Neil Patrick Harris shared a rare glimpse into his personal life on Monday with a sweet snap of his growing twins, Gideon and Harper, and his husband, David Burtka. The actor couldn't have been prouder as he stopped for a photo with his family in the backyard of their East Hampton home. The twins looked so grown up in the snap, with Gideon wearing a beige polo shirt and off-white shorts, and his sister donning a ruffled yellow dress. David slung his arm around his son, sporting a butter-yellow T-shirt with distressed khaki trousers. Neil wore a black see-through button-down tee with gray pants, beaming at the camera beside his gorgeous children.
Growing up
"The loves of my life," Neil wrote in the Instagram caption, alongside three heart emojis. His fans took to the comment section to exclaim over the family of four, with one writing, "Those two young people are very lucky to have you as their parents," while another added, "Wait wait wait…who are those grown ppl standing next to you????????"
"What an absolutely beautiful family," added another, while a fourth chimed in, "Omg, they were babies yesterday. It goes by so fast." Another shared, "It is amazing how your children look like they could be your biological kids. The resemblance is uncanny!! Beautiful family."
Family ties
Neil and David welcomed their twins in 2010 via surrogate, six years after they began dating. The duo first met while starring on Broadway, with Neil in Cabaret and David in Gypsy. They then got engaged in 2011, when the state of New York legalized same sex marriage, and said "I do" in 2014 in an intimate ceremony.
Neil opened up about why it was the right time to get married after a decade of being together in an interview on The View. "I think when our kids got to the age when they were having reasonable conversations where they're asking lots of 'why' questions, then it seemed [important] to be able to have a real clear-cut [identity] of who their daddy is – that he's my husband, it was easier than partner or boyfriend," he explained.
Pandemic parenting
The tight-knit family grew even closer during the COVID-19 pandemic and found new ways to spend time with each other. "I think it's made the kids closer to each other and made us become closer to them in a much more nuanced way," Neil told People. "So as challenging as it's been, I really appreciate the good things that have come from it."
"As a parent, we don't want them to be constantly attached to an iPad, and yet with few options, that's kind of all they want to do. That's challenging because I really like video games," he added. "I'm torn between being the stern taskmaster that says, 'Nay those screens, you must paint!' and being the father that says, 'Wait, what's this cool new game, show me.'"
Birthday bliss
The How I Met Your Mother star took the opportunity to wax lyrical about his two kids on their 14th birthday in October 2024, taking to Instagram to share a sweet tribute to the teens. "Harper and Gideon turn 14 today. I have never been more proud of anything in my entire life, and I suspect I never will," he wrote. "My husband David and I marvel at their maturity, are wowed by their warmth, chuffed by their charm. We love them both unconditionally, and their hugs fill us with life."
"We don't say any of this to them, obvs, or they'd recoil or leverage it to their advantage. But they're not on Insta, so I'm free to speak honestly. They'll never find out," he quipped. "Happy Birthday, Harper and Gideon. You're both amazeballs."