Weeks after her husband, British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 33, defended the couple's marriage and 23-year age gap, director Sam Taylor-Johnson admitted that the "abusive" comments made online about their relationship did circle back to the couple's young children.
Speaking candidly with The Guardian, the "Back to Black" director says in-person interactions with individuals are typically nice, but things turn nasty online. "They’re abusive about anything," she revealed, adding that it doesn't deter her from using social media.
"Because 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," she said of the comments.
AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON, 33, DEFENDS MARRIAGE TO WIFE, 57, WHO HE MET AS A TEENAGER
But she does admit her daughters – two of whom she shares with Aaron – have seen the negativity. Asked if they face prejudice about their parents' relationship gap, Taylor-Johnson says, "Not really."
"Or, if so, 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," noting she's been married to Taylor-Johnson for 12 years and together for 14. "So, if you think of it in that way, then the age gap doesn’t really make any difference."
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The couple famously met on the set of the 2009 film "Nowhere Boy," Taylor-Johnson's directorial debut. Aaron would have been either 18 or 19 at the time. She was 42, making her 23 years his senior.
They quickly fell in love, announcing their engagement at the film's premiere in October. The following year, the couple welcomed their first daughter. They married in 2012. Their shared girls are now 13 and 12 years old. Taylor-Johnson also has two older daughters from a previous marriage to prominent art dealer Jay Jopling.
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Taylor-Johnson says discourse over their relationship is only prevalent in the tabloids. "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?"
Aaron shared similar sentiments last month, admitting judgment is par for the course. "What you gotta realize," he told Rolling Stone UK, "is that what most people were doing in their 20s, I was doing when I was 13."
"You’re doing something too quickly for someone else? I don’t understand that," Taylor-Johnson said of the ongoing narrative. "What speed are you supposed to enjoy life at? It’s bizarre to me."
