Sam Taylor-Johnson Addresses Scrutiny Of 23-Year Age Gap With Husband

Filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson is acknowledging the intense scrutiny that she and husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson face over their age difference.

“There are times where it’s uncomfortable,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Wednesday.

“Most of the time we zone it out and stay pretty private,” she added. “We tend to retreat. Kids and school runs keep you pretty grounded.”

The acclaimed Hollywood director is 57, while Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is reportedly being considered as the next James Bond, is 33.

The two met while working on her directorial debut ― a 2009 John Lennon biopic called Nowhere Boy ― when the actor was in his late teens and she was in her early 40s.

The two welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Wylda Rae, in 2010. The couple had a second daughter, Romy Hero, shortly before they tied the knot in 2012.

Sam Taylor-Johnson also has two other daughters, Angelica and Jessie Phoenix Jopling, from a previous marriage.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson recently suggested to Rolling Stone UK that he’s always been mature for his age.

“What you gotta realise … is that what most people were doing in their twenties, I was doing when I was 13,” he said in an interview published last month.

“You’re doing something too quickly for someone else? I don’t understand that,” he added. “What speed are you supposed to enjoy life at? It’s bizarre to me.”

His wife seems to take a similar approach to relationships, saying in a Guardian story last week that she’s “quite instinctual” and moves at her own pace.

“I’ve gone feet first into everything in my life. I’m always, ‘This seems amazing’, and I jump straight in and go through the experience, whether good or bad,” she explained. “It’s definitely a ‘Fuck it, let’s go with it’ approach. And I’m a great believer that the heart overrides everything. Love conquers all.”