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Ali Wong describes a ‘sweet’ gesture that led to a romance with Bill Hader

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Ali Wong opens up about how her romance with Bill Hader blossomed.

The comedian and “Beef” star opened up about her dating Hader in her stand-up comedy special “Ali Wong: Single Lady,” which dropped on Netflix on Tuesday.

According to People and Entertainment Tonight, Wong and Hader have been a regular fixture since April 2023, after briefly dating in the fall of 2022. The relationship follows Wong’s divorce from husband Justin Hakuta in 2022.

“I think for a long time I was so focused on getting d—ed down,” Wong joked about her post-divorce love life. “Because the task of finding a boyfriend, someone I consider talented, someone who makes me laugh, someone I have a real connection with, someone I look up to as an artist, someone I’m proud to my friends, kids, my peers and my friends and my mentors, I mean, that seemed impossible, you know?”

‘We are both in our forties and parents’: Ali Wong gets real about Bill Hader’s romance

While Wong said the “widespread” media coverage of her divorce initially made her feel “very embarrassed and ashamed,” the investigation turned into a “Bat signal, letting all potentially interested men know that I was suddenly available.”

And Hader was one of these interested suitors.

“Hey, Ali. I just happened to hear the news about your divorce today, and I have to tell you, I’m excited,” Wong, who is not naming Hader, recalled a phone call she received from an acquaintance. “’Yes, Ali, because look, I’ve always been in love with you, and I told my best friend years ago that you were my dream girl. And I know this sounds crazy, but I want you to do that. ‘ be my girlfriend.”

Ali Wong says this gesture made her fall in love with Bill Hader “all over again.”

Shortly after Hader’s impassioned statement, Wong went on a trip to Europe. Upon arriving in London, the “American Housewife” star said she received a bouquet of flowers from Hader.

The “Barry” actor continued the floral finesse during Wong’s subsequent stops in Amsterdam and Cologne, Germany – with the bouquets becoming more extravagant. During her last stop in Copenhagen, Denmark, Wong said she received “six gigantic flower arrangements” from Hader.

“I told all my girlfriends about it and they were like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so sweet. I’m so jealous,'” Wong said, while her male friends “were like, ‘That guy sounds like a psychopath.’ … So cheap and lazy have men become, that when a fellow human being commits an act of kindness or a romantic gesture, it must be a symptom of an undiagnosed mental illness.”

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However, Hader’s dedication ultimately did the trick for Wong.

“I fell in love again,” Wong concluded. “Some of you may know who that man is. And he happens to be the man who sent me all those flowers in Europe.’

Contributing: Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY