Kal Penn Comes Out As Gay, Reveals He's Engaged To 11 Year Partner In New Memoir
Oct. 31 2021, Published 4:33 p.m. ET
Kal Penn announced he is gay and engaged to his longtime partner Josh in his new memoir called You Can't Be Serious.
The book also revealed the actor has been in a relationship with his fiancé for more than eleven years.
Penn said he met Josh while he was working for the Obama administration in Washington D.C. He shared that Josh showed up on his first date with an 18-pack beer and turned the TV to a NASCAR race.
"I thought, 'This obviously is not going to work out,'" Penn said. "I have one day off from The White House, and this dude is unironically watching cars go around and make left turns? Next thing you know, it's been a couple months, and we're watching NASCAR every Sunday. I'm like, 'What is happening?' I wanted the reader to enjoy the love and the humor through all of those stories."
The Harold & Kumar star told People that he's "excited" to share his relationship tales with readers. However, his partner and family prefer to stay away from the "limelight," therefore, he did not mention their names in the book, including his partner's last name.
"I'm really excited to share our relationship with readers," he explained. "But Josh, my partner, my parents, and my brother, four people who I'm closest to in the family are fairly quiet. They don't love attention and shy away from the limelight."
The 44-year-old actor continued saying he will also share his "work-life, both in Hollywood and DC," in his debut print.
"Figuring out the narrative [in the book], of how to respect who they really are, with telling my story - that includes: my work life, both in Hollywood and DC, it includes my love life with Josh and how we met, it includes my parents, to the extent that I'm willing to share stories about their upbringing," he added.
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Penn took a break from acting to serve as principal associate director in the Office of Public Engagement in 2009 under the Obama administration. Although, he later returned to Hollywood in 2011 to accept a role in the famous television series How I Met Your Mother. His memoir detailing his personal life as well as his career will be available on Nov. 2
