DIVER Tom Daley has told how it was “love at first sight” when he met the man who now shares his life.

    The Olympic medal-winning star, who revealed the relationship for the first time recently, also explained that keeping his sexuality under wraps had felt like “a dirty little secret.”

    In an interview with British ITV’s “Jonathan Ross Show” to be screened Saturday, he explained how he had made the first move, even though he was not sure if his now-partner was even gay — and it was his first experience of love.

    Daley, 19, announced he was in a relationship with “a guy” by posting a message on YouTube on Monday. Although he has not confirmed the identity, he is said to be dating screenwriter and activist Dustin Lance Black, aged 39. Black wrote the script for Daley’s coming out video.

    Speaking for the first time since he went public, Daley told Ross: “It really was love at first sight, I’d never felt like anything like it before. We were at a party and I hadn’t even spoken to him all night.

    “I didn’t know what to do or if he was gay at first. I made the first move, I typed ‘call me’ in his notes with a smiley face on this phone and the next day he texted.

    “He makes me feel safe and happy, right now I couldn’t be happier.

    “I’d never felt the feeling of love, it happened so quickly, I was completely overwhelmed by it to the point I can’t get him out of my head all the time. I’ve never had it before where I love someone and they love me just as much.”

    Daley — who was a mentor on ITV celebrity diving show “Splash!” earlier this year — said his new partner helped him rekindle his interest in training competitively once again.

    “He saved me from not wanting to dive anymore. After the Olympics I was down in the dumps, as it’s such a hard way to get back into everything, but he gave me the extra motivation and made me work harder and that is exactly what I need.”

    Daley said it was a tough decision to speak out about his private life, but he feels liberated by doing so and has been encouraged by the support he has received.

    “It was a terrifying decision to make, I didn’t know what the reaction was going to be like, I didn’t know how it was going to go but I felt I needed to say something. I wanted to say something in my own words and from the heart, I didn’t know what else to do,” he said.

    “Right now I couldn’t be happier, the support and reaction has been amazing, everyone has been so supportive and I just have to thank them.

    “People ask why I had a girlfriend last year, well, it’s because I had a girlfriend last year. It wasn’t until spring this year that it came upon me, I didn’t expect this, it happened and everything clicked and felt right.”

    He explained: “It felt like a dirty little secret, it felt like I had chains wrapped around me, I couldn’t be who I was, I felt alone and trapped.”

    Daley advised other people to confide in someone if they were unsure about their sexuality. “I felt like there was something wrong with me, I didn’t know other people out there felt that way, I felt so alone, so locked away and couldn’t say anything.”

    The bronze medalist said his family had been concerned about the public reaction.

    “My family will always want to look out for me and not want me to get hurt but they were worried what the reaction would be like in case people would be horrible to me in the streets,” Daley said.

    “Now that it’s all happened they couldn’t be happier, the support of the public has been an added bonus, it makes me smile to think about it — my life at the moment is perfect.”

    Daley said he did not want to put a label on his sexuality.

    “Everything is all pretty new so I don’t see any point in putting a label on it — gay, bi, straight, any of those kind of labels. All that I feel happy about at the moment is that I’m dating a guy and couldn’t be happier, it shouldn’t matter who I’m dating and I hope people can be happy for me.”

    Looking ahead in his diving career, he said: “I’m training full time now and it’s always tough the first year after the Olympics. I’m working hard and want to be at the Commonwealth Games in the best shape I possibly can.

    “My dream is to get an Olympic gold medal and I hope Rio 2016 will be my chance to do that. London 2012 was an amazing experience and so was Beijing but as a diver you normally peak between 22-24 and I’ll be 22 in Rio.”

    At 19, Daley is still trying to find himself as a human being, his identity and what works for him in life. Juggling personal priorities with professional commitments is a tough old business when you are probably searching for answers about the meaning of life, and what makes you tick.

    His sexuality is merely one strand of his development as Daley makes the transition from callow youth to adulthood. Despite the cult of celebrity that has clamped itself to Daley, living cannot be easy amid the massive tragedy that has visited his door.

    Losing his dad Robert, who was only 40 when he died after a battle with brain cancer, would have been a crushing blow to someone so young. This all hit him before he had completed his schooling.

    Daley has benefited from having a mother and father who were committed to their kid.

    “If I could be half the dad that my Dad was to me then that would be my best achievement! I love you!” said Daley after his father died.

    In his 2012 book, “My Story,” he recalls his father’s 2011 death and his commitment to dedicate his 2012 Olympic performance to his memory.

    In his private moments, Daley must feel like he has been shorn of his support network. The trademark smile must hide a lot with his mom being forced to deal with such ongoing grief. It all remains very raw.

    His dad died without fulfilling his wish of seeing Tom compete at last year’s London Olympics. If he had lived, he would have seen his son collect a bronze from the platform.

    Daley is obviously a splendid ambassador for his country. He has occupied such a role since diving at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 aged only 14.

    Dustin Lance Black, born June 10, 1974, is an American screenwriter, director, film and television producer, and LGBT rights activist. He has won a Writers Guild of America Award and an Academy Award for the 2008 film “Milk.”

    Black is a founding board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights and writer of “8,” a staged reenactment of the federal trial that led to a federal court’s overturn of California’s Proposition 8.