David Burtka Reveals the Secret to 15-Year Relationship With Husband Neil Patrick Harris

They’ve been together for more than 15 years, so it’s not surprising that Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka are one of Hollywood‘s favorite couples. David, who has actually been married to Neil since 2014, recently revealed the secret to maintaining a long-lasting relationship.

“I think the biggest thing is — for us, yeah — we communicate, but it’s deeper than that,” the 43-year-old exclusively dished to Closer Weekly. “I think people forget that we grow individually and that relationships grow individually and that it’s OK. It’s OK [if] you’re becoming different people sometimes and people get so hung up [on it], [like] this is not the way it was before.”

The Life of the Party author also explained how important it is to embrace change in any type of longtime relationship — especially when it comes to marriage.

“I think you have to go into the future and into the unknown with brave abandonment,” David added. “I think a lot of people get hung up on well, this is not how it’s been and I think we really work on that. Nothing is perfect and relationships are another job. It’s work, you know, but if you can do it healthily and you can do it with trust and honesty, then you know, it’s a no brainer.”

David — who share 8-year-old twins, daughter Harper Grace Burtka-Harris and son Gideon Scott Burtka-Harris, with the How I Met Your Mother star — then opened up about how life changed for the better since welcoming the two babies via surrogacy in 2010.

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“Becoming a father, I think it was so interesting that I always felt like I had to fit into a box. I always had to be someone who was not necessarily who I was supposed to be,” David admitted. “Watching the kids grow up as individuals and letting them be who they are meant to be and letting them be who they truly are taught me to embrace really who I am and to be grateful for what life has given me.”

Talk about #FamilyGoals!

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