Tom Daley's mother has said the whole family are "absolutely thrilled" by the news of his engagement to long-term boyfriend Dustin Lance Black. The 21-year-old diver has been dating Dustin, who is 20 years his senior, for two and a half years, and on Thursday, they announced their engagement in the Births, Marriages and Deaths section of The Times."It's wonderful news, we are extremely happy for them," Debbie Daley told the Telegraph. "I'll be looking at dresses and hats!"
Tom Daley's mum Debbie has said the family are "absolutely thrilled" by his engagement
She added: "There is an age gap, 20 years, but then again age is but a number. I am not sad because in losing Tom I gain another, so it makes everything all good. "Debbie revealed that Tom had rung her at the family home in Plymouth to tell her the good news. "When Tom told me I could just feel the excitement in his voice. Just hearing him feel that excitement made me feel excited," she said.
Debbie and Lance cheering on Tom together at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
"It was a really nice emotion. It was just a special moment. We are all looking forward to it. The rest of the family really like Lance. "She added, jokingly: "Everyone gets on really well with him, even though he is American, but there we go!"Tom and Lance are believed to have been introduced by mutual friends at the Soho Hotel in London in 2013. Lance, 41, is a Hollywood screen writer who won an Oscar for his script for the 2008 film Milk, about Harvey Milk, one of America's first openly gay elected public officials.
Tom proudly shared a photo of his and Lance's engagement rings on Friday
He was widely praised for the powerful speech he gave while accepting his Academy Award. "When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas, to California and I heard the story of Harvey Milk," he said. "And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life. It gave me the hope one day I could live my life openly as who I am and that maybe even I could fall in love and one day get married."