After 16 years in the spotlight, Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson are all too familiar with external chatter about their marriage.
Fans have long adored Aaron on-screen, most notably for his role as every teen girl’s honorary “sex god boyfriend” in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Post-Thongs, he was working on his follow-up film, Nowhere Boy, when he was introduced to the woman who would later become his wife of over a decade.
Scroll on to take a look back at the full romantic history of Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson.
aaron & sam taylor-john son: a relationship timeline
2008: Aaron Johnson and Sam Taylor-Wood first meet
The couple first met on the set of the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy back in 2008.
The movie was the first of many feature-length films Sam would direct (she recently helmed the Amy Winehouse biopic, Back To Black)—only this one happened to star none other than Mr Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
When reminiscing on their first encounter, Aaron has said he still vividly remembers details of the day, down to the outfit Sam was wearing. “I remember it very, very clearly. This white shirt she still has that I love. It definitely changed my life, though not in the way I expected,” he told Harpers BAZAAR in 2019.
At the time, Aaron was 18 and Sam was 42.
2009: Aaron Johnson proposes to Sam Taylor-Wood
Production wrapped on Nowhere Boy in early 2009 and Aaron proposed shortly after. The couple made their debut as fiancés at the BFI London Film Festival that year.
“We were very professional through the entire film. No funny business at all,” Aaron told Harper’s BAZAAR. He added, “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.”
“Everyone on set knew and as soon as we finished, he told me he was going to marry me. We had never been on a date or even kissed,” continued Sam.
2010 - 2012: Aaron Johnson and Sam Taylor-Wood welcome their children
One year after their engagement, Aaron and Sam announced that they were expecting their first child together. They welcomed baby Wylda Rae Johnson, on July 7, 2010.
Less than two years later, the couple’s second daughter, Romy Hero, arrived on January 18, 2012.
Aaron also joins Sam in parenting her two older daughters, Jessie and Angelica Jopling, who she shares with her ex-husband, Jay Jopling.
2012: Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson get married
Aaron and Sam officially got hitched on June 21, 2012, in Somerset, England. After being engaged for just over three years, the couple went the traditional route and decided to share the same double-barrelled surname.
Commenting on this decision, Aaron told London’s Evening Standard, “I just don’t see why women need to take the man’s name. I wanted to be a part of her as much as she wanted to be a part of me.”
Related: Mrs Who? Why Women Should Reconsider Taking Their Husband’s Last Name
2017: Aaron Taylor-Johnson addresses his age gap with Sam Taylor-Johnson
News of the couple’s relationship first made headlines, scrutiny quickly swelled surrounding their not-so-subtle 23-year age gap.
Speaking on the controversial difference in 2017, Aaron told Vulture, “The attention was intrusive, but having to deal with [media scrutiny] early on in my career probably got me to a place where I can more quickly just go ‘Oh, f*** it’ instead of wanting to rip someone’s head off for asking questions I don’t like.”
2021: Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson get couple tattoos
The couple made things permanent (well, more permanent than a marriage certificate) with matching tattoos of each other’s names—Aaron’s over his heart, and Sam’s along her collar bone. The inking just about lined up with their 10 year wedding anniversary.
“Captured a healed hummingbird for Aaron and added some love for Sam,” the couple’s tattoo artist Dr Woo shared to Instagram.
2024: Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson spark divorce rumours after he is spotted without his wedding ring
Divorce rumours began to swell after Aaron was papped in early September without his wedding ring on his finger. Many were quick to conclude that the couple had called time on their relationship. However, since these images were released via Metro, Aaron has stepped out at Venice Film Festival with the ring well and truly back on. Soooo… maybe the ring was just being cleaned?
Neither Aaron nor Sam have made any public comment clarifying the status of their marriage since these images surfaced.
Watch here for updates.
