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Neil Patrick Harris: I Married David Burtka For Our Kids

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka
Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka married in early September at a surprise ceremony in Italy.

While Neil Patrick Harris’ surprise Italian wedding to longtime partner David Burtka was a day filled with love and celebration, the How I Met Your Mother alum, 41, admitted on The View on Sept. 17 that their marriage also has a practical purpose. 

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“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 said.

Related: PHOTOS: Neil and David's adorable family

The couple are dads to twins Gideon and Harper, who were born via a surrogate mother in 2010. Though their little ones were a big contributing factor, Harris was also happy to finally commit himself to Burtka after more than 10 years together. 

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“It was nice, very small and intimate. Only about 45 people were there,” the Broadway alum revealed. “We did it as a destination wedding, and it kept the numbers down. I just wanted to be able to say nice things about David to David in front of the people that mattered the most to us. It was less about a proclamation and more about a declaration that I was able to share in front of our kids.”

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Harris tweeted a photo of the secret ceremony on Sept. 8, surprising fans with the special moment. 

“Guess what?” he captioned a photo of the couple exchanging vows. “@DavidBurtka and I got married over the weekend. In Italy. Yup, we put the ’n’ and ‘d’ in ‘husband’.”

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