des bishop/ instagram
If you thought dating in the middle of a global pandemic couldn't possibly pan out, allow Hannah Berner to prove you wrong.
The Summer House star has a new boyfriend, she recently confirmed on Bravo's Chat Room, and they just so happened to have gotten together in the COVID-19 era.
So who's the lucky guy? Berner, 29, has been dating Des Bishop, a 44-year-old Irish-American comedian, since July. During an appearance on Wednesday's episode of Amanda Hirsch's Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, produced by Dear Media, the Bravo star dished on the relationship.
"So I actually saw him at the Comedy Cellar like, five years ago," she recalled. "He went up and he was so swaggy and confident and cute. But he was talking about how he lives in Ireland. So I was like, 'Oh, well, that guy's so hot. But he lives in Ireland.'"
As it turns out, Bishop was born and raised in New York City but splits his time between the U.S. and Ireland, where he moved as a teenager. "He's from Queens," Berner said. "So he's a New Yorker like I am. And I always felt like deep down I'd end up with a New Yorker."
At some point in the last year, he followed her on Instagram. Remembering him as "that hot Irish comic," she followed him back. When he noticed that she was on Long Island this summer, he reached out.
"He DMs me and he's very straightforward," she said. "He had been following me and I was in his feed ... If I didn't scare him off with all my stupid TikToks during quarantine, then that was a win."
"So he messages me. He goes, 'Do you want to get coffee?'" she continued. "And I said, 'Yes, here's my digits.' In my head, I was a little COVID-paranoid, but I was like, even if the date isn't good, he's going to be interesting, because he's another New York City comic. And he's going to be funny regardless."
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It ended up being a complete success — even though Berner was fuming after a fight with her dad when Bishop first picked her up.
"You know, when you're like, angry, and you can't just snap off angry mode? So I'm pissed," she recalled. "And I just look at him and I immediately feel kind of comfortable with him, so I'm just like, 'My f---ing dad is so annoying.'"
"I'm venting about it and he looks at me and he goes, 'At least your parents are still alive,'" she said. "And I'm like, did this dude just make a dead parent joke 10 minutes into the date? He has a sick sense of humor like me. He made me laugh so hard. So then we just hung out for like, four hours. I was too COVID-paranoid to kiss him. Then we hung out again and we had sex. And then the rest is history."
Summer of love with @beingbernz
A post shared by Des Bishop (@desbishop) on Oct 4, 2020 at 5:41am PDT
Their age difference, she explained, doesn't bother her.
"If I was in my early 20s meeting another guy in his young 20s, we grow together, we learn about stuff together," she said. "Now, I feel like I know what I want. I'm very focused on my career. I know where I'm going. So when I've been meeting a lot of these guys in their 20s — first of all, I feel like the sex is not that great. They're all in their head trying to do it right, or what they think is good, and worried if they're doing well. Then their careers, a lot of time, are f---ing messes. They don't know what they're doing. They don't like what they're doing. And then like, their finances are all f---ed up, they're all insecure about that."
"These are guys in their 20s. And I don't want to be a project manager," she continued. "I don't want to get a guy and be like, 'Okay, let's change his clothes, his hair. Let's make sure he's saving and has a 401K.' I can't deal with that s---, 'cause I also don't even know what a 401K is. So meeting Des, I was like, wait, wait, wait. All the girls in your past have already given you guidance for what you should and shouldn't do. And I'm looking at this kind of more complete human, who's confident in himself and is not competitive with me. Because he has his own established career. He can handle me."
She's since moved into his place in West Hampton, though they both still have their own apartments in New York City. "If we're going to fail, let's fail fast," she said. "Most people are like, 'I don't know if we're ready to move in.' No — if we can't move in together, then why are even f---ing dating? We've gone to Home Goods together. We assembled an Ikea bed together. We're just testing our relationships so hard right now."
RELATED VIDEO: Summer House Is Beginning Production on Season 5 — with Some New Cast Members!
Summer House Is Beginning Production on Season 5 — with Some New Cast Members!
Summer House season 4 starred Kyle Cooke, Amanda Batula, Carl Radke, Lindsay Hubbard, Hannah Berner, Paige DeSorbo, Luke Gulbranson and Jules Daoud
While she can't reveal much about where her "complicated" relationship stands with Summer House costar Luke Gulbranson, Bishop, she said, "makes things so simple."
"I like how his brain works," she said. "He speaks three languages. He speaks Mandarin, English and Gaelic. Also at night, 'cause he's old, we do crossword puzzles and my vocabulary has been improving."
As for what she can say about the new season?
"What I can say is Bravo was incredible in terms of health and safety measures," she said. "We were getting tested every week and they handled it really well. I feel very fortunate that we were even able to do it. 'Cause it was really like, up until the day of filming where they weren't sure if it was going to be possible."
A premiere date for Summer House season 5 has not yet been announced.
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