Diane Nyad Has Been Very Open About Her Sexuality — Does She Have a Romantic Partner?

The Gist:

• We break down whether or not historic US swimmer Diana Nyad has or has had a romantic partner.
• Diana is best known for her long-distance swimming records.
• A biographical film based on her life is now streaming on Netflix.

When it comes to long-distance swimming, few athletes have set the records that Diana Nyad has in her career. She is best known for her historic swims such as swimming 28 miles around Manhattan in 1975 and swimming 103 miles from the Bahamas to Florida in 1979. Decades later in 2013, she again made history by swimming from Cuba to Florida at age 64. She is a testament to the idea that it's never too late to achieve your dreams and remains an inspiring figure to this day.

On Nov. 3, 2023, a biographical film based on her life began streaming on Netflix. The movie, simply titled NYAD, stars Annette Bening as Diana Nyad and Jodie Foster as Diana's longtime friend and swimming coach Bonnie Stoll.

Critics and fans of the film have called NYAD a unique kind of love story, which has subsequently called attention to Diana's love life. Does the historic swimmer have a romantic partner? She's been open about her sexuality, but what about her dating life?

Diana Nyad hasn't been afraid to divulge her sexuality as an adult. In an interview with Larry King, she revealed that she came out as a lesbian when she was 21 years old. Leading up to that, however, she struggled with homophobic sentiments and a culture of being deeply closeted while she was attending high school in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

She was able to come out comfortably to her mother by the time she was in college. Luckily, Diana's mom was very open and accepting on the spot. As for her love life from there, however, she's been far less ambitious than she has been as an athlete.

When asked if she'd ever tried to date men as a cover for her real sexuality, Diana admitted, "I would never say I dated."

True to form, Diana has never been explicit with whether or not she is currently involved and her relationship status remains vague to this day. However, she did reportedly explore something with her good friend Bonnie.

In an interview with Digital Spy, Bonnie revealed that she and Diana briefly dated. Though things became platonic from there, they remain good friends to this day.

"We are very different people," Bonnie told the outlet. "But I think we bring the best out of each other when we are together. I learned a lot from Diana and I'm sure she's learned a lot as well from me too."

Though fans might be forever curious about whether or not Diana is currently seeing someone, her reputation and strong foundations of friendship speak for her well enough.

NYAD is now streaming on Netflix.