Neil Patrick Harris on Playing Newly Uncoupled When Love for Husband David Burtka Is 'All I've Known'

Neil Patrick Harris has found lasting love, but he hasn't always been able to say the same for his characters.

The Uncoupled star — who has been with David Burtka, 47, for 18 years and married in 2014 — explained how the pair's enduring relationship has influenced his views on dating.

RELATED: Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka's Relationship Timeline

"David and I started dating, and we never stopped, so, in an interesting way, it's all I've known," Harris, 49, told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet of the Netflix show's premiere.

"I didn't come out till later. I didn't really date a bunch of random people. I wasn't around during the times of Grindr, swipe left, swipe right, so, I fell head over heels for this dude, and he was into me, and we started living together really quickly, and now we have 11-year-old kids [Harper and Gideon], and we're still going strong."

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RELATED: Neil Patrick Harris Learns How to Be Single in First Trailer for Netflix's Uncoupled

Portraying Uncoupled's Michael Lawson, who finds himself newly single after the end of a long-term relationship, prompted Harris to reflect on life as a singleton.

And though Harris's off-screen love story has lasted, the How I Met Your Mother alum told PEOPLE at Wednesday's premiere that he respects the authenticity with which the series approaches modern relationships.

"I applaud Netflix for being able to tell a breakup story that is an overt same-sex relationship of 17 years," Harris said. "It doesn't feel shady. It feels authentic, and it allows people, regardless of their own circumstance, to relate to this notion of getting broken up with."

Barbara Nitke/Netflix © 2022 Neil Patrick Harris in Uncoupled

He continued, "My god, everyone who starts dating someone is wondering when they're gonna say that they love each other, or should we live together, it's like a tumultuous, fragile state. And so we are able to tell this in a singular story in a way that I think is very relatable for anyone."

As for his own relationship with Burtka, Harris notes, "That's my singular story, I don't know anything different," he told ET. "And I'm super happy. I'm very grateful."

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Uncoupled drops Friday on Netflix.