Tom Daley: ‘It Was Love At First Sight And I Made The Move’
Olympic diver Tom Daley has been at the top of the new cycle all week, after announcing via YouTube on Monday, “I’m dating a guy and I couldn’t be happier.†That guy apparently is “Milk” screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, although neither has officially confirmed if tut’s true.
Daley taped an interview yesterday with the UK’s “Jonathan Ross Show,” which airs Saturday.
Here are a few excerpts, via the London Evening Standard.
“It really was love at first sight, I’d never felt anything like it before. We were at a party and I hadn’t even spoken to him all night,” Daley says.
“I didn’t know what to do or if he was gay at first. I made the first move, I typed ‘call me’ in his notes with a smiley face on this phone and the next day he texted.
“He makes me feel safe and happy, right now I couldn’t be happier.
“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. I’ve never had it before where I love someone and they love me just as much.”
Apparently, Daley’s new love saved his career.
“He saved me from not wanting to dive anymore. After the Olympics I was down in the dumps, as it’s such a hard way to get back into everything, but he gave me the extra motivation and made me work harder and that is exactly what I need.”
Coming out was “a terrifying decision to make, I didn’t know what the reaction was going to be like, I didn’t know how it was going to go but I felt I needed to say something. I wanted to say something in my own words and from the heart, I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Right now I couldn’t be happier, the support and reaction has been amazing, everyone has been so supportive and I just have to thank them.”
Staying in the closet “felt like a dirty little secret, it felt like I had chains wrapped around me, I couldn’t be who I was, I felt alone and trapped,” Daley says.
“Just telling one person made me feel so much better, just that one person took a weight off my shoulder. I told Sophie my best friend first as I knew she’d be really accepting of it. She’s been so supportive and there for me.
“Now that everyone knows, I have nothing to hide, those chains that I felt wrapped around me are gone and I can carry on with my life as normal and be happy.”
And he advises:Â “Tell one person. Tell your story, how you feel.”
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Image: Tom Daley via his Instagram page
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