Love Stories: Armistead Maupin and Christopher Turner

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.”