met my husband Lance, and he would ask why I didn't speak about my dad, that I allowed myself the space to grieve. And it still hits me now, especially when those major milestones happen. He missed me winning my first Olympic medal, my wedding, my first son's birth. Lance and I met at a dinner in 2013. We talked and talked until we both realised how similar our lives were. He had just lost his brother; I'd lost my dad. He had just won his Oscar; I had just won an Olympic medal. It was the first time I could complain about success to somebody who knew I wasn't really complaining about success. I was complaining about how to deal with what happens on the other side – the pressure and expectations. Knowing that nothing would ever compare to that feeling again. Advertisement I met Lance in March and came out to the media nine months later. I don't think I would ever have said anything about my private life unless I had met someone like Lance. Once we fell in love, I knew I couldn't keep it a secret. It was absolutely terrifying, posting the video on YouTube, because my management at the time had not been encouraging, and told me that I was going to lose my sponsorship. It was a scary thing to do, but once it was out there I was glad. It took all of the pressure off. I could be me for the first time. In 2024, I competed at the Paris Olympics, this time with my sons in tow. Being a dad was still my priority, so I had to deal with running on low sleep. I went to bed at 8 o'clock, because I didn't know how many times I'd be up in the night. I'd wake early for training but would make sure I was home to help Lance with bedtime. I always found it incredibly difficult to leave them for competitions, and I carried a sense of guilt with me. My husband is so supportive, and he's sacrificed a lot for me. But now I've retired, it's his moment. He's like: 'It's my turn to get my career back on track!' I have been an athlete for most of my life, so it's taking time to adjust to my new reality. I am so used to being disciplined that even if I'm out for dinner on a Saturday night, and someone asks if I'd like a glass of wine, it takes me a second to realise I am actually allowed to. Food is the same. When I was about to go to the 2012 Olympics, I was told by a coach that I needed to lose weight. After that, I had some issues with eating disorders. At the time it was something that men didn't really speak about, so I kept it to myself and felt very alone. Once I was able to get the proper nutritional support and learned more about what my body needed, and how to fuel it, then my recovery started to unfold. But in truth, that feedback still affects me today. I know how I can look, and how I did feel, at my peak. Now that I'm not training six hours a day, six days a week, I am never going to be in that same form. When I look at this photo, I think about how innocent I look. The boy in the photo has no sense of what society thinks is right or wrong. I could live and be happy and free. I am so glad my parents were the kind of people who celebrated whoever I was; an Olympian diver or a boy who liked to wear tea towels around his waist.
The Guardian
21 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Tom Daley looks back: ‘My management said if I came out, I'd lose sponsorship'
Born in Plymouth in 1994, Tom Daley is Britain's most decorated diver. He was 13 when he made history as Britain's youngest competitor at the 2008 Olympics, and the following year became a world champion. He won gold at the Tokyo Olympics with his synchronised diving partner, Matty Lee, before retiring from diving in 2024. He is married to the screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, with whom he has two sons. The documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, is available to stream on Discovery+ from 1 June. I used to be obsessed with wearing tea towels. I'd make sure the fabric was completely lined-up and tucked in neatly. If it was in the slightest bit ruffled or messy, I would get upset and rip it off and try it all over again. This was the beginning of my perfectionism – and possibly the first signs that I might not be 100% straight. My mum says that as a kid, I was very sweet but I knew what I wanted. What did I want? To do the best I could at anything that I tried. That is still my mentality today. If I'm going to try something and it doesn't work out perfectly, I don't have tantrums any more, but I do get frustrated. That's the thing about being an athlete: being good is not enough – you have to be the best. It's not something you can teach, but every athlete who gets to an Olympic level has that same drive. We know our flaws before anybody else can point them out. I was seven when I started diving. I loved the water but found swimming up and down a little bit boring – diving was much more fun. I started out jumping off the side of the pool, then tried the one-metre. The first time I tried the 10-metre platform I was eight years old. I remember crawling to the edge because I was too scared to walk – the board seemed to reduce in size with every step and suddenly looked like a tightrope. I was peering off into the water, thinking: 'There's no way I can jump off this.' But once I was in the air, there was no going back. It was a surreal and euphoric moment – freefalling for 1.6 seconds. As soon as it was over, I knew I wanted to do it again. My childhood was brilliant. I was always outdoors, and we used to go for weekends away in our caravan in Newquay. I felt very safe, loved and cared for. Because I was so happy with my family, I used to hate travelling for competitions – I would get so homesick. It was terrifying to be on the other side of the planet from your parents when you're 10 years old – especially when everyone else competing was much older. I can't imagine how painful it was for my parents to hear their son crying on the end of the phone. My dad Rob was my biggest cheerleader. He would work all day, pick me up from school, take me to the pool and stay all evening until I finished training. He would be there for every competition. We were a team, and it was our dream together. He was great at teaching me about perspective: if I bombed out at a competition, he would say: 'You came 30th, but you're still the 30th best in the world.' When dad died [of a brain tumour in 2011], I went to training the next morning. I carried on competing without a proper break. Maybe it's a British thing, but me and my family wouldn't speak about his passing that much. It's as if we didn't want to upset anyone, or make them feel uncomfortable. I also felt that I had to be the strong one – the person who could support my family. It was only when I met my husband Lance, and he would ask why I didn't speak about my dad, that I allowed myself the space to grieve. And it still hits me now, especially when those major milestones happen. He missed me winning my first Olympic medal, my wedding, my first son's birth. Lance and I met at a dinner in 2013. We talked and talked until we both realised how similar our lives were. He had just lost his brother; I'd lost my dad. He had just won his Oscar; I had just won an Olympic medal. It was the first time I could complain about success to somebody who knew I wasn't really complaining about success. I was complaining about how to deal with what happens on the other side – the pressure and expectations. Knowing that nothing would ever compare to that feeling again. I met Lance in March and came out to the media nine months later. I don't think I would ever have said anything about my private life unless I had met someone like Lance. Once we fell in love, I knew I couldn't keep it a secret. It was absolutely terrifying, posting the video on YouTube, because my management at the time had not been encouraging, and told me that I was going to lose my sponsorship. It was a scary thing to do, but once it was out there I was glad. It took all of the pressure off. I could be me for the first time. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion In 2024, I competed at the Paris Olympics, this time with my sons in tow. Being a dad was still my priority, so I had to deal with running on low sleep. I went to bed at 8 o'clock, because I didn't know how many times I'd be up in the night. I'd wake early for training but would make sure I was home to help Lance with bedtime. I always found it incredibly difficult to leave them for competitions, and I carried a sense of guilt with me. My husband is so supportive, and he's sacrificed a lot for me. But now I've retired, it's his moment. He's like: 'It's my turn to get my career back on track!' I have been an athlete for most of my life, so it's taking time to adjust to my new reality. I am so used to being disciplined that even if I'm out for dinner on a Saturday night, and someone asks if I'd like a glass of wine, it takes me a second to realise I am actually allowed to. Food is the same. When I was about to go to the 2012 Olympics, I was told by a coach that I needed to lose weight. After that, I had some issues with eating disorders. At the time it was something that men didn't really speak about, so I kept it to myself and felt very alone. Once I was able to get the proper nutritional support and learned more about what my body needed, and how to fuel it, then my recovery started to unfold. But in truth, that feedback still affects me today. I know how I can look, and how I did feel, at my peak. Now that I'm not training six hours a day, six days a week, I am never going to be in that same form. When I look at this photo, I think about how innocent I look. The boy in the photo has no sense of what society thinks is right or wrong. I could live and be happy and free. I am so glad my parents were the kind of people who celebrated whoever I was; an Olympian diver or a boy who liked to wear tea towels around his waist.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Who is Tom Daley's husband Dustin Lance Black?
DUSTIN Lance Black is an American director and the husband of Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley. Tom is the focus of a new documentary landing on Discovery+, which will explore the diver's career and his battle with an eating disorder. 4 4 A star director Dustin was born on June 10, 1974, in California and grew up in a Mormon household. When his mother remarried, the family moved to Texas. At the age of seven, Dustin realised that he was gay but worried about whether this would be accepted by his religious family. According to Dustin, he thought: "I'm going to hell. And if I ever admit it, I'll be hurt, and I'll be brought down." Eventually, he came out during his senior year at the UCLA School of Theatre. He is now an LGBT activist and a member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights. The star has worked on award-winning films and TV shows including the HBO classic Big Love and the hit movie Milk. Meeting his husband Tom and Dustin first met at a dinner party in 2013, with Tom only coming out as gay at the end of the year. The diver opened up about his sexuality in a YouTube video, but didn't say Dustin's name. The pair first appeared publicly in May 2014, with Tom revealing that he was 'overwhelmed' by how he felt about Dustin. Celeb Traitors star Tom Daly reveals surprising amount he earned as a professional team GB diver - despite Olympic wins He said: "I'd never felt the feeling of love, it happened so quickly, I was completely overwhelmed by it to the point I can't get him out of my head all the time." The pair married in May 2017 with Tom singing 'Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art though, Romeo?' to Dustin, before the ceremony took place. Tom and Dustin decided to keep the ceremony small, inviting only 50 guests to the wedding which was held just 30 miles from Tom's hometown of Plymouth. Becoming a dad On Valentine's Day 2018, the couple announced on Instagram that they were expecting their first child. They were pictured holding the baby scan out to the camera as they hugged each other. A month later, Tom confirmed that they were expecting a baby boy via surrogacy. Named Robert Ray, after Tom's late father, their baby was born in June 2018. Five years later, the couple welcomed a second child named Phoenix Rose. 4 4 Tom's groundbreaking documentary Tom has opened up about his battle with an eating disorder in an upcoming documentary. The show is entitled 1.6 Seconds, which is the amount of time that a diver is airborne when competing. Ahead of the show, Tom told The Times: 'I had moments of real struggle. 'In 2011, my performance director told me that I was overweight and that I needed to look like I did when I was 14 - I was nearly 18 at the time. 'That was the first time I felt like somebody was looking at my body - not from a performance point of view but by what it looked like.' 'I struggled with all kinds of different issues around body dysmorphia and bulimia.''
The Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Tom Daley urges men to ditch traditional notions of masculinity: ‘What does that mean in 2025?'
has urged men to let go of traditional notions of masculinity, saying that you should 'not always conform to what society says you should be'. 'As long as you and your friends are happy and healthy, and you're not hurting anyone else, just live your life and be you', the Olympic gold medallist told The Independent at the premiere of 1.6 Seconds, a documentary featuring unseen footage from his journey as a young teen. Daley questioned what the word masculinity means in 2025, adding that he believes that 'there are so many versions of it'. The British diver retired after the Paris 2024 Olympics, having first risen to fame at the 2008 Beijing Games aged 14. He is married to Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, and the pair have two sons.
