Love is a many-splendored thing, especially when you’re gawking at it from the outside. In this column, we’ll be examining the celebrity couples that give us hope for our own romantic futures and trying to learn what we can from their well-documented bonds.
There’s a part in Nora Ephron’s semi-autobiographical 1983 novel Heartburn that I’ve always loved. Fresh off the discovery that her husband is cheating on her, Rachel Samstat desperately asks her friend Julie (who’s also previously withstood her husband’s extramarital affair) what to do. “We hang on, and if it doesn’t work, we try again with the next one,” Julie responds.
While some may consider that attitude cynical, I’ve always found it kind of romantic. What could be more earnest and charming than accepting the state of your marriage in all its flaws and upsets, and then actually choosing to give it another shot with someone else? Hope springs eternal, as they say!
I thought of this Ephronism immediately when I saw Beef star Ali Wong and Barry’s Bill Hader cozying up at the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night. Wong is, quite famously, recently divorced from ex-husband Justin Hakuta, and Hader and his ex-wife Maggie Carey split up almost six years ago. Both Wong and Hader have daughters from their previous relationships (two for Wong, three for Hader), and while this whole mess of divorces and custody can be complex, I’m so on board with their love.
Obviously, romance is a hell of a lot easier when all parties are single, unencumbered, and not trying to figure out who left their kid’s favorite stuffed animal at McDonald’s on the drive home, but there’s something time-tested (and maybe even more real?) about two divorced parents of young children making it work amid all the chaos. Before getting together last spring, Wong and Hader actually briefly dated in 2022 after meeting a few years prior, and hearing Hader refer to Wong as his girlfriend—as he did in a recent interview with People—is giving me a chronic case of middle-school brain. I want to write their names on my planner and draw hearts around them!
One of the classiest moments of this year’s Globes came courtesy of Wong, but it actually had nothing to do with Hader. After winning best actress in a limited series, anthology series or a motion picture made for television for her role in Beef, the comedian thanked Hakuta in her acceptance speech, saying, “I really need to thank the father of my children and my best friend, Justin, for all of your love and support. It’s because of you that I’m able to be a working mother.” Not only is it extremely cool to acknowledge your co-parent when winning a major award, but there’s also something great about Wong being secure enough in her relationship with Hader to call out her ex onstage. (And, anyway, Hader’s a comedian in his 40s—surely he can handle it!)