Ali Wong’s latest Netflix special, titled Single Lady, premiered on October 8 and revolves around her personal love story with Bill Hader. After ending her eight-year marriage to Justin Hakuta in 2022, Wong and Hader briefly dated, eventually confirming their relationship in April 2023. Since then, they have made public appearances together at events like the Golden Globes and Emmys, where Wong received accolades for her role in Netflix’s Beef.
In the opening of her special, Wong expresses her shock at the media’s intense interest in her divorce from Hakuta, with whom she shares two children. She shares, “I didn’t expect the news of my divorce to be so widespread and public. I felt really embarrassed and ashamed, but I didn’t realize that all of these media outlets were acting like a Bat-Signal, letting all potentially interested men know that I was suddenly available. I’ve never been pursued this much in my life.”
Wong recounts a particular suitor who reached out to her after they had met at a couple of dinner parties. After obtaining her number, he confessed his feelings during a call. “Hey, Ali. I just happened to hear the news of your divorce today, and I gotta tell you…I’m excited,” Wong recalls Hader saying. He went on to reveal that he had a longstanding crush on her and even referred to her as his “dream girl,” expressing a desire to start a relationship.
However, Wong was hesitant because she had just signed up for a dating app. She humorously notes, “I just paid $250. You seem really nice, but I gotta get my money’s worth.”
Following their phone call, Wong traveled to Europe, where she was surprised to receive a bouquet of flowers from Hader upon arriving in London. This romantic gesture continued with increasingly elaborate floral arrangements in cities like Amsterdam, Cologne, and Copenhagen. While her female friends found this sweet and enviable, her male friends had a different perspective, questioning the sanity behind such gestures.
Wong pointed out this discrepancy in views echoes a conversation Hader previously had during the writing of his HBO series Barry. In one instance, Hader’s character, Barry, replaces the broken laptop of a crush to impress her. The male writers found the gesture romantic, whereas the female writers viewed it as excessive and alarming, highlighting a divide in perceptions of romantic acts.
As Wong continued her single life, she explored various relationships, including a brief courtship with an unnamed “big, fancy movie director.” She candidly reflects on the struggle of finding a partner who is not only physically attractive but also someone she respects as an artist and feels comfortable introducing to her children and friends, a task she found daunting.