Fashion journalist Richard Buckley,
fashion designer Tom Ford's husband, has died after battling a long
illness. He was 72.
Representatives for Ford said in a
statement given to PEOPLE magazine that Buckley had died “of
natural causes after a long illness” at his home in Los Angeles on
Sunday night.
Ford and Buckley met at a fashion show
in 1986 and married in 2014. The couple's only child, Jack, was born
in 2012 via surrogacy.
“It is with great sadness that Tom
Ford announces the death of his beloved husband of 35 years, Richard
Buckley,” the
statement read. “Richard passed away peacefully at their home
in Los Angeles with Tom and their son Jack by his side.”
Buckley wrote for Vogue Italia
and New York magazine. He worked as an editor for Women's
Wear Daily and Vanity Fair. And he served as
editor-in-chief from 1999 to 2005 for Vogue Hommes.
In 2011, Ford and Buckley appeared on
the cover of LGBT glossy Out's annual love issue. In the
accompanying interview, Ford described the moment in 1986 that he
decided he would marry Buckley.
“I decided in that elevator ride that
I was going to marry him,” Ford said. “He ticked every box, and
– boom – by the time we got to the floor, I was like, sold. He
seemed so together. He was so handsome, he was so connected, he was
so grown-up, so he was very intimidating. And he really chased me –
not that he had to chase that hard.”