Ali Wong Shares Sweet Way Bill Hader Got Her to Go on a Date With Him

During her Netflix Is a Joke Fest show earlier this week, the Beef star shared some insight into the start of their relationship Hader, which began after the SNL alum reached out following her divorce from Justin Hakuta in April 2022.

"I get a phone call from this guy who I met at a dinner party in the past, and he got my number from a mutual friend," Wong explained Sunday, according to Rolling Stone. "He was like, 'Hey, I just happened to hear the news about your divorce, and I've had a crush on you forever. I actually told my best friend years ago that you were my dream girl, and I know it sounds crazy, but I want you to be my girlfriend.'"

The comedian, who was newly single at the time, said she had just finished signing up for a dating app, joking that Hader might have to wait a little longer.

"I was like, 'I just paid $25. You seem really nice, but I gotta get my money's worth,'" she quipped.

But the Barry star was persistent. When Wong went on vacation to Europe shortly after, Hader sent flowers to every hotel she stayed in during her trip.

While Wong found the gesture incredibly sweet, she said some of her guy friends had mixed feelings about the move.

"That's how cheap and lazy men have become," the 42-year-old joked. "When a fellow man commits any act of kindness, any romantic gesture, it must be a symptom of an undiagnosed mental illness."

In the end, Hader's bold move paid off, with the pair sparking romance rumors in December 2022.

They kept their relationship largely under the radar over last two years, and after months of paparazzi photos and hints dropped during her standup gigs, the couple made their official debut as a couple at the Golden Globe Awards in January 2024.

Though the PDA-packed moment served as a surprise to some, Wong told Access Hollywood the following month that the pair had been together for "a minute."

"We've been together for a minute so I guess people didn't know we were together," the Always Be My Maybe star shyly remarked after getting lots of love from fans over that Golden Globes kiss with Hader.

She continued, "But it's also -- we're both in our 40s and parents."

Wong shares Mari, 8, and Nikki, 6, with Hakuta, while Hader is a dad to daughters Hannah, 15, Harper, 12, and Hayley, 10, with ex-wife Maggie Carey.