Jim Parsons and Todd Spiewak: An 18-year-long love story that broke all barriers and inspired generations
Jim Parsons is all set to play the character of Michael in the upcoming film, 'The boys in the band'. The film will hit the screens on September 30, 2020. Even though Parsons doesn't have a romantic role in the film, all his fans are aware of what a "serious" lover he is in real life.
Jim Parson has been dating Todd Spiewak for around 12 years now, and oh boy! their Instagram posts are proof of how strong they are going. Let's have a look at their inspiring love story:
When they met
Parsons and Spiewak met on a blind date in 2002, which was arranged by two of their female friends, who tagged along for the meet-up at a karaoke bar. According to an article by Amomama, Spiewak, who was working in advertising as a graphic designer at the time, said the connection between him and Parsons "was pretty quick." It sure sounds so: Spiewak's song choice that night was Cher's 'I Found Someone.'
When Parsons rose to fame
In 2010, Parsons won his first award at the Emmys for playing the character of scientist Sheldon Cooper in 'The Big Bang Theory'. Toward the end of his acceptance speech, he says "And most of all, I love you, Mom," followed by a list of names, including Todd Spiewak. But the mention went unnoticed by most viewers.
In a New York Times profile of Parsons timed to his role in a Broadway revival of the play 'Harvey', writer Patrick Healy casually described the actor as "gay and in a 10-year relationship." Spiewak was not named, and no other details were mentioned about their relationship, but the line served as Parsons' public coming out. At the time, Out Magazine's Jerry Portwood wrote, "Parsons [had] lived as a gay man in his private life, but in his professional public life he skirted the issue."
During the talk show 'Inside the Actor's Studio', Parsons admitted that he took Spiewak to events but that he "just didn't mention" being gay to the press. He also said, "Healy just point-blank asked, 'Was working on 'The Normal Heart' (a Broadway play about the AIDS crisis) meaningful to you as a gay man?'" And I was like, 'Well, yeah. Yeah.' And what a wonderful … I can't tell you what a wonderful thing that was, what a gift he gave me with one question. It was suddenly out there and official."
When it all became 'official'
In September 2013, Parsons once again won the award at Emmys for playing the character of Sheldon. But this time, he drew a lot of attention when during his acceptance speech he said, "I love … oh, my favorite person on Earth, Todd Spiewak."
In October 2013, Parsons and Spiewak were honored by the LGBT youth advocacy organization GLSEN with the Inspiration Award at the Respect Awards. At that time, Parson said, "I've never considered my relationship with Todd to be an act of activism. Rather simply, it's an act of love, coffee in the morning, going to work, washing the clothes, taking the dogs [out] — a regular life, boring love."
Parsons also acknowledged Spiewak's parents, who were in attendance at the function, for being "an important part" of their lives. Biographical information provided for the event also gives a little more background on Spiewak's career for the first time. It revealed that he has a BFA from Boston University and has designed campaigns for clients like American Express, Barnes & Noble and KitchenAid.
By this point, he and Parsons have also started a production company together, That's Wonderful Productions, and Spiewak is "actively seeking homes for projects ranging from television series to movies to theater."
During a 2014 appearance in 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', Parsons gets questioned by Ellen about when (and if) he and Spiewak will ever tie the knot, to which he replied saying, "I don't know! you get so used to your life as it is." When the host cracks that 11 years seems like plenty of time to "know," Parsons replies that Spiewak was watching the show and "I'm not saying he's been discouraging it, I'm not! I feel like I haven't been enthusiastic enough about it, and now I feel like I'm a loser for the cause."
When they said 'YES'
After dating for years, and in between hundreds of questions and rumors, the couple finally got hitched on May 13, 2017. The wedding took place at the swanky Rainbow Room in New York on a Saturday night.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Parsons said, "It was so much more meaningful in the moment for me than I predicted, and it’s been resonantly much more meaningful than for me afterward than I ever saw coming. You know, I had been an adult gay person for so long at a time where that wasn’t possible where life was 'fine' for me." Parsons even shared a beautiful picture from the big day.