Tom Daley asked Dustin Lance Black if he wanted to have children on their second date.
Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black
The Olympic diver was just 19 when he met the screenwriter –who he went on to marry three years ago and have son Robbie, two, with – but already knew what he was looking for in the future and wanted to make sure they were on the same page.
He said: “I was very upfront and honest and just, like, ‘So do you see yourself ever getting married and having kids?’ Because I didn’t want to fall in love with someone who didn’t want to have kids. I’d rather have that conversation in the first week than after the third year and hear, ‘No,’ and have to separate.
“I was very grown-up. I had experienced a lot in terms of my success in diving. I’d lost a parent. I owned a house. I felt like I was an adult.”
Fortunately, the 46-year-old writer agreed and the pair spent their date choosing baby names they liked.
While Lance has said in the past he’d like at least six children, Tom admitted that’s unlikely.
He said: “Yeah, probably not that many, to be honest. We’ve always said that we wanted a big family, but you know…”
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old sportsman admitted he’s become ambivalent towards J.K. Rowling – whose ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ used to be his favourite book – after she was accused of transphobia but would like to sit down and have a reasonable conversation with her after she previously “stuck up” for him when he was ridiculed for his sexuality.
He told the Times magazine: “I did love JK Rowling’s books, but it does always leave a little bit of a...
“So, the thing is, she stuck up for me in the past. But then what she said about trans people… It’s one of the hardest things to understand, how trans people think and feel, because she has never lived that experience, the same way white people trying to understand the black experience will never be able to understand that…
“It’s hard because I’m not someone who likes conflict, but I have strong views and beliefs. I guess it would be a conversation rather than a shouting match. I always try to listen first and try to understand, and then try to share my point of view and my opinions and show how things [said] can hurt other people, to try to get the best outcome.”
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