Neil Patrick Harris posted a single photograph to Instagram for his wedding anniversary. It was a picture from the ceremony — he and David Burtka, in Italy, on the day they got married. The caption read: “12 years ago today. David, thanks for saying ‘I do’. I’m forever grateful that you did.”
That was it. No long essay. No list of milestones. No produced retrospective. Just the photograph, the gratitude, and the man’s name.
Harris and Burtka have been together since 2004 — a relationship that began when Burtka was performing in the Broadway revival of “Gypsy” and Harris came to see the show. They spent years together before getting legally married, first in a California ceremony and then in a larger celebration in Perugia, Italy in September 2014. The Italy ceremony — organized with Elton John’s wedding planner — became the one they count.
Burtka, who trained as a chef and graduated from Le Cordon Bleu after leaving acting, has built his own career in food and cookbook writing. The couple share twins Gideon and Harper, born via surrogate in October 2010. Harris has described fatherhood as one of the most transformative experiences of his life. “Being a dad has changed everything,” he told PEOPLE. “It’s just more love than you think you could ever have.”
They spent time at Disneyland Paris earlier in the summer — Harris’s Instagram showed the two of them at Phantom Manor, in the hedge mazes, watching the fireworks. He captioned it with characteristic warmth. “It was David’s first time, and we had a blast.”
Twelve years of marriage. Twenty-two years together. The caption could not have been simpler, and it did not need to be anything else.
Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka (2026) (IMAGO / imageSPACE)
Harris has spoken in several interviews about what has made the relationship work — and the answers are consistently unglamorous. Showing up. Communication. The deliberate choice, made daily, to prioritize the partnership alongside the career. He has also been open about the external pressures that make that harder than it sounds.
In 2014, the same year they married in Italy, Harris made history as the first openly gay man to host the Academy Awards solo — a performance that earned him widespread praise and that reflected how far both he and the culture had traveled since he came out publicly in 2006. He has spoken about coming out as one of the best decisions of his life. “I feel like I can breathe easier,” he said at the time. The relationship with Burtka, already two years old when Harris came out, was part of what made the decision feel possible.
The summer surrounding the anniversary was characteristically active. Harris was in France for what he described, without further elaboration, as “clown school.” He and Burtka snuck away to Disneyland Paris on a day off. He is currently filming the second season of “Uncoupled” for Netflix. Burtka continues to develop culinary projects.
On their anniversary, Harris posted one photograph and twelve words of thanks. Burtka said “I do” in Italy in September 2014. Harris has been grateful ever since, and has made a point of saying so, publicly, every year. The photograph is the same. The feeling, by all accounts, is not.
Are you a fan of Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka? Do you think their love story is one of Hollywood’s most genuine? Let us know in the comments and pass this on to your family, friends, and other fans out there!
Please follow this link to see their photos on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc93fMuMzNg/