Project Runway star Tim Gunn reveals why he has been celibate for 40 years

Project Runway star Tim Gunn has candidly opened up about why he has been celibate for over 40 years.

The 72-year-old TV personality discussed the reason on an episode of the Dear Chelsea podcast, which aired last week (19 February).

During the chat, the fashion guru joked that the full story behind his lifestyle choice would 'keep a psychiatrist very busy', before explaining that his celibacy was a result of 'a very serious nine-year relationship in Washington, D.C.' that he was in from the mid-1970s into the early '80s.

Recalling the painful night it 'all ended', Gunn shared: "I loved this person deeply and would have done anything for him, and I still remember the night that it all ended. We were in bed watching M*A*S*H.

"It was the first run, and he said to me, 'I have no patience for you any longer. I want you to leave.'"

Gunn continued: "I had my own apartment, but I had been living with him for years. And I left. I drove to my apartment on Rock Creek Parkway. And I had to pull off, because I was hyperventilating. I was beside myself with self-flagellation and self-pity, and it was awful."

Project Runway's Tim Gunn has opened up about why he's remained celibate for 43 years (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Staff / Getty Images)

He went on to share that his partner of nearly a decade was repeatedly unfaithful to him.

"One of the things that he told me that night was that he had been sleeping with just about everything that walked by," Gunn said. "I had been loyal and faithful to him. He was the only person I had ever been with, and this is the advent of AIDS. It's 1982."

The NHS explains that HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that weakens your immune system and increases your risk of serious illness.

There’s currently no cure, but with treatment, most people with HIV can live a long and healthy life.

Gunn opened up about how his initial 'self-pity' turned into 'completely unbridled anger' (Dimitrios Kambouris / Staff / Getty Images)

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is the name for a collection of serious illnesses caused by the HIV virus.

The virus can be spread by having vaginal, anal or oral sex without a condom or by sharing needles with someone who has HIV.

Gunn recalled that the 'self-pity' he felt initially then transformed, given the social context, into 'completely unbridled anger'.

"Because I thought he may have given me a death sentence," he explained. "I was tested every six months for 10 years for HIV, and thankfully, I had a clean slate."

Regardless, it's clear the traumatic experience went on to impact Gunn's outlook on dating and relationships in the long run, as he explained, 'all this would come back like Niagara Falls, and it would just take the desire away'.