Media mogul Barry Diller is sharing a rare and intimate look into his decades-long relationship with fashion icon Diane von Fürstenberg in his new memoir, Who Knew, set to release on May 20 through Simon & Schuster.
At 83, Diller candidly reflects on his personal and romantic life, including long-standing public speculation around his sexuality. In an excerpt published by New York magazine, Diller writes, “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 also addresses his choice to keep his private life under wraps for years, saying, “Even though as the years went on I began to be realistic and understood that ‘everyone knows,’ I never wanted to make any declarations.” He reflects on the societal pressures of the time, admitting that fear kept many, including himself, from coming out. 
His romance with von Fürstenberg, now 78, began in 1974 when they reconnected at a party after initially meeting through her then-husband, Prince Egon von Fürstenberg. The chemistry was instant. Diller describes it as “a romance as natural to us as breathing” and calls it “the miracle of my life.”
Despite a brief split in 1981 — sparked by von Fürstenberg’s short-lived affair with actor Richard Gere during the filming of American Gigolo, which Diller’s company Paramount produced — their love endured. Diller admitted the affair left him feeling “too much the fool.”
After a decade apart, they reunited in 1991 and officially married in 2001. Diller writes they’ve spent “50 years intertwined with each other in a unique and complete love.”
The couple also built a blended family with von Fürstenberg’s children from her first marriage, Alexander and Tatiana. Both were featured in the 2023 documentary Diane von Fürstenberg: Woman in Charge, celebrating her legacy and career.
