Inside Tom Daley’s private life, his age-gap marriage and children

Tom Daley has made yet another splash at the Olympics after winning silver in the men’s synchronised 10m platform diving.

The athlete, 30, who won gold during the Tokyo 2020 Games, competed alongside Noah Williams securing Team GB’s fifth medal.

It is also Tom’s fifth Olympic medal, with his husband Dustin Lance Black cheering on from the crowd alongside their children.

Dustin, 50, has been supportive of Tom throughout his career since they began dating, with him being pictured appearing elated among fans watching the competition.

As the games continue, let’s get to know Tom and his family life a little better.

Who is Tom Daley’s husband Dustin Lance Black?

Tom started dating Dustin Lance Black around 2013, and they got engaged in 2015 before tying the knot two years later.

Dustin himself is a director and Oscar-winning screenwriter, having worked on the likes of Pedro, Virginia and Milk, with the latter earning him the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Many have made comments about the couple’s 20-year age gap, something that Tom has said he doesn’t let bother him.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2021, he said: ‘One thing I learned early on is not to care what other people think.

‘That’s been useful since I’ve been with my husband. I’m 27, he is 47. People have their opinions, but we don’t notice the age gap. When you fall in love, you fall in love.”

Do they have any children?

Their son Robert Ray Black-Daley was born in June 2018, followed by their second son Phoenix Rose who arrived in March 2023. Both boys were born via surrogate.

Ahead of Robbie’s birth, the diver recently suggested the universe had made him wait to become a father before he won Olympic gold.

He said: ‘It’s kind of unbelievable. I thought I was going to win an Olympic gold medal in Rio [in 2016] and that turned out the complete opposite by a long shot, and it was my husband who said to me that my story wasn’t finished and that my son or child – we didn’t know at the time – needed to be there to watch me win an Olympic gold medal.’

In June 2022, Tom spoke about his desire to be a dad on the Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, saying: ‘For as long as I could remember, I have wanted to be a parent.

‘I think because of the relationship with my mum and dad, we were so close and then, when I lost my dad, it was like, I want to be everything that he was to me to someone else because every child deserves to have what I had with my dad because it was such a special relationship, we were so close.’

Who is Tom Daley’s father?

Tom lost his father Robert Daley in 2011 after his battle with brain cancer.

Opening up on Robert’s death on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in 2018, he described his last moments with his father and the support he showed for his athletic career.

‘I get home and I see my dad in a hospital bed in the living room’ he told host Lauren Laverne back in 2018. ‘As the days went by his condition started to deteriorate. And, you know, one of the last things he said to me was: “Do we have our tickets yet?£

‘I thought, “Tickets for what?” And he said: “Those London 2012 tickets, because I want to be right on the front row.” And I was like, “Oh my goodness”, because I didn’t know how to say to him “You’re not going to be around to be on the front row, Dad.”

‘It was the next day, when all of our family and friends were around and he had gone unconscious. We were watching his chest. I was holding his hand as he stopped breathing.’

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