Tim Gunn: Lonely at the Top?

Tim Gunn, front and center. And getting giddy with super-fab ProjRun survivor Laura Bennett.

In an interview today with those savvy lads over at AfterElton, TV style guru Tim Gunn talks a bushel about his new Bravo series, Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style which premieres next week, and about his role as an unintentional celebrity and as a gay role model. He’s charming and self-deprecating as always.

But the interview gets personal in the second half as the interviewer, James Hillis, grills Gunn on why a smart, nice-looking, TV-star like himself doesn’t have a man, or doesn’t seem to be in the market for one. Here’s what Gunn has to say, and it’s pretty revealing:

I have the greatest respect for people in relationships and people who are married. I do. I have to say this though … If I were going to have a relationship, it requires time. And I don't have any. So in order to have a relationship, I would have to give something up, and I don't know what that would be.

More personal revelations from Gunn after the jump!

Gunn continues:

But also just to give you a context, I had been in a relationship and a very intense one. And it broke up after quite a number of years. And it broke up abruptly – didn't break up from me. I was cast aside.

And it was just, just at the advent of AIDS. And I found out he had been sleeping with a lot of people. And thank God I'm healthy. Because I didn't know and it had been going on for a while. So when we broke up, there the world of AIDS is spread out before me, and I thought ‘I can't do this. I don't want to be selfish, but I care too much about my health'. And the person I loved more than myself had been cheating on me and lying to me. So if that person is doing it, what about total strangers?

So I just got used to being alone, very used to it. ...I don't feel a void. I feel great going home late at night, or whenever it is, and just closing the door and having the world to myself.

Damn, Tim. Why you gotta be all sane and comfortable with yourself? Are you just trying to make the rest of us feel bad?

Thankfully, Gunn does call out someone from each season of Project Runway who he is not a fan of: “Season One: Wendy Pepper. Season Two: Zulima. Season Three: Vincent. And it remains to be seen who for Season Four.”

Thank god he’s got a slightly bitchy side. We can all rest easily now.

Comments

[erik]

i love tim gunn!

[Deborah L. Pruett-Morales]

I was watching you help a lady with her new wardrobe and saw how you altered her self image. I was particularly impressed that you become so connected to her and her transformation in two folds: physical appearance and emotional attitude. The show made me cry, particularly at the end when the young woman's mother showed up; eventhough she recently had surgery. My mother did not show up for my marriage 2 years ago, let alone support me for a life changing attitude. The second transformation that was so touching was from a doubty woman to a confident woman. I identified with the young lady working in a world with self doubt. Over the years I too have self-doubt due to a long history of working in a world dominated by men that see my women's worth as less than men's worth. I currently am struggling to find a new position on the western slope of Colorado. even though I have a BBA from the Univ. of Iowa Seeing the young woman's change made me realize what a wonderful position you are in not only to help others, but how generous you are. God Bless You,
Deborah

[Deborah L. Pruett-Morales]

I was watching you help a lady with her new wardrobe and saw how you altered her self image. I was particularly impressed that you become so connected to her and her transformation in two folds: physical appearance and emotional attitude. The show made me cry, particularly at the end when the young woman's mother showed up; eventhough she recently had surgery. My mother did not show up for my marriage 2 years ago, let alone support me for a life changing attitude. The second transformation that was so touching was from a doubty woman to a confident woman. I identified with the young lady working in a world with self doubt. Over the years I too have self-doubt due to a long history of working in a world dominated by men that see my women's worth as less than men's worth. I currently am struggling to find a new position on the western slope of Colorado. even though I have a BBA from the Univ. of Iowa Seeing the young woman's change made me realize what a wonderful position you are in not only to help others, but how generous you are. God Bless You,
Deborah