Married: October
4, 2008 Together: 4 years
Shy probably
isn't the first word that comes to mind when one
thinks of Armistead Maupin, celebrated author of the
Tales of the City series. But when Maupin
first spotted Christopher Turner's profile on
DaddyHunt.com, he was too timid to send him a message.
Instead, he printed out Turner's photo and
taped it above his computer. It hung there for months
before Maupin coincidentally walked past his mystery pinup
on 18th Street in the Castro. Here, their stories
diverge slightly. Maupin remembers hurriedly chasing
Turner down the street to make an introduction as his
"inner Anna Madrigal" scolded him to not let
the serendipitous moment escape. Turner recalls that
he'd spotted Maupin as they passed and had just
turned around to follow him. "Aren't you on a
website?" Maupin asked by way of introduction.
"Actually, I own DaddyHunt.com," Turner
answered.
They both agree
that the hunt was instantly over. While the two married
in 2007 in Canada, they "re-married" on
October 4 just outside Maupin's beloved San
Francisco. The ceremony took place in the Sausalito garden
of fellow novelist Amy Tan and her husband, Lou
DeMattei. Laura Linney, a longtime friend who has
starred in all three Tales TV miniseries adaptations
to date, read James Broughton's poem "The
Bliss of With," which Turner read to Maupin
during their first phone call without knowing the poet
was Maupin's friend.
Their second
wedding, Maupin says, was "50-50: intensely romantic
and intensely political." Not coincidentally,
Mark Leno, a California state assemblyman who helped
spearhead the fight for gay marriage, officiated the
Turner-Maupin wedding. And while both Turner and Maupin come
from strictly conservative Republican Southern
families, both sets of relatives -- children included
-- flew to "godless" San Francisco to
attend the ceremony. Having long ago won their
families' respect as a loving couple, the two
weren't surprised by the turnout. Still, Turner
says, "I never thought I'd get to invite my
mother to my wedding."
