The Olympic diver's grandparents, however, vow to keep supporting their grandson, saying, 'We have always been supportive of him and we always will.'
- Dec 3, 2013
AceShowbiz - Grandparents of British Olympic diver Tom Daley, who recently said in a YouTube video that he dated a man, have vowed to keep supporting the athlete. As reported by U.K.'s Daily Mail, David and Rosemary Daley knew of Tom's sexuality 24 hours before he made the announcement.
"We only found out at 5 P.M. on Sunday when he came to see us. We are confused because he's always had girlfriends. We asked him if he was absolutely sure. He's our first grandson from our son who died," Rosemary said. Tom's father passed away from brain cancer in 2011.
"We have always been supportive of him and we always will. We're not old-fashioned, in fact we're quite liberal. But I do think he's too young to be making this sort of decision. But we hugged him, we thanked him for coming to see us, and we'll be seeing him over Christmas. We'll always be here for Tom," she continued. Her husband added, "We've always been loyal supporters of Tom and there's no reason that that will change."
In addition to family members, Tom has gained support from celebrities. Russell Brand replied Tom's announcement tweet, "Well done sunshine, dive into love." Kylie Minogue commented, "Inspiring and brave...as always!!! #RespectTom." The London 2012 Olympic bronze medalist additionally took to Twitter to thank fans for their support, writing, "Overwhelmed by all the support! Means the world! Thanks so much guys."
"This has been a hard decision to make, but I wanted you to hear this from me," Tom previously said. "Of course I still fancy girls but right now I'm dating a guy and I couldn't be happier," he continued, without mentioning the identity of his boyfriend. Tom also believed that his late father would have approved it as well as his mother. "My friends and family are always there to support me and I hope you guys can be too."
