The heartbreaking real reason Tim Gunn has been celibate for 43 years
I can't believe he had to go through this
Tim Gunn is basically the human equivalent of a comforting cup of tea.
His calm voice, kind eyes, and that legendary “make it work” energy is like nothing else. So when he casually dropped that he hasn’t been intimate with anyone in 43 years, people did a collective double-take.
Because Tim? The Project Runway mentor who’s seen every runway meltdown imaginable and still chooses empathy? Yep.
And the story behind it isn’t scandalous or attention-seeking… it’s quietly devastating, and it also says a lot about what it was like to be dating as the AIDS crisis began…
Tim revealed he’s celibate
View this post on Instagram
Tim opened up on Chelsea Handler’s “Dear Chelsea” podcast, explaining that celibacy wasn’t some dramatic “never again!” vow he made with a soundtrack swelling in the background, it was more like a life shift that settled in and stayed.
He said the root of it goes back to a “very serious” nine-year relationship in Washington, DC, stretching from the mid-1970s into the early 1980s.
Tim said: “I loved this person deeply and would’ve done anything for him, and I still remember the night that it all ended…”
He explained how he and his ex were in bed watching M*A*S*H, and his partner abruptly called things off.
Apparently, his partner said: “I have no patience for you any longer. I want you to leave.”
Tim described driving away “beside himself,” overwhelmed and struggling to breathe through the panic of it all.
He added: “This was also someone I worked with. So, it wasn’t as though I just would never see him again…”
The real reason is heartbreaking
View this post on Instagram
Continuing his story, Tim added: “One of the things that he told me that night was that he’d been sleeping with just about everything that walked by, and I had been loyal and faithful to him. He was the only person that I’d ever been with…”
Tim said his partner admitted he’d been unfaithful with many people and that this all happened right as AIDS was emerging in 1982.
Suddenly, the breakup wasn’t only emotional. It came with a terrifying question mark over his health.
Tim shared that he got tested for HIV every six months for 10 years, and thankfully, his results were clear, but the fear and the anger left a lasting mark.
He said that when he’d later feel even a hint of temptation or possibility with someone new, the memories would rush back and the desire would evaporate.
Speaking of celibacy and living alone, Tim said it was an adjustment. But, he added that he wouldn’t have it any other way at this point.
He also added how he didn’t feel “over” the relationship until the end of his 10 years of testing for HIV. He said: “Every six months I would have this bout of anxiety about ‘what if?’… it took a while… I occasionally relive it in my head, but it doesn’t hurt any longer…”
For all the latest reality TV cast member news, scandals, gossip and updates – like Reality Shrine on Facebook.