Olympic diver Tom Daley surprised his fans by revealing he is dating a man, despite previously dating girls. The 19-year-old diver, who won a bronze medal in London 2012 Olympics, revealed the news on Monday in a YouTube video. Daley says he is in a serious relationship with a guy and said he feels happier and safer in his new relationship.

In a five-minute long message on YouTube, Daley said he felt it in spring this year. “In spring this year my life changed massively when I met someone, and they make me feel so happy, so safe and everything just feels great. That someone is a guy.” Daley said, “But it wasn’t until spring this year that something just clicked. It felt right and I thought ‘OK’.”

However, Daley said that he still fancies girls but had been dating the unnamed man since spring. He admitted that this took him by surprise though he seemed to have an inclination for some time that he might be bisexual or gay. Daley went on to say, “It did take me by surprise a little bit. It was always in the back of my head that something like that could happen.”

His grandparents, whom he had informed 24 hours before going public about it, said the news came as a surprise and they feared that he was still too young to be making this kind of decision but they said they will support him because they are liberal.

“We have always been supportive of him and we always will. We’re not old-fashioned, in fact we’re quite liberal. But I do think he’s too young to be making this sort of decision,” they said, “but we hugged him, we thanked him for coming to see us, and we’ll be seeing him over Christmas. We’ll always be here for Tom.”

Tom’s father died at age 40 in 2011 from brain cancer.

Chairman of the Amateur Swimming Association, Edward Lord said “To be one of the first British Olympic athletes to come out is very brave.” Lord said, “We must all support Tom in taking this incredibly courageous step.”

Although his family members had mixed feelings about Daley’s decision, stars were quick to congratulate him for the bold move. Among them were Kylie Minogue and British comedian Matt Lucas.

Tom Daley: Something I want to say…

(main image via Twitter)