Kal Penn comes out, reveals he is engaged to his partner of 11 years, Josh

Actor and former White House staffer Kal Penn recently came out revealing his engagement to longtime partner Josh. The Harold & Kumar star is set to release his memoir You Can’t Be Serious, which will highlight his journey as an actor and detail his relationship with Josh.

During an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the actor revealed he has been dating Josh for the past 11 years and shared his experience of writing about his relationship:

“Josh and I’ve been together for 11 years. We had our 11th anniversary in October. So, writing about it…it’s very matter-of-fact in our lives, and when you’re the son of Indian immigrants who says that you want to be an actor, the chaos that creates in your family and your community will trump anything else, always.”

In another interview with People magazine, Kal Penn mentioned he was relatively late in figuring out his identity as compared to others:

“There’s no timeline on this stuff. People figure their s*** out at different times in their lives, so I’m glad I did when I did.”

However, Kal Penn has now experienced over a decade of courtship with his boyfriend. The couple are also happily engaged and are currently in the process of planning their wedding.

---

A look into Kal Penn’s relationship with Josh

Kal Penn and Josh have been together for the past 11 years (Image via Getty Images)

Kal Penn first met his boyfriend while living in Washington D.C. during his time as a White House associate under the Obama administration.

The Designated Survivor actor told People that Josh left him shocked on their first date after arriving at his apartment with an 18-pack of Coors Light and turning to the TV to watch NASCAR. Kal Penn reportedly detailed the date in his upcoming memoir:

"I thought, 'This obviously is not going to work out, 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."

Kal Penn also mentioned that his partner and family members mostly stay away from the spotlight:

"I've always been very public with everybody I've personally interacted with. Whether it's somebody that I meet at a bar, if Josh and I are out or we're talking to friends. I'm really excited to share our relationship with readers. 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."

Therefore, the Superhuman host has decided to write about his personal life and his relationship with Josh without threatening the privacy of his loved ones:

"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."

Kal Penn also announced that he is looking forward to tying the knot with his partner soon. He shared that both families have been supportive of the relationship and will be attending the wedding. He mentioned that the couple are currently discussing their upcoming wedding plans:

"Obviously I am engaged to a man and our families will be there for the wedding. The big disagreement now is whether it's a huge wedding or a tiny wedding. I want the big a** Indian wedding. Josh, [who] hates attention, [has said], 'Or we could just do quick 20-minute thing with our families and that's it.' So we have to meet halfway in the middle."

Not much is known about Josh as he is a private person who mostly stays out of the public eye. However, Kal Penn fans will get a detailed insight into his relationship with his partner in his upcoming book You Can’t Be Serious. The memoir is set to hit shelves on November 2.