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Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 34, and director Sam Taylor-Johnson, 57, have been together for more than a decade.
The pair, who have an age difference of 23 years, met through the 2009 film "Nowhere Boy" and have spoken about their long-lasting romance in various interviews.
Here's a complete timeline of their relationship.
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Their exact ages at the time of their first meeting remain largely unclear.
Various publications have said that he was 19 and she was 42 when they made the movie, which was released in 2009. The Hollywood Reporter said that Aaron was 18 at the time. Fans have speculated that she knew the actor when he was younger because she was a family friend, but Business Insider could not verify any of these claims.
The Telegraph UK reported that Sam and Aaron met at the audition in 2008, a year prior to the film's release.
In a 2017 interview with The Sunday Times UK, Sam (née Taylor-Wood) said the couple almost didn't meet because Aaron was only available to audition on a date that she was absent.
Aaron had a limited schedule because he was filming "Kick-Ass." Meanwhile, Sam and her first husband, an art dealer named Jay Jopling, had split after 11 years of marriage and she was moving out of their shared home on the day that Aaron was free. So, Aaron auditioned for the biopic at her house.
"It was so inconvenient," Sam said. "In the end, I was like, 'OK, he'll have to come to my home.' I opened my door to John Lennon. I instantly knew he was the guy."
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Sam's divorce from Jopling, with whom she shares daughters Anjelica and Jessie Phoenix, was made public in September 2008. Anjelica Jopling also had a small role in "Nowhere Boy" as a younger version of John Lennon's sister, Julia.
Sam told The Telegraph UK that she was immediately impressed by how much Aaron prepared for his audition.
"I could see how much research he'd done already just by the way he was standing and the few words he said," she recalled.
Aaron later told Harper's Bazaar that he still remembers how Sam looked at that first audition.
"I remember it very, very clearly," he said. "I know exactly what she was wearing. This white shirt that she still has, that I love. It definitely changed my life, though not in the way I expected."
Aaron has spoken out about their age gap multiple times. Speaking to The Telegraph UK in 2019, the actor said: "When I met Sam I'd already lived a life far beyond that of most of my contemporaries – I didn't relate to anyone my age. I just feel that we're on the same wavelength."
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IndieWire reported that principal photography for "Nowhere Boy" began in Liverpool, UK on March 8th, 2009.
"We had this intense connection," Sam told The Sunday Times UK of working with the young actor.
"He was very intense and absolutely mind made-up," she said of how their relationship blossomed.
The director also told The Telegraph UK that they clicked from the start.
"We were very professional through the entire film," the couple told Harper's Bazaar in 2019. "No funny business at all."
Sam also said that "everyone on set knew" that they had a connection.
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"As soon as we finished, he told me he was going to marry me," Sam told Harper's Bazaar. "We had never been on a date, or even kissed."
"And a year to the minute after we met, exactly one year to the minute, I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me," Aaron said.
The actor later reflected on their engagement in an interview with The Telegraph UK, saying: "I knew instantly that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this person."
He added: "I knew I wanted a family with her, I knew I wanted kids, and a month later she was pregnant with our first child."
Sam and Aaron, then 19, announced their engagement at the UK premiere of "Nowhere Boy" in fall 2009.
"I'm not surprised, I'm happy," she told The Guardian when asked if she was caught off guard by the progression in her relationship with Johnson. "We've been living together for ages... since about March."
Sam also said that Aaron got along well with her kids from her previous marriage and "it all felt strangely natural."
The director said that she and Aaron didn't date while working on "Nowhere Boy," but she felt a strong connection to him.
"I managed to hold off really until almost the end of the film," she said.
Her interviewer, Simon Hattenstone, noted earlier in the story that he visited the set of "Nowhere Boy" back in March and observed Sam and Aaron arm-in-arm, acting "like teenagers in love" and wearing matching jackets that only they had.
"We weren't even together then," Sam said when Hattenstone mentioned his set visit. "Maybe feelings were there but unacted upon. The thing is, we had quite a psychic link when we were working together. I knew from a flicker of an eyelash what kind of performance I was going to get. I felt that link almost from day one of meeting him."
The interview occurred while Sam was pregnant with the couple's first child. Aaron said that he wasn't nervous because he was already acting as a step-father to Sam's two daughters from her first marriage.
Peter Kramer/AP
Sam was 43 and Aaron was 20 at the time of their baby girl's birth. People magazine reported that Wylda was born in London.
The track was from the band's 15th studio album, "Collapse Into Now," released that year. The entire video showed Aaron dancing through the East End of London.
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People magazine reported that their baby was born at home in London.
"Both mother and daughter are well," a rep said in a statement shared with the publication.
Stewart Wilson/Invision/AP
Aaron, then 22, and Sam, then 45, wed in Somerset, England E! News reported.
Aaron told London's Evening Standard about the name change: "I just don't see why women need to take the man's name. I wanted to be a part of her just as much as she wanted to be part of me."
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
"Being in an amazing relationship, having come out of a difficult one, it felt so good," Sam told The Guardian while promoting "Fifty Shades of Grey," which she was encouraged to direct by Aaron. "And I feel like that stability has enabled me to get on with doing this momentous project."
"The great thing about Aaron is that he's happy not working and being at home with the kids while I work," the director added. "We're actually fighting over it. He's like, 'No no, I like being an at-home dad, doing the cooking and the school runs.'"
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
"It was so important to me," the actor told The Guardian in 2015 of seeing his name written as Taylor-Johnson for the first time in the credits for his 2012 movie "Anna Karenina."
"Actually I wanted it on 'Savages' as well but they told me the posters had already gone out," he added, referring to another of his films released earlier in 2012. "Then they said: 'Look, we hired Aaron Johnson.'"
The "Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging" star told the publication that he fought for his name to be updated in "Anna Karenina" after that experience.
"I said: 'I want it changed! This is important,'" he recalled.
"It felt beautiful," he said of seeing the final product. "It felt right."
Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Focus Features/AP
In his acceptance speech for best supporting actor in a motion picture, the actor said, "I want to thank my wife for being there with me and supporting me through this. Thank you for putting up with me, Jesus, I was not very pleasant in this role. You're my soulmate and I love you very much. I'm blessed. I have four beautiful daughters: Anjelica, Phoenix, Wylda, and Romy, I love you all very much."
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
"The attention was intrusive," he told New York Magazine of the early reaction from people.
"But having to deal with that early in my career probably got me to a place where I can more quickly just go, 'Oh, fuck it' instead of wanting to rip someone's head off for asking questions I don't like," he added.
Joel Ryan/Invision/AP
The "Avengers: Age of Ultron" star no longer has an Instagram account but when he did, he posted a photo in honor of Sam's 50th birthday with the caption "forever in my ❤."
The tattoo was also seen in the couple's joint photo shoot for a 2019 Harper's Bazaar feature.
Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Focus Features/AP
"I get more fulfillment from being a father than I do from being an actor," he said in an interview for Mr Porter. "I'm still constantly wanting to give it up."
The actor also spoke about raising his daughters to be empowered.
"Their mum is one of the strongest, most independent women I know. A role model," he said.
Regarding his marriage, Aaron said, "I don't really analyze our relationship."
"I just know that it works," he continued. "I just feel secure and loved and safe. We have this very deep connection. We're just in sync."
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
"I literally found my soulmate," she told The Sunday Times UK in June 2017. "I feel so blessed: every day I wake up happy."
She also described her and the actor, who she said has an "old soul," as "in such sync."
"We spend every minute of the day together," she said. "My friends call him Benjamin Button because he has — on the outside — such youth, and on the inside, he is so wise and settled. He doesn't like parties. He likes being at home and cooking for the family. He likes walking the dogs. He loves his chickens — he collects the eggs and makes breakfast for everyone."
"He is an amazing man," Sam added.
The director also said that she's not bothered by their age gap because, "When you're solid with someone in your own love, you don't think about it."
Joel Ryan/Invision/AP
"If I gave a second thought to other people, I would be the unhappiest person, probably still in a miserable marriage," she said.
She continued: "People like to talk about it. I'm like, 'Yeah, but it works better than my last marriage.' It's lasted longer than a lot of my friends' marriages."
"HBD to the most incredible husband, father, man @aarontaylorjohnson I ❤️U," she captioned a photo of him that was shared on Instagram.
"Seven Years today ❤️" she captioned the Instagram post.
"To the wedding we go... ???? @karlglusman @zoeisabellakravitz," Sam captioned a photo of her and Aaron heading to the event.
Kravitz and Glusman's wedding was also attended by Jason Momoa (Kravitz's step-father) and her "Big Little Lies" costars. The couple's breakup was revealed in early 2021.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
"We just have that trust when we collaborate — we are not afraid to play," Aaron said of working with his wife.
Sam said that they "had debates" while co-writing the script for their film "A Million Little Pieces," but Aaron said that they "rarely argue."
The director also called herself "lucky to have such a supportive husband" and said that working together for the film was "a dream come true."
"I really enjoy it," Aaron said. 'There's nothing more empowering than supporting my wife in her passions and ambitions; I've never felt more — what's the opposite of emasculated? Empowered."
Regarding their age gap, the actor also said: "I've never for a second felt a difference in age."
"Sam is far more outgoing and energetic and achieving than I am," he added.
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"It was the best thing we've ever done," Sam told Harper's Bazaar in their joint interview.
In response, Aaron added: "Even better because we did it together."
In the same interview, the couple said that in the time they've been together, they've "only been apart for maybe two or three days."
James Frey, the controversial author who admitted to fabricating details about his life in his 2003 memoir "A Million Little Pieces," conducted the couple's Harper's Bazaar interview. His book was adapted into a 2019 film of the same name, directed by Sam and starring Aaron as Frey.
Sam and Aaron also cowrote the screenplay for the movie. When asked about what it was like to direct her husband's sex scene in the film with costar Odessa Young, Sam said: "We wrote it together, so I kind of knew what we were getting into when we were writing it. And then it's another thing when you're filming it."
The director recalled "feeling something" while seeing the actors film the scene, especially because it was shot on Valentine's Day.
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
"We've been together for over a decade now, so I feel like it is less of a conversation for people," Sam told The Daily Beast while discussing "A Million Little Pieces."
She continued, "It doesn't worry me, and it's not something that is difficult to talk about because it's such a positive story, that we're a decade later together and working together and raising a strong family together. That may be a positive message for people out there."
"8 years later. Happy anniversary ❤️ #aarontaylorjohnson ❤️," she captioned the photo, which showed them sitting together on massive rocks.
That same day, Sam also posted a photo of him lounging in honor of Father's Day.
Aaron danced shirtless by himself for the entirety of the four-minute-long music video. The song was included in Rhye's 2021 studio album "Home."
Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
According to Deadline, the movie is called "Rothko" and is based on Lee Seldes' novel "The Legacy of Mark Rothko."
The film will also reportedly star Russell Crowe and "Chernobyl" actor Jared Harris.
Presley Ann/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter
The news was reported by Dirt on April 2, 2021.
The reported listing led fans to speculate about the couple's relationship status and suggest that the two stars were headed for a split. But selling a shared home doesn't necessarily mean they're breaking up. The pair could be selling their property to live elsewhere.
Multiple outlets reported Aaron's casting in late May. In the comics, Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven the Hunter is one of the most skilled game hunters and a popular foe of Spider-Man. The movie is set for release on August 30, 2024.
Sam weighed in on Aaron's role by posting an image of Kraven on Instagram with the caption, "My husband ❤️ #kraventhehunter #aarontaylorjohnson."
Dr. Woo posted a photo of Sam's new ink, which is Aaron's name written in cursive.
The artist also tattooed a hummingbird on Aaron's chest, near the tattoo of Sam's name that he got years prior.
"Captured a healed hummingbird on Aaron and added some love ✍???? for Sam ✨❤️" he captioned the Instagram post.
"Happy Birthday mon amour ❤️," she captioned an image of Aaron wearing a white dress shirt and sitting near a window.
"Breakfast with the beast ❤️" the director captioned a photo posted on Instagram, which showed Aaron with his elbows resting on a table while dining at Animal Restaurant in Los Angeles, California.
The first image, which was turned upside down, showed Aaron with his feet planted along the shoreline and his arms raised above his head.
In the second photo, Sam leaped while waving her arms in the air.
"Happy Birthday my darling husband ❤️ @aarontaylorjohnson," she captained the image, which showed him flipping into a pool.
Donato Sardella/Getty Images for Gucci
In his Instagram post, Aaron said that the "beautiful day" involved professing their love "in front of our nearest and dearest friends and family."
"It was a celebration of love and joy!" he wrote. "A decade of marriage. It was a magical unforgettable day and the sun did not stop shining on us both.. we are blessed beyond belief. ❤️ Sammy you are my love, my life, my soulmate, my wife, my world!"
Sam expressed similar sentiments in her post, which featured two photos of the couple kissing at the celebration.
"10 glorious years," she said. "My incredible husband, father to all 4 girls. I love you, I love you, I love you ???? love conquers all."
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Aaron starred as a contract killer with the codename Tangerine in David Leitch's action film.
Sam posed for photos with her husband at the premiere in Paris, France on July 18.
Two days prior, Sam shared a candid black-and-white photo of Aaron with "Bullet Train costars Brad Pitt, Brian Tyree Henry, and Joey King.
In August, Sam posted a video of a high-energy Aaron doing flips in what appeared to be their backyard.
"He just ate a huge bowl of pasta and did this 10 times, it was only pesto…" Sam captioned the Instagram post.
Later that month, Aaron shared a photo of the couple with the caption, "From Japan to Carnival."
In September, they both posted a photo that was taken by one of their kids.
"When your 10 yr old takes the best picture," Sam wrote on Instagram.
Aaron and Sam shared additional photos on Instagram, one of which was taken in France.
Then in December, they coupled up to explore the Galleria Lorcan O'Neill, a contemporary art museum in Rome, Italy.
"When you're lucky enough to find someone as mad as you… ???? I love you ???? Happy Birthday Baby ????@samtaylorjohnson ????" Aaron captioned the Instagram post.
"Happy Birthday dear heart ♥️ You're the sweetest husband and incredible Father to all our girls. We love you ♥️" Sam captioned a black-and-white photo of the actor, shared in honor of his birthday.
Sony Pictures
Sam posted the official poster for "Kraven the Hunter" on her Instagram with the caption, "Kraving my Hunter."
Markus Schreiber/AP
In Esquire's September cover story, the star said that he turned down big acting opportunities after the births of his two daughters.
"I wanted, purely, to be with my babies," he said. "I didn't want to be taken away from them. I battled with what that would be like."
Aaron also said that mundane activities, like "getting my kids ready in the mornings, taking them to school" are the kinds of activities that he finds the most fulfillment in.
Esquire reported that Aaron and Sam bought a farmhouse in Somerset, England, in 2010 but didn't relocate there full-time until 2022 after selling their LA home. In his interview, Aaron gushed about having animals on their property, like pigs, and spoke about harvesting honey from bees on their property.
As for his relationship with Sam, the actor said that it's inaccurate to say that their dynamic works because of their creative collaborations.
"I think we're really great at collaborating. But that's not why I fell in love with her," Aaron said, adding that he knew he would be a young dad before they even met.
"I was going to have a big family," he said. "I knew I was going to be a young father. I knew I was going to have many kids."
Amid a summer of shocking celebrity breakups, from Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara to Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, the director proved that she and Aaron are stronger than ever.
"Summer romance," Sam captioned her post on Instagram, which included several images of the couple together.
Happy Birthday my darling @samtaylorjohnson," Aaron captioned a black-and-white image taken by photographer Alexi Lubomirski. "You're an exceptional woman, there's really no one I know quite like you. You are the most wonderful doting mother and beautiful role model to our 4 daughters. A gorgeous loving wife, you are my love, my soulmate and I'm always blown away by you. Your so cool. I couldn't be more proud and excited for this year ahead for you."
Aaron told the publication that his life has always moved quickly and progressed at a faster rate than others.
"What you gotta realize is that what most people were doing in their 20s, I was doing when I was 13," he said.
"You're doing something too quickly for someone else? I don't understand that," he continued. "What speed are you supposed to enjoy life at? It's bizarre to me."
Elsewhere in the interview, Aaron gushed about his wife and her Amy Winehouse biopic, "Back to Black."
"Sam is actually a great filmmaker and a wonderful storyteller," he said. "People will think there's sort of a bias to me saying it, but I think when they see 'Back to Black,' everyone's going to realize how fantastic a filmmaker she is."
Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP
The biopic stars Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse and Jack O'Connell as Blake Fielder-Civil, Amy's ex-husband.
Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP
"There are times where it's uncomfortable," Sam told The Hollywood Reporter of the scrutiny. "Most of the time we zone it out and stay pretty private. We tend to retreat. Kids and school runs keep you pretty grounded."
In a separate interview with The Guardian, the "Back to Black" director spoke about her relationship and said that their age difference isn't noticeable to the couple.
"We're a bit of an anomaly, but it's that thing: after 14 years you just think, surely by now it doesn't really matter?" she said.
Sam also said that she doesn't pay attention to hateful comments online or go out of her way to avoid social media because "it doesn't mean anything."
"It is just people upset with their own sadness; with misgivings about their own life," she said.
She also said that her children don't take on rude comments directed at the pair.
"They see two loving, happy parents, so it doesn't really register," Sam said. "They just think people are a bit mean, or mad."
In the same interview, Sam talked about the family enjoying their farm life since moving back to the UK.
"I'll turn to Aaron and say, 'Should we get another dog?,' and he'll look at me for a minute and go, 'Yuh.' He always says yes to any mad thing I suggest. That's why we've got 14 animals," she said.
Sam told Time that she's aware of the interest in their marriage, but her day-to-day with her husband is spent with their family, so she doesn't think about it. The director also said that she doesn't read anything in the press, whether it's about reviews or her personal life.
"The thing is I live my life fairly fearlessly," she said. "I literally leap into every challenge with excitement. And I think if I read and took note of any of that I wouldn't be doing the amazing things I think I'm doing. I wouldn't make this film. I wouldn't have been in this amazing relationship for nearly 15 years."
"Everyone at the beginning said, 'It's a terrible idea, it's not gonna work,' and then you're like 15 years down the road and have raised four kids and you're like, 'Really?'" Sam added.
The filmmaker also said that she and Aaron don't look at each other through the lens of their age gap.
"It's just a connection of souls and hearts and our life is our life where we're just moving through it in a gorgeous loving way," Sam said. "When people make films, or talk about it or question it or dissect it, it is so strange to me. When people fall in love, they fall in love."
She also said that she knows "nothing" regarding the rumors of Aaron being cast as the next Bond, but she'd "be so happy for him if that happens" and would want to direct the film.
"Happy Birthday my love ♥️," she captioned the Instagram post.
Sam and Aaron attended the men's singles final, in which Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Sam posted photos and videos on Instagram, showing her and Aaron in their color-coordinated white and off-white attire.
In the photos shared on Instagram, Aaron was seen smoking a cigarette, doing a handstand, and posing with Sam near a coastline.
Matthias Nareyek/WireImage
Robert Eggers directed and wrote the screenplay for "Nosferatu," which stars Bill Skarsgård as the grotesque Count Orlock and Lily-Rose Depp as the protagonist Ellen Hutter. Aaron plays a supporting role in the film as Friedrich Harding, a friend of Ellen's husband, Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult).
Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Aaron and the cast and crew of "Kraven the Hunter" posed for photos at the film's red-carpet premiere at AMC Lincoln Square. Sam and her daughters from her first marriage, Angelica Jopling, 27, and Jessie Phoenix Jopling, 18, also posed with Aaron. The event marked the Joplings' red carpet debut.
