Couple 'Glee'ful despite long-distance relationship

Actress Heather Morris dating UL baseball player Taylor Hubbell

He's a star on the Lafayette baseball diamond. She's a star on one of Hollywood's most watched TV shows.

Together, Taylor Hubbell, a member of the UL Ragin' Cajuns, and Heather Morris, who portrays Brittany Pierce on "Glee," are making a long-distance relationship sparkle.

Hubbell and Morris have been dating for more than four years, and the actress has even been spotted cheering on Hubbell in Lafayette.

The couple met thanks to mutual friends from their hometown of Scottsdale, Ariz., where they attended high school.

Hubbell said he and Morris started communicating via social media in the fall of 2006, at which point Morris had already moved to California to pursue a performing career.

The actress hit it big in 2007 when she became a backup dancer for pop superstar Beyonce's world tour, and she garnered a recurring role on "Glee" in 2009 during the show's first season and was upgraded to a series regular in the second season.

Hubbell, a 23-year-old pitcher, said he and Morris haven't had difficulties adjusting to a long-distance relationship because that's what they have always experienced while dating.

"We understand it's a process," he said.

Hubbell intends to move to Los Angeles, where Morris lives, when he graduates from UL in the fall. Unless a viable baseball career option arises, he plans to use his political-science degree to find a job in a communication-related field.

The baseball star said he watches every episode of "Glee" and sees multiple characteristics his girlfriend shares with her television character.

"She's a very happy person and very interested in making people around her smile and laugh," Hubbell said. "It's a good portrayal of Heather, but it is a character."

Morris' on-screen relationships have become a hot topic during her time on "Glee." Her character has been involved in multiple romantic entanglements, even diving into sexual relations with a female glee-club vocalist.

"Obviously, watching your girlfriend kiss someone else isn't a great feeling, but it's not an issue for our relationship," Hubbell said. "Our communication has gotten a lot better, so when I know what to expect, it's not bad."

Hubbell said the couple have an array of similar interests, which include hiking, cooking and spending time at the beach.

"We're both very physical people," he said. "We like to take exercise classes together. But when we're together, it's on hiatus (from our other commitments), so we really like to relax."

As her schedule allows, Morris visits Lafayette and attends UL baseball games, and Hubbell said he returned Wednesday from a visit to Los Angeles.

Hubbell said he has visited the "Glee" set and last year attended the Television Critics Awards with his sweetheart, where "Glee" took home the accolade for Program of the Year.

"She's a very beautiful girl," he said. "She's very smart, so that drove me to her."

source: theadvertiser.com