Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black engaged after two years of dating

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Couple registered their engagement in The Times newspaper
Bronze medal winning diver Tom came out via YouTube in December 2013
He simultaneously announced his relationship with the 41-year-old director
They met in spring 2013 and have been dating for two years
Daley holds two gold medals for England from the 2010 Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games
Black is an Academy Award winning screenwriter and LGBT activist
Tom's mother Debbie Daley has said she's 'extremely excited'

Published: 01:51 EST, 1 October 2015 | Updated: 12:34 EST, 1 October 2015

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Tom Daley's mother Debbie has spoken of her 'extreme excitement' and insisted 'age is but a number' after the 21-year-old diver and his boyfriend Dustin Lance Black, 41, announced their engagement on Thursday morning.

The long-term couple went under the radar by subtly registering the news in the back of The Times newspaper, three days after he was seen wearing a silver ring on his fourth finger at the Pride Of Britain Awards 2015.

Olympic bronze medal winner Tom came out via YouTube in December 2013 and he has now been dating the Academy Award winning screenwriter for two years.

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Engaged: Tom Daley and his boyfriend Dustin Lance Black, pictured here at Monday night's Pride Of Britain Awards, have announced that they are engaged

Pictured: The diver was seen wearing his silver engagement ring when the couple attended the Pride Of Britain Awards 2015 on Monday night in London

Their announcement was made in the Births, Marriages and Death section.

It read: 'The engagement is announced between Tom, son of Robert and Debra Daley of Plymouth, and Lance, son of Jeff Bisch of Philadelphia and Anne Bisch of Lake Providence.'

The couple are yet to set a date and Tom's excited mother Debbie Daley says that are waiting until after his appearance in the Olympic Games in Rio - taking place in August 2016 - to plan the big day.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Debbie explained that the couple's two decade age difference doesn't concern her, telling the paper: 'There is an age gap, 20 years, but then again age is but a number.'

She added of her future son-in-law, jokingly: 'Everyone gets on really with him, even though he is American, but there we go.'

'I am not sad because in losing Tom I am gaining another, so it makes everything all good.'

All smiles: The Olympian was certainly smiling as he walked the red carpet on Monday night, brandishing the ring

She revealed her son called her at home to tell her the news, gushing: 'When Tom told me I could just feel the excitement in his voice. Just hearing him feel that excitement made me feel excited. It was a really nice emotion. It was just a special moment.'

Speaking to the Plymouth Herald on Thursday, Tom's mother expressed her excitement, saying: 'The whole family is extremely excited and looking forward to the big day.

'They are going to wait until after the Olympic Games in Rio before they decide on the date of the wedding and where they want to marry.

Announcement: Tom and Dustin have been dating for two years now, after meeting in spring 2013

It's official: Tom and Dustin went under the radar and made their announcement in the Births, Marriages and Death section of The Times, naming their parents including Tom's late father Rob and Dustin's late mother Anne

She added: 'At the moment he is training in Stratford and focusing on competitions to prepare for Rio at the start of August. Training has always come first for him. Once Rio is out of the way, they will properly plan the wedding.'

Dustin has obviously been a hit with the whole family since Debbie describes him as a 'very likable person.'

Tom's fiancé is an American screenwriter, director, film and television producer and LGBT rights activist, who shot to fame after scooping an Academy Award for the 2008 film Milk.

Cute couple: The pair have been dating for over two years now, following Tom's announcement that he had fallen 'for a guy' in December 2013

TOM'S 2013 YOUTUBE BROADCAST

'In an ideal world, I wouldn't be doing this video, because it shouldn't matter...

'I've been dating girls but I've never really had a serious relationship to talk about and now I feel ready to talk about my relationships.

'In spring this year my life changed massively when I met someone, and they make me feel so happy, so safe and everything just feels great.

'That someone is a guy and it did take me by surprise a little bit.

'It was always in the back of my mind that something like that could happen but it wasn't until spring this year that something just clicked. It felt right and my whole world just changed there and then.

'Of course I still fancy girls and right now I'm dating a guy and I couldn't be happier.'

British superstar Tom came out in December 2013 when he broadcast an impassioned message to his fans explaining that he had begun a relationship with another man.

In an intimate to-camera post from his bedroom, Tom said at the time: 'In spring this year my life changed massively when I met someone, and they make me feel so happy, so safe and everything just feels great. That someone is a guy.'

Tom has previously admitted that it was love at first sight when it came to Dustin, who was 39 when they met.

The 21-year-old, who was 19 at the time of his announcement, said he had been 'taken by surprise' when he fell for Dustin, but went on to say that it 'just felt right.'

Tom, who had heterosexual relationships as a teenager, said that he still fancied girls at the time but revealed in April 2014 that he was in fact not bisexual, but 'a gay man'.

Speaking most recently about his relationship, Tom - who moved Dustin into his London home in May 2014 - confessed in June this year that he still felt 'weird' saying that he had a 'boyfriend'.

In an interview with BBC's Newsbeat, Tom said: 'As the months have gone on I've felt more and more comfortable saying it and give me another year and I'll probably feel at my most comfortable but it's still weird.'

Winner, winner: Olympian Tom triumphed in 2012 with a bronze medal at London's 2012 Olympics

Big year: This year, Tom reached the 16th FINA World Championships at the Aquatics Palace in August 2, 2015 in Kazan, Russia

High profile: American screenwriter Dustin bagged an Academy Award for Milk in 2009

Always by his side: Tom was in the audience with Debbie Daley for Tom's appearance at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

In the past, the Olympian has revealed his hopes for marriage and children, while Dustin is an active campaigner for marriage equality.

Tom said in July 2014 that he thought his sexuality revelation was not newsworthy, explaining to Attitude magazine that he felt it should not 'matter who you choose to be in a relationship with.'

'I also understand that it is still news,' he said. 'I think we live in a society that is far more accepting than it was five or ten years ago, but we've still got a way to go before people no longer assume you're in a heterosexual relationship.

'Family is something that has always been really important to me and yes, at some point I would love to marry and have kids.'

The first person that Tom told about his new relationship was his best friend Sophie but the diver has always credited his understanding family for going public with the news at the age of 19.

Support: Tom credits his close family with helping him to make his brave revelation, and said that his late father Rob (pictured here in April 2008) said he always wanted Tom to be happy

Dedicated: Tom's father Rob gave up his electrician's business in 2006 so he could accompany Tom to all his events

Supportive: Tom remains very close with his mother Debbie and both were named in his Times announcement

The medal-winning athlete, whose father Rob died of cancer aged 40 in 2011, previously said his mother was particularly supportive and that before his death, his father always reminded him, 'As long as you are happy, I'm happy.'

Tom's father Rob gave up his electrician's business in 2006 so he could accompany him to all of his sporting events.

Olympian Tom dedicated his sensational double gold medal win at 2010's Commonwealth games to his sick father following Rob's 2006 brain tumour diagnosis.

Rob admitted to clinging to the hope that he would live to see Tom compete at London's 2012 Olympics, at which the star later triumphed for Great Britain with a bronze.

Similarly, Lance's mother Anne passed away in June 2014 leaving behind husband Jeffrey and her other two sons Marcus and Todd - both Rob and Anne were named in Thursday's announcement.

It has been an exciting time for Tom in his professional life this year, as he secured his place for the 2016 Rio Olympics by reaching the final of the 10-metre platform event at the World Aquatics Championships in Kazan at the beginning of the August.

Sight-seers: The couple appeared in good spirits as they stopped to pose by the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco

Meanwhile, Tom's partner Dustin has been busy polishing his screenplay for The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, a film he will also direct.

Tom and his 41-year-old director partner have spent the summer road tripping around America for several weeks.

Rested and refreshed, they proved that they were still making waves with their sweet romance just this weekend when they took to Instagram with a picture back in the British capital.

The shot, captured on Saturday, saw the pair soaking up some culture at The British Museum, a pit stop that called an end to their trip as part of a visit to London.

He captioned the happy snap: 'A day filled with History and Coffee. #CasualSaturday #britishmuseum #History #Coffee'

Culture vultures: The duo also shared a sweet selfie by the Hollywood sign during a hike in Los Angeles

Tom shared many a snap of the duo's fun-filled break in August as they posed outside the famous Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco and went horse-back riding in California.

They also travelled to Los Angeles and stopped during a hike to take a selfie outside the Hollywood sign, which Tom captioned: Back in 'sunny' Britain. reflecting on an amazing break :) #HollywoodHike #BackToReality.

Other activities on their fun-filled holiday included horse-back riding and even a sweet throwback collage photo that Tom shared with his 1million followers of friends and family - which Dustin featured in heavily.

The month-long trip must come as a well-deserved break for both Tom and Dustin, who are both keeping busy with their respective projects.