Editing Howie Dorough (section)

===Relationships===
Dorough has been private about his romantic connections. According to "Entertainment Tonight", he dated his singing partner Jennifer during his final year of high school, but they broke up due to his career in 1994, leaving him heartbroken.<ref>{{cite web |title=Backstreet Boys Talk Heartbreak & First New Music in 5 Years (Exclusive) {{!}} Entertainment Tonight |url=https://www.etonline.com/backstreet-boys-talk-heartbreak-first-new-music-in-5-years-exclusive-102350 |website=www.etonline.com}}</ref> While touring Europe in 1995 or 1996, he briefly dated a woman named Sabina<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stonebraker |first1=Samantha |title=Backstreet Boys: secrets only a girlfriend can tell |date=1999 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York |isbn=0-312-26114-4 |pages=12–13 |edition=1st St. Martin's Griffin }}</ref> and then dated a Canadian model named Claudia Opdenkelder. He stated, "I had come out of a relationship, so I wasn't looking for anything serious."<ref name="etonline.com">{{cite web |title=Howie Dorough Dishes on His 'Bachelor'-Like Romance Ahead of 10th Wedding Anniversary (Exclusive) |url=https://www.etonline.com/howie-dorough-dishes-his-bachelor-romance-ahead-10th-wedding-anniversary-exclusive-90791 |website=Entertainment Tonight}}</ref>

On December 6, 2000, Dorough met Leigh Anne Boniello, a film executive producer for [[Warner Brothers]] and [[DreamWorks Pictures|DreamWorks]], who was working as the webmaster for the official Backstreet Boys website at the time.<ref name="etonline.com"/> Howie and Leigh dated for six years, and in 2006, he proposed to her in front of her family on New Year's.<ref>{{cite web |title=Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough Gets Engaged |url=https://people.com/celebrity/backstreet-boy-howie-dorough-gets-engaged/ |website=[[People (magazine)|People]] |language=EN}}</ref> A year later, on December 8, 2007, they married in a traditional Catholic ceremony at [[St. James Cathedral (Orlando, Florida)|St. James Cathedral]] in Orlando, where he was baptized and sang in the choir.<ref>{{cite web|title=OK! Exclusive: Howie Dorough Married!|url=http://www.okmagazine.com/2007/12/ok-exclusive-howie-dorough-married-3179|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906110731/http://www.okmagazine.com/2007/12/ok-exclusive-howie-dorough-married-3179|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 6, 2012|publisher=OK! Magazine|access-date=August 11, 2010|date=December 8, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough Gets Married|url=https://people.com/celebrity/backstreet-boy-howie-dorough-gets-married/|magazine=People|access-date=August 11, 2010|date=December 8, 2007}}</ref> They have two sons together.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough Welcomes a Son|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20277509,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508125337/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20277509,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 8, 2009|magazine=People|access-date=August 22, 2012|date=May 7, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Howie Dorough, Backstreet Boy, Welcomes Son Holden John: Picture|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/howie-dorough-backstreet-boy-welcomes-son-holden-john-picture-2013192|magazine=US Weekly|access-date=February 20, 2013|date=February 19, 2013}}</ref> Dorough helped his wife launch her first line of eco-friendly handbags called Eslla, a luxury company she designed and founded with her friend of more than a decade, Charlotte Wienckoski.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Neale |first1=Rick |title=Backstreet Boys' Howie D and his wife launch Eslla, an eco-friendly luxury handbag brand |url=https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/09/23/backstreet-boys-howie-d-and-his-wife-leigh-launch-eslla-luxury-handbags/8079970001/ |website=Florida Today}}</ref>