Hollywood Mogul Barry Diller, Who Came Out, 'Wasn't Ever Lying' About Sexuality

For 24 years, Hollywood mogul Barry Diller lived a double life — one in which he was married to fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg and another in which he was attracted to men. Diller opened up about it in his latest memoir.

Now the billionaire has said that he "wasn't ever lying" about his sexuality but just never publicly declared it.

"I wasn't closeted — I just never declared," he told The Hollywood Reporter before referencing the media as stating that he had finally declared he was gay.

"Suddenly, I'm 'coming out.' At my age! Diane, my wife, and I laughed about it. It was absurd," he said. "The door was always open. If I was in a closet, it was made of glass and full of light."

In an essay published May 6 in New York Magazine, Diller, 83, admitted to his experiences with same-sex attraction. The excerpt comes from his memoir, "Who Knew."

"While there have been a good many men in my life, there has only ever been one woman, and she didn't come into my life until I was 33 years old," Diller wrote of von Furstenberg, 78. The pair's on-again, off-again relationship initially lasted until 1981 before they split, only to reunite in 1991, according to Page Six. They married in 2001 but did not have kids together.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Diller said he did wish he had "made a declaration" sooner in life.

"I wasn't ever lying. I've never pretended anything. I never hid. People in my circle knew about my life with both men and with Diane," he said. "The only thing I didn't do was make a declaration. I chose not to for a lot of complicated reasons."

Although Diller had relationships with men as early as his teenage years, he admitted in his memoir that his prominent position in the business world made him reluctant to speak openly about his sexuality.

"I'd conquered other phobias, but fear of exposure still had a tyrannical hold on me, so much so that it stunted any chance of my having a fulfilling personal life," Diller wrote. "Instead, I had discovered I could separate myself from anything painful or terrifying by just locking it away, putting it into a distant box, and having to deal with it hopefully never."

He also noted that his sexuality was never a source of tension in his relationship with his wife.

"There was no effort, no reasoning, no what's-going-on-here, no ambition, no anything," Diller wrote. "Other than sheer excitement, I thought, 'Well, this is a surprise!' I certainly didn't feel, 'Oh my God, what does this mean?' I was simply existing in the moment, a rare place for me."

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