Tom Ford opens up about life with 9-year-old son after husband's death

In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Tom Ford opened up about his life after husband Richard Buckley's death.

"It’s been hard after 35 years, very hard," he said. "I keep thinking, Oh, God, I have to call Richard, or I need to send him a note about this. And he’s not here."

Ford, who was with the fashion journalist for 35 years, wed Buckley in 2014. In September 2021, Buckley died at age 72 and left Ford, 60, their 9-year-old son, Jack, to look after.

"Until recently, I had Richard to help me out in the mornings. It’s been a little bit of a struggle the last month because he would normally get (Jack’s) breakfast on school days while I was getting dressed," Ford said. "I’ve gotten pretty good at it."

But now that Ford is a widower, he's learning how to do things on his own again.

"I guess I’ve added now to my routine at 5:30," he said about taking care of Jack. "But it’s a challenge to get him up, dressed, get his lunch made, get his lunch packed, get his breakfast done, get all my things done, and then I drive him to school at 7:45. But it also means I’m at my office by 8:10, so I get a good start to the day."

The high-end fashion designer met Buckley in the '80s when they were riding an elevator together. During a November 2016 appearance on "The Jess Cagle Interview," Ford recalled instantly feeling an attraction to Buckley when they locked eyes for the first time.

“Our eyes locked and within a month we were living together,” he said.

“By the time that elevator landed on the ground floor, I thought, ‘You’re the one.’ That’s it. Click. Sold,” the "Nocturnal Animals" director added. “It was literally love at first sight.”

Ford also said that they managed to stay together for so long because of the connection that they had.

“If the person you’re with is someone you respect, who you believe has a great heart and a great soul, as good a heart and soul that you will ever find, don’t ever leave them,” he said, “because you won’t find anyone better.”