Who is Hugh from Me Talk Pretty One Day and what is their importance?

Hugh is Sedaris's boyfriend. Hugh and Sedaris met in New York City through a friend. Hugh is evidently financially well off, and enjoys peaceful nights cooking at home opposed to jumping into the wild New York social scene. He has a home in Normandy, France that he and Sedaris visit in the summer, during the first seven years of their relationship. Thereafter, he moves to Paris with Sedaris.