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Tom Daley has spoken candidly about his ongoing struggle with body dysmorphia, admitting that even after retiring from professional diving, he still finds gym environments “intimidating.” The Olympic champion said years of pressure to maintain an ideal physique have left lasting scars, while crediting his husband Dustin Lance Black, 51, for helping him through “dark times.” The 31-year-old diver, who has previously spoken about battling an eating disorder during his career, told Radio Times that unrealistic body expectations remain common, particularly among the gay community. He said: "My husband's been a huge support in that. I think it's a big thing in the gay world. Some people have very unrealistic body expectations." Daley, who first represented Great Britain at the Olympics aged 14, said that despite his athletic build, he still feels self-conscious. He added: "As an Olympian, I go to the gym and I hate it because I’m like, ‘Oh my God, everybody’s judging me for how I’m doing this.’ I find it intimidating.” The Traitors star revealed his eating disorder began at 17, after being told by his performance director that he was overweight. "I had absolutely no idea what I was doing at that time, so I just cut out food. I used to get so hungry that I'd binge,” he shared. “Then when I binged, I'd feel so bad that I was bulimic for a while. It was a dark time because I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. Men weren't meant to talk about their eating disorders back then." Daley’s openness comes amid growing conversations around men’s mental health and body image. Body dysmorphia — a condition where people obsess over perceived flaws in their appearance — affects around one in 50 people in the UK, according to the NHS. Daley previously opened about his body image struggles earlier this year. "I had moments of real struggle. In 2011, my performance director told me that I was overweight and that I needed to look like I did when I was 14 - I was nearly 18 at the time,” he told Fashion Magazine in March. “That was the first time I felt like somebody was looking at my body - not from a performance point of view but by what it looked like. I struggled with all kinds of different issues around body dysmorphia and bulimia." Since retiring from diving in 2024, Daley has turned his focus to television projects, including his upcoming Channel 4 show, Game of Wool. Elsewhere in the conversation, Daley revealed he was banned from wearing his own knitwear brand while filming The Celebrity Traitors. The athlete explained that while filming the hit BBC spin-off in the Scottish Highlands, he wasn’t allowed to wear items from his collection on screen due to the broadcaster’s strict no-self-promotion rules. The former diving champion, who launched his own knitwear brand and released the book Made with Love, has been known for his colourful jumpers and crocheted creations since taking up knitting during the pandemic. That didn’t stop him from picking up his needles off camera, though. The Traitors star continued to knit throughout filming for the Bafta-winning series.
