Neil Patrick Harris Revealed His Entire Family Had Coronavirus

Neil Patrick Harris Revealed His Entire Family Had Coronavirus

"I thought I had the flu."

Neil Patrick Harris is getting candid about his experience with coronavirus (COVID-19) earlier this year. In an appearance on the Today show, the former How I Met Your Mother star revealed that his whole family—including husband David Burtka and their 9-year-old twins. Harper and Gideon—contracted coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic in the U.S.

Harris's family is now healthy, but in his Today interview, the 47-year-old actor described his experience with the virus, admitting that he initially brushed it off as the flu.

"It happened very early [in the pandemic], like late March, early April," he said. "We were doing our best before, and I thought I had the flu, and I didn't want to be paranoid about it."

"And then I lost my sense of taste and smell, which was a big indicator, so we holed up," Harris said.

Losing your sense of taste and smell is a tell-tale sign that you might have COVID-19. Although some people recover their ability to taste and smell when their coronavirus symptoms dissipate, for others, the issue lingers much longer. Harris's noted that while his family is now fully recovered, he recalls the process as difficult.

"It was not pleasant, but we got through it and have antibodies and are feeling good," he said. "We want to make sure everyone's doing their best to slow this down every way possible, for sure."

Harris and Burtka got married in 2014, and the couple welcomed their twins via surrogate in 2011. Let's all agree on Harris's notion of doing everything we can to slow the spread of the coronavirus—aka, wear a damn mask, mkay?

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, HelloGiggles is committed to providing accurate and helpful coverage to our readers. As such, some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, we encourage you to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments.