Sam Taylor-Johnson says her and Aaron's romance upsets people as it doesn't 'fit a box'
Sam Taylor-Johnson has said she and husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson "couldn't fathom the fascination" with their 24-year age gap.
The film director, 57, and the actor, 34, tied the knot in 2012, three years after meeting on the set of Nowhere Boy. Their unconventional romance instantly came under scrutiny.
In a recent appearance on BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life, Sam admitted that despite the obvious reasons, they were initially puzzled by the public's interest in it.
"I guess that interest was more when we got together, which was now 14 years, at the beginning, was quite intense,” she said.
"And that sort of fascination, because he's younger than me, which you know, we couldn't really fathom the fascination. But I guess it's sort of gone away a little bit.
"But yeah, I guess people want to understand things when they can't.
“They want to pick up art when they can't fathom what a certain love story that doesn't fit in a box is."
She also recently insisted that their age difference is "never" an issue in their relationship, but again acknowledged that it makes them "a bit of an anomaly" compared to other couples.
When asked if the question of their ages comes up anymore, she explained that these days the curiosity only pops up when she's being interviewed.
"It never does. I mean, it’s coming up now because you’re asking. And it comes up on the outside perspective of people who don’t know us, because I guess people will always… 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?”
The Fifty Shades of Grey director, who has two older daughters, Angelica, 27, and Jessie, 18, with ex-husband Jay Jopling, and Wylda, 13, and Romy, 12, with Aaron, never hesitated to be with a much younger man.
She explained: “If I had been cynical for a second, it wouldn’t have worked. If I had questioned anything, it would never have worked. I’m quite instinctual.
“I’ve gone feet-first into everything in my life,” she explained. “I’m always, ‘This seems amazing,’ and I jump straight in and go through the experience, whether good or bad.
“It’s definitely a ‘F***it, let’s go with it’ approach. And I’m a great believer that the heart overrides everything. Love conquers all.”
