Sunday 8 May 2022 05:44 AM NTY outs Ed Koch: He told friends 'I want a boyfriend' while pretending to date ... trends now

Edward Koch, one of the most popular and colorful mayors in New York history, also endured a silent pain that only those in his inner circle knew.

He was described as a 'master showman with plenty of chutzpah' who rode the NYC subways, would often ask New Yorker's 'How'm I doin? and who had a great tenacity for the city he loved during his three terms in office from January 3, 1969 to December 31, 1977.

The New York Times delves into the former Mayor's romantic relationship with Richard W. Nathan, a 30-something Harvard-educated health care consultant, that was based on on-record interviews with six people who knew about the pair.

Koch, who was 50 at the time, 20 years his senior, and was early in political aspirations to become mayor had met Nathan after he attended a potluck dinner at Koch's apartment in 1976. 

Nathan, who died in 1996, described their whirlwind romance as 'something thrilling,' and said privately then, 'about being courted by a powerful man.' 

In his bid to run for Mayor, Nathan was asked by Koch's colleagues to leave the state, in fear it would compromise his upcoming election, which led to his involvement with Bess Myerson, the first Jewish Miss America, who was called upon to solve that dilemma.

The pair known as 'the candidate and the beauty queen' became inseparable, as thy attended public events, inviting tabloid speculation about an imminent engagement. Koch even referred to Myerson as his 'first lady' and getting married at Gracie Mansion.

Behind closed doors though when the bustle of the day was behind him, Koch told his closest friends how lonely he was: 'I want a boyfriend,' he said.