Aaron Taylor-Johnson says fascination with wife's 23-year age gap is 'bizarre'

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is clapping back at the scrutiny of his marriage to Sam Taylor-Johnson, a director 23 years his senior.

"The Fall Guy" actor spoke to Rolling Stone U.K. in an interview published Wednesday about reaching milestones in his personal and professional life at a young age.

"What you gotta realize is that what most people were doing in their twenties, I was doing when I was 13," he said, adding that the interest in his relationship is "bizarre."

Aaron Taylor-Johnson questioned why his life happenings should be judged. "You're doing something too quickly for someone else? I don’t understand that. What speed are you supposed to enjoy life at? It’s bizarre to me," he said.  

Many may recognize him as the heartthrob from "Anna Karenina," the protagonist of the "Kick Ass" movies or, for younger fans, Nickelodeon's "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging." As Taylor-Johnson's professional career soars, celebrity watchers are also delving into his personal life and his marriage.

The Taylor-Johnsons met on the set of "Nowhere Boy" in 2009 when Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who was around 19 at the time, auditioned in front of then 42-year-old director Sam Taylor-Johnson ("Fifty Shades of Grey") and eventually landed the role of John Lennon. That same year he proposed.

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In 2010, the two welcomed their first child together, Wylda Rae. Two years later, they got married and had their second daughter, Romy.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is also a stepfather to 27-year-old Angelica Jopling and 17-year-old Jessie Phoenix, whom Sam Taylor-Johnson shares with her ex-husband Jay Jopling. In the Rolling Stone U.K. feature, the "Bullet Train" star refers to all the children as his "four gorgeous daughters."

In Hollywood, age gap romances aren't uncommon. Think Olivia Wilde, 40, who was linked to Harry Styles, 30. Or George and Amal Clooney, Hollywood's power couple with a 16-year age difference. Though unconventional, these dynamics aren't inherently unhealthy. But the recent chatter surrounding Taylor-Johnson's romance may be more about power imbalances than it is about the specific people involved in the conversation. 

Age gap relationships andthe public fascination with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and his wife

"As soon as we finished (filming), he told me he was going to marry me," Sam Taylor-Johnson told Harper's Bazaar in 2019. "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 Taylor-Johnson added.

The Taylor-Johnsons have previously cited their age difference as a reason why they tend to keep their personal lives private.

"The attention was intrusive," Aaron Taylor-Johnson told New York Magazine in 2017 of the initial public reaction to their relationship. "But having to deal with that early in my career probably got me to a place where I can more quickly just go, 'Oh, (expletive) it' instead of wanting to rip someone's head off for asking questions I don't like."

Contributing: Jenna Ryu