Drag Me to Dinner’s David Burtka on LGBTQ family with Neil Patrick Harris: ‘We never intended on being advocates’
"I couldn't be happier the way it worked out. There's definitely a lot to be grateful for, and a lot to love about life. So hopefully that comes across."
The star and co-creator of Drag Me to Dinner, David Burtka, has opened up about his LGBTQ family.
David, 48, is married to fellow actor Neil Patrick Harris, 49. The two are parents to their twins, Harper and Gideon.
In an exclusive interview with Attitude David discussed being a father and his children being more grown up. He was asked whether the children becoming teenagers would mean less of their adorable family Halloween costumes.
“I don’t know. There was a time when they were around eight or nine, and Neil and I were saying to ourselves, ‘We don’t know how many years we have left this…’ The last two years, I was really surprised that the kids had a blast,” David told us.
“I think they love the attention they get from it through school and the parents and stuff. But I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon.”
And he revealed that planning for Halloween 2023 is already underway!
“It’s always a family decision on what we do. But they are really into it. So, I don’t know if it’s like they do it until they go to college.
“Or if they don’t go to college, they’ll stay with us for the rest of their life and live in our basement. I don’t know!”
Previously, the family has dressed up as characters from Peter Pan, Star Wars, and Alice in Wonderland among others.
When it was put to David that the visibility of his LGBTQ family has given people hope and helped people to come out, David said that was never the idea.
“We never intended on being advocates for the community. We just live our life. I fell in love with an amazing man, and we wanted to open up our family to be bigger. And it just happened to be that this is how it happened.
“I couldn’t be happier the way it worked out. There’s definitely a lot to be grateful for, and a lot to love about life. So hopefully that comes across. But it wasn’t intentional.”
“It’s a great thing”
Discussing Pride, especially against the backdrop of a disturbing wave of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation in the US, David Burtka said its heartening to see younger generations living more openly and proudly.
“I grew up and probably a lot of kids around America grow up most of their life with so much shame,” he lamented. “I just love seeing that more and more generations are just living their life so proud and not having to deal with that shame of being gay or being in the closet.
“And I’m just so happy that Pride is something that happens all year round and not just one month in June. It’s a great thing.”
Drag Me to Dinner is streaming in the US on Hulu.