Neil Patrick Harris and his fiance David Burtka grace the cover of OUT Magazine’s February “Love” issue. The actor penned their love story for the gay magazine, which was followed up by Burtka’s take on their relationship. NPH and Burtka are fathers to twins Gideon and Harper, who turned 1 year in October.
NPH recalls for OUT when he first met Burtka: “I ran into my friend Kate one day and she was with this brooding, James Dean–type guy in a leather jacket who gave me the head nod and then turned away. I assumed he was Kate’s boyfriend and said, ‘Nicely done.’ And she said, ‘David? He’s not playing on my team, but he has a boyfriend.’ So, then I just kept seeing him on the periphery, and in turn, catching up on him, but I didn’t want to be that guy who was creating some sort of romantic interference. So, I was always around when he was around, hoping the stars would align. When we all hung out for the first time—I was invited by Kate to an American Idol viewing party—I just stammered around him. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.”
David proposed to NPH first. The How I Met Your Mother star writes, “David first proposed to me five years ago on the actual street corner where we met. We were on our way to an event at an Indian casino 45 minutes out of town in a limousine, and David wanted to stop for some reason that I didn’t quite get. I thought he wanted to get some booze or something. And then he got on one knee and proposed, and I was so freaked out by it that I said, “Yes,” but I didn’t know what it meant. Then I got the ring and loved it, and a year later, on Valentine’s Day, I proposed to him in Santa Monica. That was four years ago.”
Last June, NPH tweeted to a fan: “We’ve been wearing engagement rings for ages, waiting for an available date.”
He didn’t elaborate on their wedding plans, but we’re watching the mail for our invitation.
Burtka writes about NPH, too, saying, “We talk on the phone at least eight times a day and text at least 25 times a day. We are, in a way, very codependent. He’s my lifeline, in an amazing way. Without him, I can’t breathe. The biggest thing is that he makes me laugh, but he’s also smart. He can do everything. I’m not kidding; I think he’s half robot. He makes me a little more grounded, and I bring out the wild side in him. Don’t get me wrong—we fight. Our fights last five minutes, then we’re over it. And we’re both Gemini—we have a good twin and a bad twin, and the four of us get along really well!
“I don’t want people to think we’re a perfect couple. Nothing’s perfect. A relationship is work and it changes. And you go with the changes. It’s more good times than bad times, but it’s not always good. You have to overcome those issues and move on. We have a really great recipe for a wonderful relationship, but we don’t want to be the poster boys for gay relationships. We’re not trying to pretend that we are perfect. We’re just trying—in a good, positive, loving way—to live our lives.”
Photos: photography by Matthew Kristall, styling by Grant Woolhead
