Tom Ford & Richard Buckley Talk Love At First Sight, First Date (PHOTO)

Designer Tom Ford and his boyfriend of 24 years, Richard Buckley, both talked to Out about their relationship for the magazine's February issue. It all started in an elevator at Women's Wear Daily in 1986, when Ford was working for Cathy Hardwick and Buckley was the fashion editor at the industry newspaper. Ford stopped by to pick up some clothes and he and Buckley took the lift to the fashion closet. Ford writes:

[Buckley] was adorable, and he was a complete fool. He was sort of dancing around, flashing his eyes at me, and trying so hard to be charming. I decided in that elevator ride that I was going to marry him. I'm very pragmatic, and I was, like, OK, there's some kind of connection here.

Buckley remembers their first date:

Tom sat there chit-chatting: "And in 10 years I'm going to be showing my own collection in Paris, and I'm going to be a millionaire, and I'm going to do this, and I'm going to do that." And I kept thinking, This guy is really naïve. But as we talked about other things, it was almost like seeing down a rabbit hole. I felt like I was looking at his eyes, and it was just spinning around and taking me down inside him.

After a quick round of dating, the pair arrived at the moving-in stage and Ford was totally ready for it. He recalls:

I had slept with a lot of people and done my fair share of drinking and dancing and drugs. I'd had sex for the first time when I was 14. I had a girlfriend in high school who was pregnant twice while we were together. In those days, in the '70s, abortion was considered a form of birth control, and I think in most high schools at the time, it was quite casual.

Now, Ford finds that his friends are shocked when they realize that he and Buckley have been together for over two decades:

The response is often, "Wow, you guys have been together 24 years! That's so amazing. I don't think of gay men being together that long." And I'm, like, "Why? What are you talking about?"

The cover of Out's February issue.

Read the rest at Out.

Comments

[Gjorg]

10:21 PM on 01/12/2011

The most offensive thing I find here is the ridiculous high cost of his clothes. LOL I want one of his dress shirts but won't pay $295.00 for a shirt worth $100.00. Lol again

[drjay79]

02:33 PM on 01/12/2011

Buckley is a very fortunate guy, he married my dream husband.

[SSCHIEFRSHA]

12:58 AM on 01/12/2011

Any couple could be together for any period of time. The REAL question is: Have they been monogamous for as many years or is it an open relationship? If it's the later then I'm not impressed.

[Gjorg]

01:51 AM on 01/12/2011

Why do you question their monogamy? I question it also but probably for entirely different reasons yours seems negative for some odd reason. Lol

[Gjorg]

01:55 AM on 01/12/2011

I have been in a monogamous relationship for 30 years and yes we have had "issues" but what couple has not? Gay or straight!

[neighborhoodmole]

08:57 PM on 01/11/2011

The title of the article makes it pretty clear what it is about, so why did you click on it and read it?

[SonyaInTx]

06:49 PM on 01/11/2011

TMI......I feel bad for Tom's high school girlfriend who's sexual history has just been outed.

[Bob Kellerman]

03:26 AM on 01/12/2011

I FEEL BAD FOR YOUR BITTERNESS -- it must hurt so bad you need to be inappropriate and speculative

[SonyaInTx]

09:55 AM on 01/12/2011

How on earth is that bitter to lament a person's privacy being invaded?

[db08]

06:16 PM on 01/11/2011

Lovely. Thank you for sharing and bring some sunshine into our lives.

[db08]

07:12 PM on 01/11/2011

bringing!

[jerry23]

02:17 PM on 01/11/2011

Congrats! Successful long term Gay relationships don't often make headlines. I would suspect that there is depth to their Life partnership. That a genuine friendship exist. My partner and I have been together for 39 years, we grew up together. We didn't really know who we were when we first met in college, who does. We had similar goals and dreams which I believe was a big part in our success in Life. We aren't glorified roommates. I help carry both of his Parents bodies to their graves. So the scope of Human Interaction is there and the cycles of Life has played a role in our path together. I never wanted him to be a version of myself.

[AnnoyedCanuck]

02:03 PM on 01/11/2011

Tom Ford: "I had a girlfriend in high school who was pregnant twice while we were together. In those days, in the '70s, abortion was considered a form of birth control, and I think in most high schools at the time, it was quite casual."

I can't be the only reader who finds this appalling. Maybe in your high school, Tom, abortion was birth control - it certainly wasn't in mine.

I wonder if Tom's teenage girlfriend looks back and thinks her two youthful abortions were "normal" and "casual", or if she appreciates that anyone who knows she went out with Tom Ford now knows she went through this.

Ford's comments are grossly insensitive.

I'm pro-choice, BTW.

[situationcritical]

07:13 PM on 01/12/2011

It's Texas. People act surprised there when you are a single man without kids.

[NYC69]

10:02 PM on 01/12/2011

LMAO

[Biochemist she]

01:34 PM on 01/11/2011

Yes, you probably are bothered by the fact that this man and his partner are intelligent, creative, successful beyond your wildest dreams--the daily interest on their savings accounts alone is probably larger than your annual salary by several orders of magnitude--and are constantly surrounded (and desired) by the type of women you will only ever look at on the pages of glossy magazines.

Your bitterness is so transparent.

[eden4barack08]

01:25 PM on 01/11/2011

Another fantastic example of a couple is designer Valentino and his partner Giancarlo. They've been together for FIFTY years! Kudos to them all, and they didn't even need a piece of paper to seal their commitment and love.

[Cynth]

01:12 PM on 01/11/2011

A beautiful, enduring love story and I love each recounting his side. I'm glad they found each other.

[Broderick Crawford]

01:08 PM on 01/11/2011

Who wants to read about these people ??

[WBP]

01:14 PM on 01/11/2011

MANY MANY MANY of us. If you do no then do NOT. AND while you are at it, you can keep your snarky faux disapproval to yourself.

[Lexi Suarez]

01:15 PM on 01/11/2011

Well you clicked on the link and took the time to comment, so obviously you do.

[karmatryk]

12:57 PM on 01/11/2011

My partner and I have been together 23 years last December, and are still crazy about each other after all these years. Through ups, downs and personal evolutions our love for each other has been a constant theme. Many of our straight friends are on their second and even third marriages in this same time period. So much for the stereotype of a long-term relationship for gay men being a week or until they grow bored of each other's wardrobe, whichever comes first. Bless these two men for being out as a public example.

[Lexi Suarez]

01:16 PM on 01/11/2011

Congrats to you both :) Gay or straight it's nice to read about people who have found such happiness.

[Brookland Jones]

01:36 PM on 01/11/2011

I'm gonna be your #7. That was beautifully written.

[tjtoday]

12:44 PM on 01/11/2011

Is this the same Tom Ford who threw Miss Suzanne Somers under the b*s for drama and ratings?

[lrubemp]

12:40 PM on 01/11/2011

It's cool they have an abiding relationship. But if he's trying to tell us it's based on continuing mutual sexual gratification and total fidelity he's lying through his teeth.

[karmatryk]

01:09 PM on 01/11/2011

My partner and I are monogamous-not by mandate but by choice. It is entirely possible for a gay man to choose exclusiveness. Not, we don't have the fire we did when we were young and the relationship was new, but time and growth has given us an intimacy and emotional depth that once experienced, shallow hook-ups and romper room sex are no longer satisfying. We value what we have, realize how rare that it is, and will not trade a lifetime of acheivment for momentary sensationalism.

[Akizme72]

01:50 PM on 01/11/2011

Well said. And that applies to both straight and gay couples BTW.

[yphili184]

01:15 PM on 01/11/2011

Either you find the right partner, who your serious about and you have that connection with, or you don't. Been in a relationship 7 years and have much more of a connection in every way then when we started. So it's all in your attitude to begin with.

[Rambling Ruminations]

08:05 PM on 01/11/2011

This is exactly the case with us. At the beginning we were constantly clashing over views and convictions etc.

It amazes me that some people assume things get harder as time passes by and things are rosy and wonderful at the start. It was the exact opposite for us. Have been together for 7-8 years and things have only gotten better with time. For some people the mental compatibility reflects in the emotional bond. Being monogamous is not hard, it is probably easier for some people than others.

Finally not every gay couple is George Michael and Kenny what-his-name-life-partner.