Celebrating Elton John's 70th Birthday and 50-Year Songwriting Partnership with Bernie Taupin Benefits the Elton John AIDS Foundation And the UCLA Hammer Museum© GettyImages

Richard Buckley, fashion editor and husband of Tom Ford, passed away

The 72-year-old and the designer have been together for decades.


Senior Writer
SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 1:00 PM EDT

It’s a sad day in the fashion world. Designer Tom Ford’s husband Richard Buckley passed away on Sunday night.

Ambassadors For Humanity Gala Benefiting USC Shoah Foundation Honoring Rita Wilson And Tom Hanks© GettyImages

The renowned fashion editor and journalist died of natural causes at the age of 72. Buckley and Ford have been married for over three decades, according to People magazine.

The designer’s reps released a statement sharing the sad news. “It is with great sadness that Tom Ford announces the death of his beloved husband of 35 years, Richard Buckley,” the statement began. Richard passed away peacefully at their home in Los Angeles with Tom and their son Jack by his side,“ the statement went on to say.

Buckley had a successful career in fashion journalism that began at New York Magazine in 1979. He and Ford met at a 1986 fashion show but did not marry until 2014. In 2016, during an The Jess Cagle interview Ford explained his and Buckley’s relationship.

“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. It was literally love at first sight. We have been together ever since.”

The couple have an eight-year-old son together, Alexander John Buckley. The fashion family split their time between London, New York, and Sante Fe.

One of the many places Buckley contributed his skills to was Women’s Wear Daily.

According to an obituary WWD, Buckley had a “diligent, soft-spoken manner that endeared him to almost everyone he met,” as reported on by CNN.