As far as love stories go, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka’s definitely rank on our list of favourites. Starting with a chance encounter and ending in happily ever after, one might echo the famous character Barney Stinson’s sentiments and call it legen-(wait for it)-DARY.
At the time that the pair met, Harris was sure he’d be alone forever. In an interview with Out magazine, he said, “I remember being in my mid-twenties, lying in bed thinking… that the rest of my life would be solo.” Burtka was in a long-distance relationship at the time.
Their first meeting in 2004 is recounted differently by both men. Burtka remembers running into Harris on the streets one day, and introducing himself as he was familiar with Harris’ work. “I thought it would be nice to know him, but I didn’t think in a million years I’d start dating him,” said Burtka.
On the other hand, Harris recounts the meeting to Out Magazine like this: “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.’”
Shortly after, the pair began hanging out with each other platonically, and eventually Burtka called it quits with his long-distance partner. About a week after that, Harris and Burtka went on their first date to see Taking Lives starring Angelina Jolie. Thereafter, they quickly became inseparable.
In 2005, after they’d officially become a couple, the pair moved to Los Angeles as Harris had landed the role of Barney Stinson in the hit show “How I met Your Mother”.
Two years later, in 2007 Burtka proposed to Harris on the street corner where they met for the first time. “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 … 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,” Harris told Out Magazine.
Since they hadn’t yet married, Harris proposed to Burtka the next year on Valentines Day. After two years of being engaged, the pair welcomed their twins, son Gideon Scott and daughter Harper Grace.
Finally, in 2014, they tied the knot in a wedding ceremony in Perugia, Italy and Elton John performed. Both wore Tom Ford Tuxedos and looked amazing.
“We happily confirm that Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka were married in Italy in an intimate ceremony surrounded by their close friends and family,” Harris’ representative told People magazine.
Today, the couple are known for being fun-loving and goofy, and their Halloween outfits are particularly anticipated every year. Their love seems only to grow stronger by the year.
Image: Intsagram / Neil Patrick Harris
