David Farrier in same-sex relationship

Grayson Coutts and David Farrier at home. Photo / Michael Craig

Respected TV3 reporter David Farrier is used to covering the news. But today he is the news, confirming he is in a same sex relationship in the week a debate started on legalising gay marriage.

Farrier, 29, confirmed he was in a relationship with Grayson Coutts, 24, the son of America's Cup yachting legend Russell Coutts, to the Herald on Sunday's Spy gossip team earlier this week.

He acknowledged it might come as a surprise to some, and had not publicly talked about his bisexuality in the past because he never thought it was a big deal.

"I'm used to being associated with odd," Farrier told Spy's Ricardo Simich and Andy Pickering. "A lot of my stories for TV3 are about the odder side of life, so I suppose it's not that odd. But meeting Grayson is probably the least odd thing that's happened this year."

He did not expect news of the relationship to cause anything like the stir it had for another TV big name, Ali Mau, when she left news anchor Simon Dallow and entered a lesbian relationship.

"The Ali Mau thing was much more dramatic, we're just two nice, quiet boys."

Since the Spy interview, MP Louisa Wall's private member's bill, which would allow gay marriage, was pulled from the ballot, meaning Parliament will vote on whether to rewrite the redefinition of marriage.

Farrier said he wouldn't want to be a poster boy for the campaign, but it was a cause he backed: "I'm all for it. Why is this even a debate?

"The moral fabric of society won't fly apart, in fact if anything it will be quite a boring change. We need to debate bigger picture stuff. This is child's play. Let's legalise it."