Tom Daley opens up about body image issues: “I hate the way I look”

Olympian and former diver Tom Daley has discussed his body image struggles, noting that he “hates the way he looks.”

The recently retired Olympian, who claimed silver at Paris 2024, is familiar with appearing in revealing speedos.

This might make it surprising that the beloved public figure, who came out in 2013 and wed Dustin Lance-Black in 2017, has endured and continues to endure quite severe body image challenges. In an interview with The Times promoting his new documentary 1.6 Seconds, premiering on discovery+ on June 1st, Daley revealed that he “struggles” with how he perceives his body, particularly after ending his Olympic training.

According to ‘MSN’, while admitting he “struggled” during the photo shoot that accompanied the interview, he stated, “I hate the way I look,” and further said, “I’ve always had awful body issues throughout my diving career. Now that I’m no longer an athlete training six hours daily, I particularly dislike it.”

“I know if I'm thinking rationally, I should be completely satisfied,” Daley commented, "but watching videos of myself at the Olympics, I'm like, why can't I look like that again?”

Later in the interview, the father of two revealed that his eating disorders date back to 2012, sharing, “I remember looking in the mirror around 2016 and despising my appearance. Then, you fast forward ten years and you're like, I wish I looked like that. Why didn't I just appreciate it?”

“Growing up in the early days of social media and gay culture, with its high standards, it’s really challenging,” Daley continued. “Now I need to cultivate a healthy relationship with my body.”

In addition to his upcoming documentary, Mr. Tom Daley is set to appear in his own game show, Game of Wool (akin to Bake Off but with knitting), and will visit the Traitors castle on the celebrity edition of the show, alongside Stephen Fry, Clare Balding, and other queer icons.