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Tim Gunn has opened up about something very personal.
And rather surprising, too, we must say.
On a recent episode of Chelsea Handler’s Dear Chelsea podcast, the former Project Runway host told listeners he’s been celibate for over 40 years.
He then delved into the reason why.
“I loved this person deeply and would have done anything for him,” Gunn said, describing a nine-year relationship that concluded in VERY deep pain. “And I still remember the night that it all ended.”
The 72-year old went on to recall that he and his ex were in bed watching television when his ex informed him, “I have no patience for you any longer. I want you to leave.”
Quite abrupt. And so very hurtful.
“I had my own apartment, but I had been living with him for years,” Gunn said. “And I left. I drove to my apartment … and I had to pull off because I was hyperventilating. I was beside myself with self-flagellation and self-pity. And it was awful.”
Gunn didn’t drop any names, but did emphasize that he and this ex worked together at the time.
“One of the things that he told me that night was that he had been sleeping with just about everything that walked by,” the TV personality continued. “And I had been loyal and faithful to him.”
The ex-Making the Cut host noted that his ex was the only person he had ever been with… and that learning about his former partner’s multiple instances of infidelity left him angry and fearful for his own health.
“The self-pity then turned to completely unbridled anger because I thought he may have given me a death sentence,” Gunn explained.
“And I was tested every six months for ten years for HIV and thankfully I had a clean slate. But whenever I was even tempted to engage in something that could become serious with someone, all this would come back like Niagara Falls, and it would just take the desire away.”
Wow, huh?
Gunn says it was an “adjustment” to be on his own, but he now embraces the lifestyle.
He also notes that the break-up prompted him to move to New York City, which is a major reason why he then launched such a successful career.
“I wanted to kill him,” Gunn said on the podcast of his ex.
“And I wanted him to hurt as badly as I had been hurt. He seemed to be impervious to it, though. So it was just great to get away. And also moving to New York, I had this huge learning curve about this entirely new environment and different social interactions and a completely different academic environment in which I was teaching, so that was wonderful.”
Nowadays, meanwhile?
“It took a while,” he said of moving on. “And, you know, I occasionally relive in it my head, but it doesn’t hurt any longer.”
