While he may have captured our hearts as Robbie in Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging, it was Aaron-Taylor Johnson’s following film Nowhere Boy that saw the English heartthrob not only find worldwide fame, but also his future wife.
Starring as John Lennon in the 2008 biopic, Aaron first crossed paths with the film’s director, Sam Taylor-Wood. While the couple’s connection first sparked on-set, their romance continued to blossom away from the camera, with Aaron and Sam making their debut as a newly engaged couple at the film’s premiere.
Now, as the pair continue to celebrate 12 years of marriage, we take a look back at the timeline of Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson’s romance.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Relationship Timeline
2008: Aaron Johnson and Sam Taylor-Wood first meet
Aaron and Sam first met in 2008 on the set of the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy.
The film was Sam’s directorial debut on a feature-length film, with Aaron starring as the leading man alongside a star-studded British cast, including Love Actually star Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Four Weddings and a Funeral’s Kristin Scott Thomas.
Reflecting on their first meeting, Aaron states that he still vividly remembers the details of the day, including what Sam was wearing on set.
“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 Harper’s Bazaar in 2019.
2009: Aaron Johnson proposes to Sam Taylor-Wood
Shortly after the couple wrapped the production of Nowhere Boy in early 2009, Aaron popped the question to Sam, with the couple making their red carpet debut as fiances at the film’s premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
“We were very professional through the entire film. No funny business at all,” Aaron told Harper’s Bazaar, adding, “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: Aaron Johnson and Sam Taylor-Wood welcome their first child
In the year following their engagement, Aaron and Sam announced that they were expecting their first child together, with the couple welcoming their eldest daughter, Wylda Rae Johnson, on July 7, 2010.
“We can confirm that Sam is pregnant with her and Aaron’s first child. Both are very, very happy,” a spokesperson for the couple shared in a statement.
The couple are also parents to Sam’s two eldest daughters, Angelica Jopling, 27, and Jessie Jopling, 17, who she shares with her ex-husband, Jay Jopling.
2012: Aaron Johnson and Sam Taylor-Wood welcome their second child
Less than two years after the couple gave birth to their first child, Sam and Aaron welcomed their second daughter, Romy Hero, on January 18, 2012.
2012: Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson get married
Three years after announcing their engagement, Aaron and Sam tied the knot in Somerset, England on June 21, 2012.
Following their nuptials, the couple revealed that they had made the collective decision to share the same combined surname.
Speaking on the 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.”
2015: Sam Taylor-Johnson shares rare comment on married life
During the press tour for her film Fifty Shades of Grey, Sam opened up on the couple’s notoriously private relationship; offering a rare glimpse into life at home with the Taylor-Johnson’s.
“The great thing about Aaron is that he’s happy not working and being at home with the kids while I work… Being in an amazing relationship, having come out of a difficult one, it felt so good. I feel like that stability has enabled me to get on with doing this momentous project,” Sam told The Guardian.
2017: Aaron Taylor-Johnson addresses his age gap with Sam Taylor-Johnson
Throughout the early years of the couple’s relationship, both Sam and Aaron were subject to widespread media scrutiny surrounding the couple’s 23-year age gap, with the couple first meeting when Aaron was 18 and Sam was 41.
Speaking on the controversial age gap, 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.”
2019: Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson give their first joint interview
During the promotional tour for their film A Million Little Pieces, the Taylor-Johnson’s sat down with The Telegraph for the first time as a couple.
Speaking on their romance, Aaron stated, “I knew instantly with Sam that I’d found my soulmate. I knew instantly that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this person… I knew I wanted a family with her. I knew I wanted kids, and a month later, she was pregnant with our first child.”
“I’ve never felt a difference in age. Sam is far more outgoing and energetic and achieving than I am,” he continued.
“I’m so lucky to have such a supportive husband. When he works, I don’t, and vice versa,” Sam stated. “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.”
2021: Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson get couple tattoos
After almost ten years of marriage, the couple made a permanent commitment to one another with their heartfelt tribute tattoos.
“Captured a healed hummingbird for Aaron and added some love for Sam,” the couple’s tattoo artist Dr Woo shared to Instagram.
2022: Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson renew their vows
Ten years after they tied the knot, the couple renewed their vows in an outdoor ceremony.
“Yesterday was the most beautiful day, summer solstice, our 10th anniversary. We renewed our vows to one another and confessed our love in front of our nearest and dearest friends and family it was a celebration of love and joy! 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!” Aaron wrote to Instagram.
2023: Aaron Taylor-Johnson opens up on family life
In the lead-up to Aaron’s starring role in Kraven: The Hunter, the actor opened up to Esquire about family and his marriage.
“I met Sam as [an] actor and director. I think we’re really great at collaborating, but that’s not why I fell in love with her,” Aaron told the publication.
“I was going to have a big family. I knew I was going to be a young father. I knew I was going to have many kids… I’ve probably talked to [Esquire] more about my kids and Sam than I have with anybody. I’ve got nothing to hide, and I’m secure in what we have, but I’m not going to unlock things that are actually precious to me.”
March 2024: Aaron Taylor-Johnson reacts to criticism surrounding his marriage
As rumours ramp up surrounding the actor’s potential new role as James Bond, Aaron responded to continued criticism regarding the age gap in his relationship, telling Rolling Stone UK, “What you gotta realise is that what most people were doing in their twenties, I was doing when I was 13.”
“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.”
April 2024: Sam Taylor-Johnson shares rare insight into her age-gap relationship
Throughout their marriage, both Aaron and Sam have made very few comments addressing their 23-year age gap. Speaking to The Guardian in April 2024, Sam offered a rare insight into how their age difference impacts their relationship, telling the publication that it “never” comes up.
“[The age gap is] coming up now because you’re asking, and it comes up on the outside perspective of people who don’t know us… Aaron and I are a bit of an anomaly… after 14 years you just think surely by now it doesn’t matter,” Sam shared.
Speaking further on the external commentary on their romance, Sam continued, “It’s just there, but it doesn’t mean anything. It is just people upset with their own sadness; with misgivings about their own life.”
The 57-year-old also responded to questions surrounding the couple’s children, revealing that they are seemingly unaware of the contentious age gap.
“I don’t think they care. They see two loving, happy parents, so it doesn’t really register. They just think people are a bit mean or mad.”
May 2024: Sam Taylor-Johnson comments on the rise of age-gap romances in film
Reflecting on her directorial work the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black, Sam Taylor-Johnson responded to comments surrounding the recent rise in age-gap romances on screen.
When asked if character dynamics such as those in Anne Hathaway’s The Idea of You appeal to her, Sam told TIME, “Not at all. I think Aaron would say the same. Neither of us look at each other in that way.”
“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. When people make films or talk about it, question it or dissect it, it is so strange to me. When people fall in love, they fall in love.”
The 57-year-old also revealed that while their age gap may not play into their everyday relationship, “there are times where it’s crossed my visual path and then, it kind of shocks me.”
October 2024: Aaron Taylor-Johnson shares message for step-daughter’s 18th birthday
While the couple may keep their family life out of the public eye, on October 8, Aaron took to Instagram to share a rare photo together with his step-daughter Jessie to celebrate her 18th birthday.
“Happy birthday babygirl,” he captioned a throwback snap, followed by a more recent photo of the pair together, writing, “18 now… still my babygirl.”
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