Who is Neil Patrick Harris’ husband David Burtka and how did they meet?

David Burtka has shifted his focus onto being a chef following a career on the stage and making guest spots on TV. He and Neil Patrick Harris have been together since 2004

Neil Patrick Harris’ latest Netflix series Uncoupled is about a man who gets dumped by his boyfriend of 17 years and has to try his luck on the dating scene again in his 40s.

But the actor's love life is nothing like that of his on-screen character, however.

Harris has been with husband David Burtka for 18 years and has boasted about being “super-happy” with each other as recently as the premiere for Uncoupled.

With the new LGBT programme dropping onto Netflix today (July 29), here is a look at the other man in Harris’ life.

Who is David Burtka?

David Burtka is an actor and chef

Image:

( Michael Buckner/WireImage)

As an actor, David Burtka had a number of guest roles in high-profile US TV series, including The West Wing and How I Met Your Mother - a comedy Harris had a major part in.

He has appeared in a number of Broadway shows, including the musical The Opposite Of Sex.

The 47-year-old made a career change to become a professional chef, graduating in 2009.

Burtka's first cookbook, Life Is A Party, is a collection of recipes and tips on entertaining and was published in April 2019.

However, he has continued to keep his hand in as an actor, taking a part in the Broadway run of It Shoulda Been You in 2015.

He recently revealed on social media that he had to undergo a nine-hour operation on his spine.

How did David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris meet?

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka

Image:

( Getty Images)

The actors reportedly met when they were both on Broadway, with Harris in Cabaret and Burtka in Gypsy in around 2003.

However, Burtka was in another relationship, often commuting to Los Angeles to see his then-boyfriend.

In fact, Burtka had two children with ex Lane Janger via a surrogate mother, born in 2000. The pair split three years later.

Harris - who has previously hosted the Oscars - and Burtka remained friends after their first meeting but it was the end of the latter's long-term relationship that would pave the way for them to go on their first date in 2004.

After hitting it off, Burtka soon made the big move from New York to LA when Harris got his big break on How I Met Your Mother.

Burtka would go on to make guest appearances on the hit show, but fans did not know about their relationship at the time, with Harris only coming out as gay two years after they started dating.

The passing of the Marriage Equality Act allowed them to have their same-sex relationship recognised in law, with a wedding ceremony held in November 2014 that Elton John attended.

They have two children, Harper and Gideon, via a surrogate mother.

The couple recently had to republish an apology after images resurfaced from one of their previous Halloween parties of a meat platter that had been made to look like Amy Winehouse's corpse.

The distasteful display was made only months after the British singer's tragic death in 2011.

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