Olympian, Tom Daley, has been married to film producer, Dustin Lance Black, for seven years, but a few months before he met the father of his two kids, the decorated diver had a girlfriend

Tom Daley left his legion of loyal fans stunned when he announced he was in a relationship with Hollywood screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black.

The 30-year-old Olympian, who started his career at 14 in Beijing 2008 and is now preparing for his fifth Games in Paris, has been married to the 50-year-old LGBT rights activist for seven years.

Tom, who has always defended the age difference between the couple, saying “when you fall in love, you fall in love”, shares two kids with the Milk star.

However, a few months before he met the A-lister, the Plymouth born star was dating a girl.

So, as we get ready to cheer on the decorated diver – and his knitting – today, he’s a deep  dive into Tom’s love life.

‘I had a girlfriend last year’

Tom admitted it was a shock to find he had fallen for a man when he went public with his relationship with Dustin.

Admitting he had a girlfriend just a few months before he met his future husband, he said told the Jonathan Ross Show: “People say ‘why did he have a girlfriend last year?’. Well, because I had a girlfriend last year.”

He continued: “And it wasn’t until spring this year, it came upon me. I didn’t expect it and it happened. Everything kind of clicked, everything went right.”

When asked if he was surprised by his feelings, Tom replied: “It was the fact I was falling for a guy and it happened so quickly.” He added that he did not want to label himself as gay or bisexual, adding: “To be honest, everything is all pretty new and I don’t see any point in putting a label on it.”

At the time friends of Tom said the diver broke up with her as soon he met Dustin, with a source telling the Daily Mail: “Tom was dating a girl, an old friend of his, for a few months when he went to LA for the awards.”

‘Love at first sight’ with Dustin

Tom met Dustin at a party in 2013 and described their meeting as “love at first sight”. The Olympian admitted it was him who made the first move – despite being “terrified” as he had only just come to terms with his sexuality.

At the time he had “no idea” who Dustin was, but felt the chemistry between them immediately. When Dustin – who won an Oscar for the film Milk starring Sean Penn – said he had to go home and write a script, Tom typed his number in his phone along with a wink emoji face. The pair began dating after Dustin texted him the next day.

Tom revealed their relationship in 2013 when he announced that his “whole world changed” when he fell in love with a man during a YouTube video.

At the time, he said: “Come spring this year my life changed massively when I met someone and they make me feel so happy, so safe, and everything just feels great and, well, that someone is a guy.”

Speaking about their whirlwind romance, Tom told The Guardian : “It was a real love at first sight thing.The first night I took him to meet my friends [eight weeks after meeting] and said: ‘This is my boyfriend’.

The next night we went on our first date. The next night, after a couple of lychee martinis, he told me he loved me. He extended his trip. We were already talking about babies and weddings – that was in the first week.”

On October 2, 2015 after dating for two years, Tom announced that he and Dustin were engaged. The couple revealed the happy news by registering it in The Times newspaper.

The statement, in the Births, Marriages and Death section, read: “The engagement is announced between Tom, son of Robert and Debra Daley of Plymouth, and Lance, son of Jeff Bisch of Philadelphia and Anne Bisch of Lake Providence.” Tom shared the post on social media, captioning it with the hashtags: #HeSaidYes #ISaidYes.”

Cheating rumours

Before they got married, Tom and Dustin secretly split in 2015 for seven months. During their temporary break – which was blamed on hectic work schedules – Tom indulged in a sexy snapchat with a Liverpool-based man.

Although he never physically cheated and the couple were separated at the time, Dustin said the break made their relationship even stronger when they got back together.

Speaking to The Sun, Dustin said Tom told him everything that happened, but added they’d been separated at that point so what Tom did in his private life during that time was his own business.

“Tom and I talked about anything and everything that went on. That’s the secret to how we are so close and can survive tough times,” he said.

With their relationship firmly back on, Tom said nothing would ever happen now he’s with Dustin. “This will absolutely never happen again now that we’re getting married. The date is set and we’re raring and ready to go for that wedding now.”

Baby news

Tom and Dustin have always been open about the fact they wanted children. On Valentine’s Day 2018 they announced the happy news they were to become parents by sharing a photo of a baby scan.

The couple had a baby via an American surrogate, who they still remain close with. Their son Robert Ray Black-Daley was born a few weeks later on June 27, 2018 and is now six years old.

Tom and Lance welcomed their second son with an official announcement in the Times on April 5, 2023, reading: “Black-Daley on 28th March to Thomas Robert Daley and Dustin Lance Black, a son, Phoenix Rose.”

The Tokyo 2020 gold medallist, who came out of retirement to defend his title at Paris 2024, can be seen hugging his eldest son at the Olympics in a photo on Dustin’s Instagram page with the caption: “It’s been a little over 16 months since our eldest son, Robbie, shared with Tom that he wished he could watch his Papa  dive in the Olympics in person. Yesterday Tom kissed our boys goodbye before entering the Paris 2024 Olympic Village.

Today I took our boys to see the Eiffel Tower is this, one of my favourite cities in the world. We are so proud of Tom for all of the sacrifices and incredibly hard work he’s put in to get to his 5th Olympics and to make Robbie’s wish come true!”