British photographer and director Sam Taylor-Wood fell in love when she was 43 years old. Heartwarming – except that she fell in love with an 18-year-old kid. The kid in question is Aaron Johnson, and they are still together, three years later. Shortly after they met and worked together, Sam got knocked up, and she and Aaron got engaged – they still haven’t gotten married, but in 2010, they welcomed a baby girl named Wylda Rae to their family. It’s a family which includes a teenage daughter and a 5-year-old daughter from Sam’s previous relationship. Anyway, last May, Sam announced that she and Aaron were expecting their second child together – and she’s apparently just given birth. It’s another girl!
Artist/director Sam Taylor-Wood and fiancé Aaron Johnson have become parents again to a baby girl. The new arrival – whose name has not been revealed – was born this month, joining big sister Wylda Rae, 18 months.
The birth means Nowhere Boy star Johnson is now outnumbered in a house full of females, along with Taylor-Wood’s two older daughters Anjelica, 14, and Jessie, five, from her previous marriage to art dealer Jay Jopling.
Acclaimed artist Taylor-Wood’s fourth pregnancy was confirmed by her representative last July. The arrival of her fourth child comes just a month after the heavily pregnant star accepted her OBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.
Taylor-Wood, 44, and Johnson, 21, fell in love on the set of Nowhere Boy in 2009 and announced their engagement in October that year after just a few months of dating. The artist made her directorial debut with the John Lennon biopic, which starred Johnson as the young Beatle.
Their relationship raised eyebrows due to their 23 year age gap and the fact that Johnson was just 19 at the time. They started dating less than a year after Taylor-Wood and ex-husband Jopling, 48, separated after 11 years of marriage.
In an interview last year, Taylor-Wood admitted she had been persuaded to start a second family with Johnson by the actor himself. She said: ‘Aaron, almost before anything started between us, said he wanted kids. He was very clear about wanting a family. We hardly go out now – it’s just us. Aaron has brought a set of values I didn’t even know I was looking for – family values. He is more grounded. He has been getting work offers which he has turned down because he wants to be here for the crucial first months of Wylda’s life.’
Taylor-Wood also attacked the media for concentrating on relationships between younger men and older women, who have been labelled ‘cougars’.
She said: ‘In the old days, “controversial” in a relationship meant same-sex or mixed races. Now, it is a woman with a younger man. That would not happen with a man.’
And Johnson has also defended their relationship: ‘I’m an old soul and she’s a young soul. We don’t see an age gap, we just see each other.’
[From The Mail]
Well… congratulations. I’m glad that Sam’s pregnancy was happy and healthy, and that their second baby was born without complications. I’m also happy to see that Aaron is sticking with Sam for going on 3 years now. Go ahead and call me sexist, but I still wonder if this is going to last in the long run. I mean – he’s only 21! And he’s now a father of two girls, and stepfather of two girls. AND HE’S ONLY 21. And his fiancée is 44. I still think that if the genders were reversed, people would still have huge problems with this – it’s specific to a 40-something person attaching themselves to a teenager. It’s like Courtney Stodden and her father/husband. It’s creepy.
UPDATE: And we have a name! Aaron and Sam named their daughter Romy Hero. I don’t get it.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Well it’s not like Stodden because he’s an actual adult. Also she doesn’t make him trot around town in a bikini LOL. I do think it’s a doomed relationship he’s way too young to be a parent and sooner or later he’s going to miss his youth.
He’s not like Stodden in that he looks and acts like a normal person, not an X-rated cartoon character.
However he looks like an old-timey criminal who is about to tie her to a railroad trestle.
Agreed. It’s too easy to say love has no age but humans are not at all perfect to stick with it. Soon enough he’s going to get tired of her and the reason will be, “The age gap became too big/insufferable”. In my opinion she’s just as immature as him, having children when deep inside you know such a relationship has no future.
He may be an “actual adult,” but the age difference between Sam and Aaron is the exact same as the age difference between Courtney and Doug.
That being said, I do like this couple much better, as they are low key. I still think they are both just…too much. I know age is “just a number,” but he’s still a kid. And she’s old enough to be his mom.
I think Courtney and Doug were 16 and 51 at the time of their marriage (I remember that only because my mom and one of my siblings were the same ages at that time and so it further grossed me out).
Whatever works for these people, I say. Like you said, they’re low key. I really think that if the sexes were reversed and they remained this low key, no one would care.
I believe May-Decembers can work. Not often, but it is possible.
Anyway, if you are capable of living with yourself while sporting an orange-Einstein-‘do-and-French-dandy-moustache combo, you are capable of anything.
Lol! He is definitely not your typical 21-year-old guy! Given that maybe those two crazy kids actually have a chance.
My dad’s next door neighbour is a 63 year old woman who met her boyfriend nine years ago on a cruise when he was just 18 and she was 54.
They are both animal lovers and are heavily involved with WIRES (an Australian organisation that cares for baby koalas/roos/possums whose mothers have been hit by cars etc)
Also my brother’s best mate who is 38 has been with a woman for 15 years who is almost 70.
Who cares? You don’t choose who you fall in love with.
Definitely the exceptions, not the rule.
Weird.
They seem really loving and affectionate towards each other. We’re living in a time of 16 And Pregnant and Sister Wives-I really don’t think we should be dogging a couple that seems solid and happy just because of the age gap. If anything, I think the fact that she’s so much older shows that he really DOES love her. It doesn’t appear that there’s anything else in it for him beyond love. If they end up never getting married or end up divorced-it’s really not that unusual in Hollyweird and is not necessarily due to the age gap.
Omg that woman makes Rumer look beautiful.
I find their story to be incredibly sweet and romantic, maybe because I’m about her age and can definitely appreciate the appeal of a young man like him.
But it does make me uneasy, because it cannot possibly end well. It’s a fantasy. But they seem to be enjoying and making the most of their time together…let’s just hope they (and their kids) emerge fairly unscathed when the relationship inevitably runs its course.
Let’s see how well the relationship goes once she gets her menopause, things will change. I do think he hasn’t enjoyed his youth and sooner or later he will want to spread his wings and fly.
Not going to last and everyone knows it.
It will never last — see Demi and Aston. And I do think it’s creepy. Plus, I would bet she used donor eggs since she’s had chemo, and he was the one, according to the interview, who wanted kids.
Chemo doesn’t always mean you can’t conceive naturally.
oh please you can’t guarentee what people wil do when Newman & Woodward first became serious in the Mid 50’s nobody thought they’d be married more than 2 years but they ended up being married almost 51 when he passed away. the average age for menopause is 51 so she has 7 more years before it’s that time unless something triggers her to go into it early
Tut, tut – may i remind you all of Maxwell Caulfield who has been married since 1980 to actress Juliet Mills, 18 years his senior…there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rules, even in Celebitchy world…
Thank you! I was just thinking about them as well.
Yeah well, I still think Caufield is gay!! Just like my professor who’s married to a woman 15 years older than him and was sleeping with my gay best friend…
Where in hell did she find 21 ready to commit? Seriously, I’m jealous! I got dumped because my bf of 3 years (age of 24 mind you) couldn’t place his ass put for longer then five minutes. Then I started noticing that in all of my male friends. They just don’t have the same mindset in twenties as girls do. And this one is taking care of his two children and two step children…I’m confused
Umh, sorry but Stodden doesn’t carry herself so grown-up and responsible as Johnson does. He’s an old soul, not some giddy teenager. Also Wood and that creeper Hutchinson are also two totally different people. I think that’s the difference, Stodden was truly a teenager in every sense of the word and Hutchinson seems like a pedo whereas Johnson and Wood seem very adult about their relationship and are on an equal level concerning their view of life. Also, Stodden and Hutchinson had ulterior motives when getting married: fame. Wood and Johnson don’t need that because they are talented and famous but not famewh* so they don’t need that exposure by entering a relationship with another famous person.
That said, I do feel that it’s not going to last 10 years, sadly enough. My prediction is that around 25-26 he’s going to want to know how a relationship with a girl close to his age feel. Also, she’ll be approaching her 50s and it can be quite hard in that period to deal with menopause and all that. Sorry, but if you’re close in age, you grow together through that transistion because older men also have their issues but a 26-year old will see that differently I THINK. Well, I hope they grow old together but am staying realistic.
EDIT: and CONGRATS with the baby 😀
O/T: Demi Lovato is supposed to be in rehab for alcohol and drugs addiction. Per Blindgossip:
http://blindgossip.com/?p=38160
Also, RangeRover’s reaction seems like he/she is one of those friends. Weird. I find BG much more believable all of a sudden
All of this!
I hope they last, I want them to last just because I really feel like sometimes a love can transcend all of the negative factors that could make it a doomed story from the start. I mean it is not normal and I usually side-eye these kinds of things, but it depends on the people involved.
Re: Demi rehab
I always disagreed with the Demi posts in here which congratulated her for “getting better”. I don’t think she ever quit the drugs or Wilmer.
CB/Kaiser Please do a story on this!!
Do you mean RangeOne? I read that whole thread and think he’s spot on unfortunately.
Yes, RangerOne seems to have inside info. I don’t know. But yeah, spot one sadly.
Demi’s troubles were “Disney’s worst kept secret”:
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/mbdxm/iaaa_former_child_actor_who_ran_in_some_of_the/
Omg, thank you for that link. Another one to follow obsessively 😀
He is an ACTOR–his blond hair is for his role in Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina.
Hard enough to find love in this world…more power to them.
Whoah! Anna karenina! Pretty apropos. Hope their real life romance has a better ending. They both sound talented and grounded. Hopefully that steadies them through whatever rough waters they encounter.
Ridiculous, only in Hollywierd. Why couldn’t they just have a nice love affair with protection and call it a day?
Wait, if she was 43 three years ago, then she’s NOT 44 now, clearly. That’d be 47. Haha. Either way, these two creep me the hell out.
Yeah, I noticed that straight away – correction needed !
A 15+ age gap always makes a difference irrespective of which gender is younger/older in the relationship.
That said, i do like this couple if only because they do not famewhore their relationship.
Fingers crossed that it lasts, but will be sad when it ends.
Exactly and absolutely all what I was thinking!!!about the +/- 15 age gap AND about the fact that I like them too!
You are awesome ;)!
Sam is so famous in the UK that she is a catch for him. She’s an artist & knows everyone.
And she made him look fantastic in Nowhere Boy and that REM video. See him in Albert Nobbs!
She will need to give him a son.
Sam MUST be amazing.
awwwww…they are in love but I feel bad for them at the same time. This won’t end well, will it?
Yeaaah well exactly the same for Bruce Willis and Emma Heming, but do you think that keeps Bruce from sleeping at night? well maybe Sam also wants the same deserved restful nights!
A former co-worker of mine who was 20 at that time married a woman who already had three kids and had his first one coming. She was 35 at that time. They’re still married 8 years later and have three children together.
When men have the opportunity to enter a relationship with a much younger woman, or really, any woman they find desirable, they generally don’t sit around fretting, “But will it last forever and forever??? Oh, it probably won’t – well, in that case, forget it!”
It’s more like, “Hey, this could be a great experience & lot of fun while it lasts. Let’s do this!”
Quite frankly, that strikes me as a much healthier attitude. It seems kind of limiting & sad to limit your relationship options based on whether you think it will last 4-eva! A romantic relationship can be a success and a wonderful experience even if it’s temporary (especially if it results in children you love). Maybe Sam Taylor-Wood feels the same way and has more of a “let’s live life to fullest today” sort of attitude.
There’s a very strange idea in our culture that a break up somehow negates or invalidates a relationship, or somehow confirms that the relationship shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
D I love you!! You just speaked my mind :)!!
Older men dating younger women goes much deeper than just having fun. It’s an affirmation they are still pretty and virile. Good for the ego and the status. Plus, it’s biology that men need to “spread the sperm” and since young people are the epitome of virility…you catch my drift?
If somebody is looking for a long-term relationship then I do think it’s important to see the ups and downs of dating a much younger or much older person. If you’re only in it for the fun and experience then you already decided it’s not going to last imho. No need to drag children in that.
I’m not dreaming of the perfect relationship that will last forever but I do keep in my mind what I want from a relationship and how it can evolve and age/maturity level is certainly a factor to keep in mind.
That said, I agree about your stance of Wood. She’s an artist so her mindset is different. She lives in the moment, which is admirable. But I do think she’s in it for long term and not just for fun (although I can imagine she’s having fun). They have two children now, you don’t take on that much responsibility if you’re in only in it for fun. She might be enjoying life to the fullest, but she isn’t careless about it. She’s still a parent first and a lover second. Also agreed on the breaking up as a confirmation it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. You said it well!
Maybe the purpose for older women to date younger men is also deeper than just for fun who knows? Maybe it is also to prove their womanhood and status either!
And about biology and spreading our species… hem… neither older women or older men are at that stage anymore
That’s why nature has planned what is it call “sexual peeks” stages in life where we are driven by our hormones in order to perpetuate our species.
(teen years, 20’s and 30’s)
and Yes NEITHER since it is now proven that middle age men have an incredible fertility decrease after 45 before going throughout andropause between 50 and 60 ….so no it does not go deeper than fun or having something to prove to yourself!
I don’t think women who date much younger men are necessarily more high-minded than their male counterparts – attracting a desirable younger man is a big ego boost for an older woman, and having him on her arm is definitely a status symbol and a public & private affirmation of her attractiveness and desirability.
More so, I’d say, than the reverse, since our culture prizes youth in women far more than it does in men – that a man prefers an older woman to his younger female peers is therefore a great testament to her desirability. That’s part of the fun!
(Of course, none of this is incompatible with genuine love for one’s younger partner)
As far as “spreading the sperm” goes – there’s the female equivalent, which I think is especially relevant in Wood’s case.
She had two brushes with cancer in recent years and feared this had destroyed her ability to have more children. I can think of fewer ways to affirm one’s sexual vibrancy & fertility after cancer hell than to shack up with a young sexy movie star and have a bunch of babies.
And in addition to her bohemian “artiste” outlook, a brush with death also seems like it would reinforce a “live each day like it’s your last” attitude – so maybe the longevity of this relationship just isn’t a huge factor for her, and she’s more about enjoying the moment. I can also see how dating a young person & having more children can feel particularly life-affirming after something like that.
In short: both of you of very valid points. Nice read!
D, I liked the last two paragraphs although I view one certain thing different.
LIke 🙂
What an awesome response! I’m going to copy your words and look at them often, they are an inspiration on how to live life, vs. what society is pushing. Thank YOU!
Sorry I’m only commenting cos the 1st pix still reminds me of Gene Wilder in “Young Frankenstein”! 🙂
But what do they talk about? I dated a boy younger than me and I wanted to punch him in the face every time he spoke!
I’m sure they have plenty to talk about, especially given that they are in the same industry and have a family to raise.
And in general I don’t think an age gap has to mean a conversation gap — 20-year-olds have opinions on the same things 40-year-olds do. In fact the age gap could probably bring some liveliness/added perspective to just about any topic.
I also think that these relationships don’t work in a long run, but for some time people are happy. So, let them be happy and enjoy their time together. I think that people who love their partners to be older have parents issues.
She doesn’t look much older and probably has a fresh approach to life. I find it bad when, i.e., an older man who really looks old chooses a 21 year old to make himself look and feel younger. I don’t think that is the case here.
I don’t think because he’s young the relationship is necessarily doomed. I’ve been with my husband since we were both 15 and it’s 20 years on now. It can work. Best of luck to them and congratulations on meeting their baby girl.
They seem happy but it bothers me in a number of ways. He is soooo young. I have two sons (my younger is 21 and while he is pretty mature in a lot of ways, he is far from being a real adult). I think it’s kind of pathetic that this child (and he was still a child when they got involved) was the one bringing “family values” into the life of a 40-something woman and mother of two. She sounds extremely immature and maybe that’s why it seems to be working.
I don’t know his background but he is clearly looking for a strong family unit. Maybe he didn’t have that as a child himself and has a strong need to recreate it now, and maybe he’s looking for a sort of mother figure, although he sounds like the more responsible and mature one.
Then again, people say age doesn’t really matter and it’s souls that meet and connect. Maybe that’s the case here. It feels weird and uncomfortable to me and I sure wouldn’t be okay with it if it was MY 21 year old son who was involved in such a relationship, but they aren’t your average couple. He likely makes a lot of money as an actor and she seems to be a successful photographer, so their life may be something that I can’t really imagine myself, not having that kind of money or freedom.
Hopefully she’s not ignoring her daughters in her quest to create this second family. But other than that, as long as they are good parents to their children and are happy with their situation, then more power to them. I personally am not comfortable with it, but it’s not my life and they both seem happy. I doubt it’ll last, but you never know, I’ve been surprised before with similar May-December romances.
Plus frankly, if it as a 44 year old man with a 21 year old woman we might be a little icked out, but not nearly as much. I think a lot of it is that we just don’t see it reversed this way as often so it’s a little shocking.
You hitted the nail on the head, that is exactly why people are shocked:
“Plus frankly, if it as a 44 year old man with a 21 year old woman we might be a little icked out, but not nearly as much. I think a lot of it is that we just don’t see it reversed this way as often so it’s a little shocking. ”
It’s not that it’s more normal for men it’s that we are just more used to see it, but I assume that with the power and economic independance that women gained from the last decades we would be used in a decade or 2 to see these couples as often as old men/young women!
Your poor son! At 21 he can’t choose his own relationships?? Will he ever be old enough?
I don’t think it’s fair to compare them to that Stodden chick or Ashton/Demi because these 2 aren’t shallow famehos.
Sam seems comfortable in her skin, not like Demi who is trying to stop time. And Aaron isn’t a douche like Ashton.
Like someone mentioned up thread Sam is considered very very cool in the UK. Aaron must get a lot of creative and intellectual stimuation from her (again, not like Stodden/Demi).
OMG, he’s so beautiful that I almost don’t want it to work out for them (because then I’ll have a chance???). But they seem so sweet together!
Well said D 🙂
She fell in love when she was 43 and now, 3 years later, she’s 44? How did this happen?
Lol, maybe that’s why it works…if she keeps aging that slowly eventually he’ll catch up to her!
That is one of the ugliest women I have ever seen. She’s got the Innsmouth look and I shudder every time I see her. I know I’m a huge hypocrite here (my husband is 12 years older than I) but younger men with older women grosses me out. I mean, do what makes you happy but it’s still gross to me, and it seems pointless because what man is going to want an old woman when he’s still young? It sucks and all but that’s how men are and I can’t imagine setting yourself up for the inevitable heartbreak, or bringing children into it. But that’s JMO.
I am myself particularlly apalled by older men with young women, and I think a lot of young women can’t imagine themselves with older men, I am 23 and to me (or any of my female friends) it seems pointless and gross just like your example.But apparently some people are not grossed out at all as are the vivid examples of Aaron carter and … well you…
ha ha, LOVE the Lovecraft reference!
His mustache is freaking me out. He looks like the villain who ties women to train tracks in those old silent movies.
Call me a hopeless romantic, but I really root for these two crazy kids to make it work.
Wow, it didnt seem like that long ago that they announced the pregnancy.
Oh well, congrats.
Of course it won’t work. They’re celebrities.
“18 year old kid” 18 means that he is an adult. He was two years above the age of consent, could join and fight in the army, vote, buy alcohol etc. etc., why should it be disgusting for him to fall in love with a woman who is older than him? There are much bigger problems, like paedophillia, sex trafficking and child abuse in the world to be worrying about a completely legal relationship in which it does not appear that one of them is being abused. Their relationship has lasted a lot longer than other couples whose ages area lot closer. Who cares?
You can do all that at 16 in the UK?
Same in France!and in a lot of other european countries in scandinavia I think the age of consent is even 13 and 14 in Neetherlands! For drinking and smoking in France it’s 16 and I think it’s the same in the UK!
so yes he is an adult!
I am so moving to the U.K.lol..
You WONDER if this is going to last? There is a 25 year age gap between them! 25 YEARS! She was having her first kid when he was gurgling away in his crib!
Theoretically, she could be dead before he hits retirement….but I predict it will implode 35 years or so before that.
I agree with you Kaiser.
I don’t know if this guy has the Asston Douche Extreme gene, but I see another situation a’la Demi and Ashton or even another Patrick Dempsey (remember his 1st marriage to a much older woman) down the road for these two. The guy is just a kid for cripes sake.
JM2C.
In no way is he a “kid” and definitely not a “child”! Maybe we have different views of age in the UK, but you’re basically treated like an adult at 16. You can legally have sex, leave school and start work or join the army – do children do that?
Also he’s been working as an actor since he was actually a child, so he will be more mature than his peers. They are not in Hollywood, it’s not the same.
Exactly!They are in the UK not the US!
In France you quite have the exact same options at 16 and after 18 people treat you definitly as an adult!
They actually seem oddly perfect for each other.
It’s not at all like stodden and her husband. She was sixteen–a minor, and it’s clearly all about the cheap and sleazy publicity. That doesn’t mean I necessarily think it will last, but I don’t think the stodden comparison was at all apt. 16 and 51, plus their immature famewhoring is not quite the same as 21 and 44 with solid careers and a low-key family mind set. I havent seen this guy out for a jog in stripper stilettos and an army of paparazzi. You never know.
There’s no way this relationship is going to work. She’s in her mid-40’s. Eventually she’s going to hit menopause, lose her sex drive, and maybe even lose her youthful beauty. He will still be young, sexy, and virile. It’s just not going to last.
She doesn’t deserve him. He is WAY too good looking for her?! As soon as that old hag dies Aaron Johnson is MINE! 😉 <3
I am not liking the blond hair and mustache but whatever he’s still hot and his wife (it pains me to say it) is old for him but it was his choice I guess..
WORST COUPLE EVER.
why couldnt he have married me instead of that ugly 43 year old ehhh? :O
What a waste :(.
Omgg there must be something wrong with Aaron cuz first Sam is too old for him and shes way too ugly. And he already has 2 kids. Thats just overboard.
I think Aaron should be dating Georgia Groome. They are perfect together! But i think Aaron is so cute without the blonde hair and straight hair and without no mustache
Aaron Johnson was totz hot in angus thongs and perfect snogging and now he got himself all ugly and married to a 43 yr old woman… What a stupid man! But sooner or later he’ll get sick of her… But just think, this is his first year being able to drink, and it is her 23rd… Ugh