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Richard Buckley Tom Ford

Richard Buckleylooked back at his first date with husbandTom Fordin the last piece he wrote before his death.

Earlier this month, Buckley, a renowned fashion editor and journalist, “died of natural causes after a long illness” Ford’s representatives previously revealed in a statement. He was 72.

Writing forAir Mail’s “The Better Half” column— which sees couples pen love letters about their significant others — Buckley opened up about the pair’s first date in the mid-’80s and how he initially doubted Ford’s optimism in regards to his career.

“That time, like so many others over the years, he would prove me wrong,” the journalist added. “He achieved his goal in nine years.”

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Richard Buckley Tom Ford

Continuing to pen more about his relationship with Ford, 60, Buckley wrote in his piece that supporting his love over the years was difficult, as reading negative reviews from the press made him emotional.

In one instance, Buckley wrote about how a negative review he read about Ford’s first collection amid his role as Gucci’s creative director in 1995 left him gutted and, as he detailed, “sobbing all over the page on the kitchen table.”

Ford, however, told Buckley that receiving negative press “was all part of of the process” and that he had nothing to worry about.

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“And, although I sometimes hate to admit it, he is always right,” Buckley added.

Ford initially met Buckley in 1986 at a fashion show, and the pair eventually wed in 2014. Buckley and Ford most recently lived in London, New York and Santa Fe, and the pair are parents to son Alexander John Buckley Ford, 8.

Back in 2016, designer andA Single Mandirector Ford reflected to PEOPLE on the moment he met and fell for his husband.

“Our eyes locked and within a month we were living together,” he said during an appearance onThe Jess Cagle Interview. “We have been together ever since.”

Even after a decades-long romance, Ford said he could “vividly” remember the first time he met Buckley. The two were riding in an elevator together — and it didn’t take long for their connection to become clear. By the end of the ride, Ford said he knew he would spend the rest of his life with Buckley.

“By the time that elevator landed on the ground floor I thought, ‘You’re the one.’ That’s it. Click. Sold,” he said. “It was literally love at first sight.”

source: people.com