Regardless of his finest efforts, Timothy Raymond Murray couldn’t get Michael Alexander Hoy Bullard to present him the time of day — that’s, till a mutual pal intervened.
The 2 met in November 2014. Mr. Bullard was a bartender at Bareburger within the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. Mr. Murray would typically sit on the bar and write.
Mr. Bullard paid him no consideration at first. However when a mutual pal, Melanie Brook, formally launched them there one evening, “the flirting started,” Mr. Murray stated.
The 2 related on social media, and, for the subsequent two years, Mr. Murray would casually attain out on Fb and twice requested Mr. Bullard on a date. Each instances Mr. Bullard was out of city. Additionally they bumped into every a pair instances on the subway, discovering they each lived in Harlem. Mr. Murray once more recommended getting collectively — twice.
“I had no excuses,” Mr. Bullard stated of the ultimate invitation, a Fb message on Nov. 21, 2016.
That evening the 2 went to a bar referred to as On the Wallace in Harlem. “We simply clicked,” Mr. Murray stated. After fairly just a few drinks, Mr. Bullard stated to Mr. Murray, “You reside close by proper?” He did they usually headed there to proceed the night.
The next day, the 2 left individually to go to household for Thanksgiving. They texted always the week they have been aside.
Mr. Murray, 36, is a humorist with a rising TikTok presence of greater than 100,000 followers. He additionally teaches improv in rehabilitation facilities and psychological well being services. Mr. Murray excursions worldwide in a one-man present he created referred to as “Tim Murray is Witches.” He grew up in Sandusky, Ohio, and has a bachelor’s diploma in theater from the College of Miami.
Mr. Bullard, 33, is an actor and performer. He’s presently a trip swing for the Broadway manufacturing of Disney’s “Aladdin.” This July he’ll carry out in St. Louis on the Muny in “Fiddler on the Roof,” earlier than returning to “Aladdin” within the fall. He grew up in Saranac Lake, N.Y., and has a bachelor’s diploma in theater efficiency from Wagner School.
The 2 returned to New York on the finish of the vacation weekend. Mr. Bullard’s birthday was Dec. 1, and the next evening, “I used to be throwing a celebration for myself with all my buddies there,” he stated. “When everybody left, I drunk sexted Tim to return over.”
For his or her third date, a pair weeks later, Mr. Murray took Mr. Bullard to a “fancy dinner,” as he referred to as it, at an Higher West Aspect restaurant that they now not bear in mind the title of and is now closed.
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That evening, Mr. Bullard informed Mr. Murray that he had simply been solid within the touring manufacturing of “Aladdin” and could be on the street for a 12 months. “Tim was thrilled for me,” Mr. Bullard stated. They quickly grew to become a pair.
Mr. Bullard stated to Mr. Murray not too lengthy after: “You’re like this buoy in wavy water. You make me really feel so protected and I do know I like you.” Mr. Murray responded in type.
Mr. Murray visited Mr. Bullard whereas he was on tour and even moved in with him in Los Angeles for 3 months, from Jan. 1 to April 1. “We found this was a without end romance,” Mr. Murray stated.
However then life took a tricky flip for the pair. On April 8, 2018, Mr. Bullard suffered a critical harm whereas snowboarding in Denver and required knee surgical procedure. “Tim dropped all the pieces and got here to Denver,” Mr. Bullard stated.
Following surgical procedure, Mr. Murray recommended Mr. Bullard recuperate in Los Angeles with him. So, he did, in a two-bedroom condo with a roommate for 11 months. As soon as Mr. Bullard had healed, he went again on tour and Mr. Murray shadowed him together with his personal stand-up tour.
They rode out the primary 18 months of the pandemic in Los Angeles. When the world started to reopen in September 2021, Mr. Bullard made his Broadway debut in “Aladdin” whereas Mr. Murray was working in Los Angeles. Nonetheless, Mr. Murray stated, “We simply knew in our hearts we’d discover a strategy to make this work.”
On Nov. 26, 2022, Mr. Murray proposed with an escape room he crafted of their condo and neighborhood in Los Angeles. “We’ve got accomplished over 50 of them collectively,” Mr. Murray stated. (The couple break up their time between Los Angeles and New York.)
The 2 have been wed Might 18 by Jeenie Yoon, a mutual pal who was beforehand ordained by Common Life Church Ministries, at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, Calif. Lissa Rubin, additionally a mutual pal, participated within the ceremony.
Mr. Murray wore a light-weight blue double-breasted swimsuit with pinstripe rhinestones designed by Justin Farnham. “I informed him I needed to appear like Nicole Kidman within the AMC commercials,” Mr. Murray stated.
Mr. Bullard made his personal style assertion. “I had a loopy thought to appear like an elven, Lord of the Rings, Legend of Zelda impressed ethereal forest fantasy prince.” Timothy Westbrook, a Brooklyn-based designer from Mr. Bullard’s hometown, made his dream a actuality.
“Individuals typically discuss chilly ft,” Mr. Murray stated. “However I couldn’t consider how scorching my ft felt taking a look at him.”
