THE Olympics ended in heartbreak for Tom Daley but 2017 is set to be a golden year – as he weds the man of his dreams.
The diver, 22, is fully immersed in wedding planning and has revealed he and his American fiancé, Dustin Lance Black, want a “diving team” of kids.
Tom says: “I’ve always been a family person so I’ve always wanted kids, and I know Lance does, too. I don’t know how many — an army of kids, a whole diving team.”
The wedding is scheduled for next year, though Tom is keeping tight-lipped on the details.
He says: “We’re in the planning stages at the moment and it is very exciting. But I’ve not been to a wedding since I was five so who knows what it will be like.”
Tom met Oscar-winning screenwriter Lance, 42, in March 2013, at a dinner organised by friends in Los Angeles.
It was Tom who made the first move, striking up a conversation and scribbling his number on a napkin at the end of the night.
By December, their relationship was so serious that Tom, who had previously dated girls, decided to come out as gay in a YouTube video.
Recalling that moment, Tom admits he “felt like the world was going to collapse” but it turned out to be a massive weight off his mind.
He says: “It was a leap into the unknown but as soon as I said it, it was like, ‘Oh, that feels better’.”
Perhaps a sign as to how well-suited the couple are, Tom and Lance had unknowingly picked the same day to propose to each other — but the diver got in there first.
Recalling that day in October 2015, Tom grins: “That’s my competitive side coming out. As the athlete, I always find a way to win everything we do.”
The 20-year age gap between Tom and Lance had raised eyebrows but baby-faced Tom insists it does not bother him.
He explains: “I’ve done so much in my career at such a young age, I’ve had to grow up quite quickly. But I always knew this was right, and I still think it’s right.”
The upcoming wedding is a welcome distraction for Tom after he saw his Olympic dream destroyed in an instant in August.
He was in the best shape of his career at the Rio Games and had just scooped a bronze medal in the synchro event with Dan Goodfellow.
Tom had been favourite to win in the 10m individual platform and set a personal best in the preliminaries, but a disastrous semi-final saw him finish in last place.
He said at the time: “It doesn’t get any lower than this.”
Five months on, Tom still cannot explain how four years of hard work ended in crushing defeat.
He says: “It was really rough. Looking back on it now, I still have no idea what went wrong.
“I had been so over the moon to get a medal in the synchro diving, and I was going into the individual competition in the best physical and mental state of my life.
It was really rough. Looking back on it now, I still have no idea what went wrong
“It was just one of those days. It would be easy to dwell on it but once you’ve had the debrief, you have to move on.”
Tom’s immediate instinct on returning to the UK was to simply stop diving. He says: “I needed that break, to shut off and rest.
“I had to stop thinking about diving for a bit, see what it felt like to stay up past 10pm and wake up after 6.”
Tom took up diving at seven years old and competed in his first Olympics aged just 14. For years, every waking moment has been dominated by sport, with each hour of sleep and meal accounted for.
He says: “It has been a sacrifice but I don’t even think about it any more.”
With his boyband good looks, engaging personality and tragic history — his beloved father Robert died from a brain tumour in 2011 aged 40 — Tom has garnered more than his fair share of media attention.
But there are those who say he spends too much time in the spotlight and not enough time in the pool.
A presenting stint on ITV’s celebrity diving show Splash! led to questions about his commitment to his sport.
Tom is unapologetic, saying: “People can think what they want but I know I am as focused [as], if not more focused than, any other athlete.
“People forget I was at school before 2012. When I finished school, I had nothing. I needed a healthy distraction.”
A dab hand in the kitchen, the diver released his debut cookery book, Tom’s Daily Plan, this week. It includes healthy recipes, simple exercise routines and lifestyle hacks.
I would love to do Bake Off. I’m such a keen baker, I’m a real scientist about it
Tom says: “It’s one of the things people don’t know about me — that I like to cook. But when I’m not diving or sleeping, I’m eating.
“Lance likes to cook, too. We find it quite therapeutic.”
With marriage and children on the cards there’s plenty for Tom to look forward to in 2017, but he is not giving up on his dream of winning gold at the Olympics.
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He insists that he will compete at Tokyo 2020, adding: “I just have to train smart and get there.
“I want to be in better mental and physical shape than I was in 2016.”
As for how he will fill his time when he eventually hangs up his swimming trunks, Tom reveals: “I’d love to be a TV presenter.”
With The Great British Bake Off currently on the hunt for new presenters, does Tom think he would be an ideal candidate?
He says with a smile: “I would love to do Bake Off. I’m such a keen baker, I’m a real scientist about it.
“Wait until you try my cheesecake.”
— Tom’s Daily Plan is out now.
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