People can't stop bringing up the 23-year age gap in Aaron Taylor-Johnson's marriage

Aaron Taylor-Johnson's biggest known role is playing Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Others may know him from the sweet British teen film "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging" or the vigilante film "Kick-Ass." But outside of his filmography, what has shadowed the 33-year-old actor's career is the chatter and speculation about his 23-year age gap with wife and director Sam Taylor-Johnson.

The pair met in 2008 during the production of Sam's directorial debut, "Nowhere Boy," the story of John Lennon before he achieved fame with the Beatles. She was 41 at the time, while Aaron – who was portraying a teenage Lennon – turned 18 in June that year. In a joint interview with Harper's Bazar in 2019 the two claimed that there was “no funny business at all” during filming. 

However, a year later, Aaron proposed to Sam. “As soon as we finished [filming], he told me he was going to marry me,” Sam said. “We had never been on a date or even kissed.” The couple was married in 2012.

Now, despite their 12-year marriage and the birth of two daughters, their 23-year age gap continues to be tabloid fodder, with online speculation centered on allegations of Aaron being groomed. This endless rumor mill, including gossip about cheating, has prompted the actor to address the fascination with his relationship.

In a recently published Rolling Stone interview, Johnson explained as a child actor who started in the industry at age 6, he's led a mature life. He said, “What you gotta realize is that what most people were doing in their twenties, I was doing when I was 13.”

He further alluded to the frenzy surrounding his marriage at an early age: “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.   

Throughout his career, various publications have repeatedly asked the actor about his marriage. In 2009 at the height of press for "Nowhere Boy," Aaron told the Irish Independent, "It's not unusual. I'm an old soul, and she's a young soul. We don't see an age gap, we just see each other."

He continued, "People have their judgments and opinions, and it's almost like other people live by a rule book and I don't."

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Sam said that Aaron had an "old soul" comparing him to the ageless character Benjamin Button "because he has — on the outside — such youth, and on the inside, he is so wise and settled." She also told The Daily Beast that she "doesn't worry" about the age-gap discourse because "We’ve been together for over a decade now, so I feel like it is less of a conversation for people."

However, this has not stopped the couple from being raked over the coals, with people alleging grooming behavior had transpired in their relationship since they met when Aaron was nearly a minor. RAINN describes grooming as manipulative behavior that an adult abuser uses to gain access to a potential young victim to coerce a child into a relationship.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson's comments in Rolling Stone have outraged people online, who are confused that he is defending his marriage when they perceive him to have been forced into a relationship.