On a recent May morning, Tom Daley posed for photography in the galleries and courtyards of the Hammer Museum, a cultural institution affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles.
Modeling Dolce & Gabbana and Dior amid the Van Goghs and Monets, the Olympian — who had trained for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics at the UCLA pool just up the street from the Hammer — was celebrating his 31st birthday that week. He could have easily passed for one of the graduate students who peered over their laptops with some curiosity at the Out cover shoot.
DIOR MEN Full Look; THE GREAT FROG RingErik Carter
Unlike these students, however, Daley is already retired from a decades-long career in diving, which he began training for at age 7. In this pursuit, he’s picked up every notable accolade, including four World Champion titles and five Olympic medals (three bronze, one silver, and one gold) for his native Great Britain. His journey to athletic superstardom is chronicled in a new documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, which is streaming on Olympics.com, Max, and, in the U.K., discovery+. The title refers to the amount of time between the diving board and the pool, during which an athlete must showcase his abilities to the world.
Retirement — and a documentary film spanning a lifetime in the spotlight — can be a lot to process for someone still so relatively young. “I think I have a very warped sense of time and when to achieve things and how to achieve things, but … I’m glad that I put myself through all of those quite challenging things at a young age, because it really has helped me be resilient as I’ve gotten older,” Daley reflects.
Does he regret not having that period of exploration, risk-taking, and, well, anonymity that is more typical for many young people in their teens and 20s? “There’s part of me that would have loved to have been able to have a little bit more of a freedom to make mistakes and not be in the public eye … but at the same time, I’m so incredibly lucky and grateful for the career that I’ve had, so I don’t really see it as something that’s a downer,” he says.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Daley has achieved many personal milestones. He is married to the Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black. Together, they have two young boys: Phoenix (age 2) and Robbie, who turns 7 this June. The family lives together in L.A., where, with the help of Black, the kids recently surprised Daley with balloons and “cakes for breakfast” on his birthday. Robbie is about Daley’s age when he began training in diving, which for his dad is “surreal” to contemplate. “I can’t even imagine Robbie doing those things and training,” he says.
DIOR MEN Full Look; THE GREAT FROG Ring Erik Carter
Thanks to Daley’s own father, Robert, the world can now see footage of Daley’s training in his youth, where he grew up in Plymouth, England; his dad recorded much of this journey with a camcorder, which is included in 1.6 Seconds. “My dad was my biggest cheerleader. And lots of that footage that I saw in the documentary was the first time I’d ever seen it, so it was very surreal to be … going back in time and being that kid again,” Daley says. “At the time [he was filming it], I used to find it like, Oh, gosh, this is so annoying. But then actually now … I’m really glad that I’ve got those moments that I can cherish and look back on forever.”
Daley was hesitant to make a documentary about his life. But he decided to do it in part for his kids, so they could “have that understanding of what I’ve done and who I am.” A part of that understanding included getting to know their grandfather, who died of a brain tumor in 2011 at age 40, when Daley was just 17.
Daley says his father “inspired me and motivated me in so many ways, both when he was here and when he wasn’t.” The Olympian cites his father as a role model for how he raises his own children. Family is clearly important to him. During the documentary process, one of the most emotional moments for Daley was seeing a photograph of himself as a baby with his dad. It reminded him of being with Robbie and Phoenix. “I look back on it, and I think, Oh, my gosh, I really, really wish that he was able to see all of the things that I’ve achieved and done and the person that I’ve become,” he says.
The documentary covers the difficult period of Daley losing his father, which includes footage of his teen self at the funeral. While Daley’s athletic success has always sparked a degree of press coverage, it’s particularly difficult for Daley to watch himself through the mirrors of media and time.
“It was such a traumatic part of my childhood, and I lived it so publicly,” he says. “And then watching it back, I felt really sorry for that version of me where I was just kind of carrying on and just going and going and going without stopping and just constantly trying to please everyone around me rather than caring about how I felt.”
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There are other demons Daley battles in the documentary. As a child, he would often experience distress while traveling for competitions, which interrupted his sleep (as well as his adult chaperones’ rest time). He faced bullying in school after competing on a global sports stage. And as a young athlete, he struggled with an eating disorder. “At the time, I had no idea that men even struggled with eating disorders,” he recalls. This lack of awareness prevented him from seeking care, which is why he wants to continue discussing the issue today. In reviewing his life, he also diagnoses the dangers of hiding one’s pain behind a happy exterior.
“I feel like what I learned about myself throughout that documentary is that I kept my issues and my problems so much to myself and bottled up and compartmentalized that I didn’t ever allow myself to have help,” he shares. “And I really wish that other people don’t do that and they seek the help and have the conversations with the people that they love … that can support them.”
Though he may no longer be an active professional athlete, Daley still struggles with his body image. “There’s still part of me … knowing what I can look like and [what] I have looked like in the past when it came to peak physical condition for an Olympic Games … and now I’m not training six hours a day, six days a week, it becomes a real challenge,” he says. “And then I am always thinking about what I’m eating, what exercise I’m doing in a day, and so that, for me, is always going to be a struggle.”
“I’m getting better about it every day,” he adds. “I always think, Oh, it’s OK. I’m not an athlete anymore. I don’t have to worry so much. But then I do go on photo shoots and … more often than not, they’re like, ‘Oh, can you unbutton that shirt? Or actually, do you wanna just take it off?’”
His status as a sex symbol, particularly among gay men — “it always seems really funny to me because, obviously, I never think of myself like that” — “adds an extra layer of pressure of not letting myself go.”
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There are many high points in the documentary too. In addition to his athletic victories, 1.6 Seconds reviews significant moments in Daley’s personal life. In the film, Black recalls how Daley adorably added a winky face to his phone number after the pair met at a dinner in 2013. The attraction was immediate, recounts Daley, who was initially wowed by Black’s “really, really broad shoulders. I remember seeing them and I was like, Oh, damn, who is that?”
On an emotional level, Daley also connected with Black through their trials of triumph and pain. “There was something about the things that he had been through … that was very similar to me,” he says. “He had lost his brother; I’d lost my dad. He’d won an Oscar, I’d won an Olympic medal, and we had both struggled on the other side of it.”
Daley would come out later that year in a YouTube video by declaring he was in a relationship with a man, a milestone in his life and the sports world that is also recognized in the documentary. “I just didn’t want to hide anymore,” Daley says of his mindset then. “I was just me, and I didn’t want anyone to ever think that I was ashamed of who I am. And that meant coming out and being true to myself.”
There were hurdles to coming out, including voices from his management warning how being out would impact “the brand” of Tom Daley. But the rewards far outweighed the concerns, he found.
“There was always that part of me that thought, Oh, my gosh, this could be the end, this is it, and I’m not going to be able to have that life that I always dreamed of. And I think lots of people before they come out kind of build it up in their head to be this crazy, scary thing that is going to ruin their life,” he says. “And then actually, once you are able to come out, it’s just so incredibly freeing. And it really allowed me to really get to start living my life rather than it ending.”
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Daley’s days look quite different now than they did during the intensity of Olympic training. Each morning, he rises around 6 a.m. with Black to prepare breakfast for their kids, and then they drop Robbie off at school and go on a morning hike together. “It’s our couples time where we talk about everything,” he says.
In making a long-term relationship work, “communication is key,” Daley shares, as well as “making the other person feel like they can achieve whatever they put their mind to… . We’re both big dreamers, and we never limit what the other person might be able to dream into existence.”
After his daily hike with Black, there’s an afternoon gym session. But the majority of Daley’s day is devoted to crocheting and knitting, a hobby he picked up during COVID lockdown that has, surprisingly, opened the doors to the next stage of his career. He approaches his new passion with the discipline of a longtime professional athlete. “I set goals. I sometimes find myself timing myself — how quickly I can make something. I am very methodical with it,” he attests.
Since images of him knitting during downtime at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021 went viral, Daley has launched a clothing brand, Made With Love, and a new book of patterns with the same name. He is also hosting a reality knitting competition, The Game of Wool, which is set to debut on Channel 4 later this year. Daley shares that the show will be in a vein similar to The Great British Bake Off — except instead of baked goods, there will be “knitting like you’ve never seen it before, very extreme in terms of the things that people are able to create.”
“I’m excited for people to see it … . You know, knitting can be a little bit naughty as well,” he teases.
FERRARI Full Look; DIOR MEN Necklace; THE GREAT FROG Ring; DOUCAL’S ShoesErik Carter
While knitting and parenthood provide Daley with purpose, it hasn’t been easy to walk away from diving, which drove and defined the majority of his life. Another hard part of his documentary experience was coming to terms with the end of this chapter.
“There’s part of me that doesn’t know what to do without that part of me, so yeah, it is always a struggle,” he says. “I always find myself watching the diving competitions and thinking, Oh, gosh, I could have done that, or, I could have been in that competition and won that. But I feel like that’s something that all athletes experience.” He’s had the good fortune to receive advice from another gay Olympic diver who has traveled this path: Greg Louganis. “I’ve spoken to Greg quite a lot about that stuff,” Daley says. “ … He’s been a massive role model of mine and mentor.”
Retirement isn’t always final, however. In May, freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy announced he would be coming out of retirement to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics. This news was “exciting” to his fellow Team Great Britain alum. “I actually texted him, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh … you’re coming back! Like what on earth?’”
Would Daley consider a similar move? “There’s part of me that is always like, never say never … . It’s an interesting prospect. But I think that as I’m getting older, the last time, going into Paris, I was gonna be 30, competing. And that’s a lot more doable than competing at 34, which is what I would be if I was gonna compete again.”
But whether it’s competing as an out athlete, hosting a knitting competition, or being a public figure in a rainbow family, Daley underlines the message he’s always wanted to convey with his visibility: “Being gay isn’t something that’s gonna stop you from being able to achieve your dreams.”
This cover story is part of Out's July/August issue, which hits newsstands July 1. Support queer media and subscribe— or download the issue through Apple News, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting June 19.
talent TOM DALEY @tomdaley
photographer ERIK CARTER@erik_carterwith ANDERSON HOPKINS@andersonhopkins
first assistant NICOL BIESEK@nicolb.jpg
second assistant LUCA MASTRODOMENICO@lucamastrophoto
stylist LUCA FALCIONI@luca_falcioni_ with OPUS BEAUTY@opusbeauty
fashion assistant ADRIÁN JOSE RAMOS DIAZ@adridekilla
grooming ELSA CANEDO@elsahairwithOPUS BEAUTY@opusbeauty
using RENÉ FURTERER@renefurtererusa and M.A.C.@maccosmetics
video ROBERT MARRERO@itsrobertmarrero
shot on location atHAMMER MUSEUM@hammer_museum
For more information about the Hammer Museum’s upcoming events, including the West Coast premiere of the Chase Strangio doc Heightened Scrutiny, visit hammer.ucla.edu.
FERRARI Full Look; DIOR MEN Necklace; THE GREAT FROG Ring; DOUCAL’S ShoesErik Carter
DIOR MEN Full Look; THE GREAT FROG RingErik Carter
DIOR MEN Full Look; THE GREAT FROG Ring Erik Carter
DZOJCHEN Full Look; DIOR Necklace; THE GREAT FROG BraceletErik Carter
LORO PIANA Full LookErik Carter
DOLCE & GABBANA Single-breasted Pinstripe Linen-Blend Blazer; THE GREAT FROG Necklace; TOM’S OWN RingErik Carter
FERRARI Full Look; DIOR MEN Necklace; THE GREAT FROG Ring; DOUCAL’S ShoesErik Carter
FERRARI Full Look; DIOR MEN Necklace; THE GREAT FROG Ring; DOUCAL’S ShoesErik Carter