The Double Life Of Media Mogul Barry Diller Now Finally Exposed

Media mogul and Fox Broadcasting co-founder Barry Diller has opened up for the first time about his attraction to men and the complexities of his long-standing relationship with iconic fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg.

In a heartfelt excerpt from his new memoir “Who Knew,” Diller opened up about his sexuality, detailing the inner conflicts he wrestled with for years and how they intertwined with his love for von Fürstenberg.

Diller is renowned for his influence in media and entertainment.

However, behind his incredible success, he has now revealed he spent most of his life hiding a secret: his attraction to men.

“I have never questioned my sexuality’s basic authority over my life (I was only afraid of the reaction of others),” he confessed in “Who Knew,” excerpted by New York Magazine. “And when my romance with Diane began, I never questioned that its biological imperative was as strong in its heterosexuality as its opposite had been. When it happened, my initial response was, ‘Who knew?’”

In the memoir, Diller recounted his earliest experiences with men, starting as a teenager in West Hollywood.

“I had found ways to find men — starting with my teenage years street cruising in West Hollywood, darting in and out of side doors of bars along Melrose Avenue,” he wrote.

Even as his career soared, fear of being exposed kept him emotionally isolated.

He shared, “I had so much early career success you might have thought I’d conquered what I saw as the biggest danger in my developing life. I’d conquered other phobias, but fear of exposure still had a tyrannical hold on me.”

Despite the internal conflict, Diller’s love for von Fürstenberg was undeniable.

The couple, who married in 2001 after decades of romance, first connected in the early 1970s.

“I didn’t just want her, I needed her,” he wrote. “And that banged hard into my built-up self-protections.”

Though he was emotionally unprepared for intimacy, their connection flourished.

“I’ve lived for decades reading about Diane and me: about us being best friends rather than lovers. We weren’t just friends. We aren’t just friends. Plain and simple, it was an explosion of passion that kept up for years.”

Diller was open about the duality of his feelings: “And, yes, I also liked guys, but that was not a conflict with my love for Diane.”

For decades, Diller lived by a self-imposed code of silence. Instead of openly coming out, he developed a set of personal rules designed to manage appearances while staying true to himself.

“I would live with silence, but not with hypocrisy,” one of his rules stated. Another declared, “I would never bring a man as a date to a heterosexual event — not that there were many guys I was serious enough about to bring — but I’d never bring a woman as a ‘beard,’ either.”

Looking back, he calls those boundaries what they were, noting, “I recognize it now as the opposite of courage.”

Even though he eventually realized that “everyone knows,” he remained unwilling to label his sexuality publicly.

“Compartmentalizing these unwanted feelings became so successful that it has both ruled and riled my life ever since,” he shared.

When it came to his high-profile relationship with von Fürstenberg, Barry Diller let the world draw its own conclusions.

“I hid my relationship with Diane from the public at the start because I couldn’t define it for them,” he explained.

Von Fürstenberg, a fashion powerhouse who revolutionized women’s wardrobes with her wrap dress, became a symbol of feminine strength and independence. Hence, as her fame rose, their connection became harder to hide.

Yet, for Diller, the nature of their bond didn’t need explanation.

“Though I admit I was always interested in men, it was never in conflict with my love for Diane,” he said.

The couple’s relationship defied traditional categorization, proving that love can transcend norms and definitions.

Barry Diller and Diane von Fürstenberg have spent nearly 50 years together, though they never had children of their own.

The designer has two children, Prince Alexander, 55, and Tatiana, 54, from her first marriage to Prince Egon von Fürstenberg.

With his memoir, Diller hasn’t just come clean about his sexuality, but also dwelt on meditation on identity, fear, and the complicated ways love can take shape.

Still, he maintains he “never wanted to make any declarations.”

However, in telling his truth now, he may have made his most powerful statement yet.