Gehling grew up in
Sedgefield, North Carolina, performing as a child in several shows with the Greensboro Children's Theatre and Livestock Players Youth Theatre. He attended
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon, Gehling booked “Snow White - An Enchanting Musical” at the Disneyland Resort. Gehling made his Broadway debut as Bob Gaudio in
Jersey Boys and went on to play Warren Smith in the Broadway revival of
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. He has performed Off-Broadway in ''A Minister's Wife
and Anne of Green Gables
. In 2016, he originated the role of Jim Pomatter in the musical Waitress on Broadway, where he remained until April 2, 2017. He returned to star alongside Betsy Wolfe on June 27, 2017. In May - June 2017, he starred as Joe Bradley in Roman Holiday'' at the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco. He began starring in a new musical
Dave at
Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., on July 13, 2018, in the dual roles of Dave Kovic and President Bill Mitchell. The musical has music by
Tom Kitt, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and the book by Benjamin and
Thomas Meehan. Gehling joined the Off-Broadway cast of
Little Shop of Horrors as Orin in March 2023. In June 2024, he was in the
Encores! production of
Titanic as Edgar Beane. In August 2024, he joined the cast of
& Juliet as
William Shakespeare on Broadway. ==Personal life==