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You probably know Tim Gunn as the former Project Runway judge and inventor of the loving directive \u201cMake it work.\u201d But outside of his onscreen mentoring and ineffable taste in archival designs, the 72-year-old has largely kept his personal life private. Last week, however, Gunn spoke about his 43-year celibacy journey and the ex that jumpstarted it during an\u00a0episode of Chelsea Handler\u2019s podcast<\/a>, Dear Chelsea.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a very serious nine-year relationship in Washington, D.C., and I loved this person deeply and would have done anything for him,\u201d Gunn told Handler. \u201cAnd I still remember the night that it all ended.\u201d Apparently, Gunn and his then-partner, who\u2019d been living together for years, were cuddling in bed watching M*A*S*H when his ex said suddenly: \u201cI have no patience for you any longer. I want you to leave.\u201d Gunn said that his partner then revealed that he\u2019d been \u201csleeping with just about everything that walked by,\u201d while Gunn had only ever been \u201cloyal and faithful.\u201d \u201cHe was the only person I\u2019d ever been with,\u201d he remembered.<\/p>\n Gunn recalled fleeing the apartment to drive to his own house, only to pull off the road because he was \u201chyperventilating.\u201d \u201cI was beside myself with self-flagellation and self-pity, and it was awful,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThis is the advent of AIDS. It\u2019s 1982. The self-pity then turned into\u00a0completely unbridled anger because I thought he may have given me\u00a0a death sentence.\u201d For ten years following the breakup, Gunn said, he got tested for HIV every six months.<\/p>\n After the incident, Gunn got used to being \u201csomeone who lives alone\u201d and, later, someone who no longer has sex. Whenever he was \u201ctempted to engage in something that could become serious with someone,\u201d he said, the traumatic memories of the breakup would \u201ccome back like Niagara Falls, and it would just take the desire away.\u201d He called his eventual celibacy \u201ca bit of an adjustment\u201d at first. But now? He \u201cwouldn\u2019t have it any other way.\u201d Surely he and Julia Fox<\/a> would have a lot of fun at brunch.<\/p>\n Stay in touch.<\/p>\n Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n