Tom Daley reveals the reaction he received when he posted his coming-out video, in a new documentary following his Olympic journey from London 2012 to Rio 2016.
In ‘Tom Daley: Diving For Gold’, Tom shares with him mum his anxiety on coming out, and his relief at receiving so much support and encouragement from friends and fans.
He tells his mum, in the immediate aftermath of his coming out video going live on YouTube, “I’ve had loads of supportive texts. Kylie [Minogue] was the first to text me.”
Tom was inspired to make the video by his blossoming relationship with screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and the documentary, which airs this Saturday evening, follows their romance and subsequent engagement.
Tom says of his relationship milestone, “It means everything to be engaged to Lance because he has been so supportive of me. I have Lance to thank for so many things. I don’t think I would [still] be diving if I hadn’t met Lance.”
And, in a tender moment, Lance reflects on his relationship with Tom, telling him: “It’s really amazing to be in love with someone who you also admire and who you can be dazzled by. It makes me want to be a better person. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.”
In the film, Tom also comes out to his younger brother in front of the cameras, and reflects on what winning a medal at Rio will mean to him. He is intent on getting gold in memory of his late father, who encouraged him to compete from his prodigious sporting childhood, but died of a brain tumour in 2011, a year before Tom won bronze at the London Olympics.
Watch ‘Tom Daley: Diving For Gold’ on Saturday evening at 8pm on ITV. Tap the first picture below to open our slideshow: