'Project Runway' star Tim Gunn reveals why he's been celibate for decades

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Tim Gunn is opening up about how a long-term relationship altered his view of intimacy.

The "Project Runway" star opened up in a recent appearance on the "Dear Chelsea" podcast about his decision to be celibate for over four decades. Gunn, 72, said he had not been intimate with another person for 43 years.

Gunn told host Chelsea Handler that the decision could be traced back to a devastating breakup following "a very serious nine-year relationship in Washington, D.C."

"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 said.

"I had my own apartment, but I had been living with him for years. And I left," he said. "I drove to my apartment … and I had to pull off, because I was hyperventilating. I was beside myself with self-flagellation and self-pity, and it was awful."