Tim Gunn Reveals He’s Been Celibate for 43 Years: ‘Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way’

Tim Gunn, the beloved fashion mentor known for his decades on “Project Runway,” has revealed a deeply personal reason for his 43-year celibacy. The television personality opened up about the decision during an appearance on Chelsea Handler’s podcast, Dear Chelsea, explaining that a painful breakup in the early 1980s led him to abstain from sexual relationships.

Gunn recounted a nine-year relationship in Washington, D.C., that ended abruptly one evening while he and his partner were watching television. “We were in bed watching M*A*S*H. It was the first run, and he said to me, ‘I have no patience for you any longer. I want you to leave,’” Gunn recalled. He described leaving immediately, driving to his apartment, and being overcome with emotion. “I had to pull off, because I was hyperventilating. I was beside myself with self-flagellation and self-pity, and it was awful.”

The heartbreak was compounded by a revelation from his partner about infidelity. “One of the things that he told me that night was that he had been sleeping with just about everything that walked by,” Gunn said. “I had been loyal and faithful to him. He was the only person I had ever been with.” This disclosure occurred during a period marked by growing fear surrounding the AIDS epidemic.

“This is the advent of AIDS. It’s 1982,” Gunn explained. The realization that he might have been exposed to HIV led him to undergo testing every six months for ten years, a period he thankfully navigated with negative results. However, the experience left a lasting impact on his outlook on intimacy.

“The initial self-pity…transformed into completely unbridled anger, because I thought he may have given me a death sentence,” Gunn said. He explained that whenever he found himself “tempted to engage in something that could become serious with someone,” the traumatic memories of the breakup would resurface, “come back like Niagara Falls, and it would just take the desire away.”

Despite the painful origins of his celibacy, Gunn expressed contentment with his lifestyle. “Being celibate and being someone who lives alone was a bit of an adjustment,” he admitted, “but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Gunn’s story resonates with others who have chosen celibacy for personal reasons. Lenny Kravitz recently revealed he has been celibate for nine years, citing a spiritual motivation for his decision to abstain from sexual relationships. Like Gunn, Kravitz described a deliberate choice to prioritize his personal well-being and focus on his inner life.

The full interview with Tim Gunn can be heard on the Dear Chelsea podcast.