Diane von Furstenberg Reacts After Husband Barry Diller Comes Out as Gay

Published: Oct 17 2025

Diane von Furstenberg has nothing new to add about her husband Barry Diller's sexuality. After years of speculation, the fashion designer's husband finally came out as gay in his March 2025 memoir, "Who Knew." However, she emphasized that their dynamic hasn't changed a bit. "What's the difference?" Diane, who has been romantically involved with Barry since the late 1970s, asked Variety in an interview published on October 16. "I don't understand. But it doesn't change anything. I'm sorry—it's a stupid question."

Diane von Furstenberg Reacts After Husband Barry Diller Comes Out as Gay  1

The 78-year-old also acknowledged her three-year marriage with Prince Egon von Fürstenberg, who opened up on his bisexuality after their separation in 1972 (the couple did not finalize their divorce until 1983). "I married two gay men, OK?" Diane continued. "I don't know why, but to me, they're not gay, so it doesn't make any difference."

Indeed, the wrap dress inventor doesn't see standing by Barry as "supporting him" through something. "People see it that way," she admitted. "For me, it's not that way. I don't know. Yes, I encouraged him to do that book." However, Diane insisted that Barry's "Who Knew" memoir was not meant to be defined by his coming out. "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."

Diane did note that she didn't initially think her relationship with Barry would become romantic. "He turned out to be my soulmate," she confessed. "I didn't think of it at first. 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." For Barry, he was just as stunned by his attraction to Diane. "I can't explain it to myself or to the world," Barry wrote in his memoir. "It simply happened to both of us without motive or manipulation. In some cosmic way we were destined for each other." Indeed, Barry felt urges just as strong for Diane as he felt for past male lovers. "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 detailed. "When it happened, my initial response was, 'Who knew?'"

View all