I don’t care Tom’s fiance is 20 years older, says Mrs Daley
TOM Daley’s mother spoke of her joy yesterday after the Olympic diver announced he is to marry his boyfriend Dustin Lance Black.
The bronze medallist, 21, who came out as gay two years ago, revealed he is engaged to the US director and screenwriter, who is 20 years his senior.
Daley’s mother Debbie said the pair planned to marry after the 2016 Rio Olympics, adding that she was ‘very, very happy’.
She shrugged off their two- decade age gap, saying: ‘Age is but a number.’
Mrs Daley added: ‘The whole family is extremely excited and looking forward to the big day. They are going to wait until after the Olympic Games in Rio before they decide on the date of the wedding and where they want to marry.’
The diver has spent two years dating Black, who won an Oscar in 2008 for his biopic of gay rights campaigner Harvey Milk, after they met through friends in Los Angeles. His previous relationships had all been with women but he said that t heir meeting was ‘ l ove at first sight’.
He came out soon afterwards, announcing in a YouTube video that he was ‘dating a guy and couldn’t be happier’.
Black, 41, has been a leading campaigner for same-sex marriage in the US but now spends most of his time in London, where Daley is in training for next year’s Olympics.
Mrs Daley, f rom Plymouth, described the moment her son called to tell her the news two days ago. She said: ‘When Tom told me I could just feel the excitement in his voice. Just hearing him feel that excitement made me excited.
‘It was a really nice emotion. It was a special moment.
‘We are all looking forward to it. The rest of the family really like Lance. Everyone really gets on with him. He is a good chap.’
She added: ‘At the moment Tom is training in Stratford and focusing on competitions to prepare for Rio. Training has always come first for him. Once Rio is out of the way, they will properly plan the wedding.’ The couple made the announcement in the births, marriages and deaths section of The Times newspaper.
Daley was also spotted wearing a ring on the fourth finger of his left hand when they attended the Pride of Britain Awards earlier this week. His father Rob, an electrician, died of brain cancer aged 40 in 2011.