Tom Daley opens up about fatherhood: ‘Robbie changed my whole perspective’
The Olympic champion adds of his own dad Rob, who died in 2011: "He would have been extremely proud".
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Instagram/@TomDaley
Tom Daley has opened up about fatherhood in a new interview, saying his infant son Robbie changed his “whole perspective” on life.
The Olympic diver and his husband, the Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, welcomed Robbie in 2018.
Speaking to the BBC, the Olympic gold medal-winner added that parenting is “the most important thing in my life.”
“I knew I was going to go home and be loved regardless”
“I think Robbie changed my whole perspective and outlook on so many parts of my life,” the 27-year-old said.
“[He’s] the most important thing in my life and when you have that kind of perspective, when you go to training, you can enjoy it for what it is. You know you’re going to go home and being a parent is number one. It shifted the way I thought about it.
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“And going into these Olympic Games I knew even if I did really well or really terribly, I knew I was going to go home and be loved regardless. And when you have that type of unconditional love, it took so much pressure off me.”
Tom is the first Team GB diver to win four Olympic medals, after winning gold in Tokyo in the 10m synchro with Matty Lee, and a third bronze in the 10m platform.
In his latest interview, the star also opened up about his own dad Rob, who died after a battle with brain cancer in 2011.
“It just makes me extremely proud to think that all the hard work and sacrifice that he put into my diving career is, I’d say, worth it,” said Tom.
He continued: “Often lots of people get quite sad when they think about the parents they’ve lost, but for me, it just makes me so happy and proud to have done what we had always dreamed of doing.”
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