Tom Ford is finding life "very hard" without his husband

He told WSJ magazine: “It’s been hard after 35 years, very hard. I keep thinking, oh, God, I have to call Richard, or I need to send him a note about this. And he’s not here.”

Tom finds the mornings a "challenge" these days because he has to look after the couple's nine-year-old son Jack alone, though he's found a positive in the struggle.

He said: “Until recently, I had Richard to help me out in the mornings.

"It’s been a little bit of a struggle the last month because he would normally get [Jack’s] breakfast on school days while I was getting dressed.

“It’s a challenge to get him up, dressed, get his lunch made, get his lunch packed, get his breakfast done, get all my things done, and then I drive him to school at 7:45.

“But it also means I’m at my office by 8:10, so I get a good start to the day.”

Tom and Richard met at a fashion show in the 80s, and it was love at first sight.

The designer previously recalled: "I went to a fashion show and this silver-haired guy was staring at me with these piercing water-blue eyes.

"It scared me because I absolutely saw and knew my entire future.

"About 10 days later, someone asked if [Richard] was seeing anyone. He said, 'No, there was this guy I had seen at a fashion show,' and at that moment, the elevator door opened and there I was. Richard jumps in the elevator and he's practically tap dancing.

"We had three dates. We were living together four weeks later. He gave me the keys to his apartment, and we have lived together ever since."