- Fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg has responded to her husband Barry Diller revealing in his memoir that he exclusively dated men before their relationship.
- She dismissed the significance of his sexuality, bluntly asking, “What’s the difference?” and stating, “it doesn’t change anything.”
- Von Furstenberg also noted her first husband, Prince Egon von Fürstenberg, was bisexual, saying, “I married two gay men, OK?”
- In his memoir, Diller describes their 50-year romance as a “cosmic” destiny that surprised even him.
Diane von Furstenberg Addresses Husband Barry Diller’s Sexuality
Diane von Furstenberg is setting the record straight about her feelings on husband Barry Diller’s sexuality, and her reaction might surprise you. After Diller, her partner for over 50 years and husband for 24, revealed in his March 2025 memoir Who Knew that he had only dated men prior to their relationship, the legendary fashion designer emphasized that the news has changed nothing about their dynamic.
“What’s the Difference?”
In a candid interview with Variety, von Furstenberg directly confronted the speculation surrounding their unconventional love story. “What’s the difference?” she asked. “I don’t understand. But it doesn’t change anything. I’m sorry—it’s a stupid question.”
The 78-year-old designer also drew a parallel to her first marriage to Prince Egon von Fürstenberg, who came out as bisexual after their separation. “I married two gay men, OK?” Diane stated matter-of-factly. “I don’t know why, but to me, they’re not gay, so it doesn’t make any difference.”
A 50-Year Bond Built on Trust
While von Furstenberg encouraged Diller to write his life story, she insists his coming out is not the memoir’s defining theme. “For me, the book is not about that,” she explained. “It’s about his life. And of course, with me, he opened immediately. For 50 years, I was the only person he opened to. Then he wrote the book.”
She confessed that she never initially expected their deep friendship to blossom into a romance. “He turned out to be my soulmate. I didn’t think of it at first,” she admitted. “I was interested in being a good friend; I never thought it would be anything else. Then it turned to passion. He was very insistent.”
Diller’s Perspective: “Who Knew?”
For his part, Barry Diller was just as surprised by the powerful connection he felt with von Furstenberg. In his memoir, he struggles to define the magnetic pull that brought them together.
“I can’t explain it to myself or to the world,” Diller wrote. “It simply happened to both of us without motive or manipulation. In some cosmic way we were destined for each other.”
He further detailed that the feelings he developed for Diane were as powerful and certain as any he had felt before. “When my romance with Diane began, I never questioned that its biological imperative was as strong in its heterosexuality as its opposite had been,” he shared. “When it happened, my initial response was, ‘Who knew?’”
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