The adorable Hollywood couple that is Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara may fly under the radar, but here's everything you need to know about their relationship so far.
2012: They meet while filming Her.
Phoenix and Mara met while shooting the Spike Jonze movie Her in mid-2012. The movie follows a man who falls in love with a computer operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Mara portrays Phoenix's ex-wife in the movie.
In 2019, Phoenix opened up about meeting Mara to Vanity Fair and said, "She’s the only girl I ever looked up on the internet." He continued, "We were just friends, email friends. I’d never done that. Never looked up a girl online." Per the publication, he "believed Mara despised him during the making of Her but later learned she was just shy and actually liked him too. "
2016: They reunite to shoot Mary Magdalene.
While Mara took on the lead role of Mary Magdalene, Phoenix portrayed Jesus in the movie, which wasn't released in the United States until 2019. According to W magazine, Mara and Phoenix were just "friends" before they shot the biblical movie, and "started dating shortly after the film wrapped."
2017: They couple up at Cannes.
While dating rumors had begun to swirl on the set of Mary Magdalene, Phoenix and Mara revealed their romance to the world at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2017. Not only did they sit next to one another and hold hands, but they publicly embraced when Phoenix won the Best Actor award for You Were Never Really Here.
Also in 2017, Phoenix confirmed to The New York Times that he was now living with Mara, and that "he watched the 10-hour true-crime doc The Staircase recently because Mara wanted to."
2018: Mara supports Phoenix at a movie screening.
The star of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo supported her beau at a screening of Amazon Studios' You Were Never Really Here on April 3, 2018.
2019: Phoenix and Mara get engaged.
Us Weekly reveals that Mara and Phoenix are engaged, after the Lion actress is spotted with a sparkler on her left hand. It's reportedly the first engagement for both stars, as long as we ignore that time Phoenix lied about getting engaged just to get applause on talk shows.
By all accounts, 2019 was an extremely busy year for the couple. In June, they marched in a National Animal Rights Day demonstration (both are staunch vegans).
2019: They couple up for the Joker press tour.
Next, Mara and Phoenix looked chic as they arrived at the Venice Film Festival in August 2019, where Joker won Best Film.
They also hit up Joker's official premiere in September 2019, where they showed some PDA on the red carpet.
And when Phoenix was honored at the Toronto International Film Festival with the Tribute Actor Award, he gave Mara a strange-but-sweet shout-out in his speech. Per Variety, Phoenix said, “One last thing—somewhere here, I don’t know where, is a filthy dragon, and I want to rip its wings off and fasten a blanket and sleep with it forever. I love you. Thank you."
2020: Mara and Phoenix look too cute during awards season.
In January 2020, Phoenix couldn't help but gaze at his beau on the Golden Globes red carpet, and who can blame him?
The couple was in great spirits, especially as Phoenix won Best Actor for his role in Joker.
The couple attended a protest organized by Jane Fonda in Los Angeles on February 7. Rooney's sister, actress Kate Mara, joined the couple for Fonda's Fire Drill Friday fossil fuel protest, along with other celebs including Amber Valletta and Rainn Wilson.
Phoenix stepped out solo at the SAG Awards and the BAFTAs (where he called out systemic racism), so we were already looking forward to seeing the happy couple hit the red carpet at the Oscars 2020.
Weeks later, the duo appeared together at the Academy Awards, as Phoenix is nominated for Best Actor. Mara wore a daring, sheer gown by Alexander McQueen while the Joker star wore a suit, bowtie, and sunglasses.
May 2020: The couple are expecting their first child together.
Though neither Mara nor Phoenix has commented yet on the news, according to Page Six, the couple are reportedly expecting a baby together. Following the close of awards season this year, the couple have kept a relatively low profile, with the two reportedly staying home in Los Angeles amid the coronavirus pandemic.
September 2020: They welcome the arrival of their son, named after Phoenix's late brother.
Director Victor Kossakovsky confirmed that Mara gave birth while speaking to the crowd at the Zurich Film Festival, per Entertainment Tonight.
Kossakovsky also announced that the couple named their "beautiful son" River, nodding to Joaquin's late brother, the actor River Phoenix.
March 2022: Phoenix refers to Mara as his wife.
The couple seems to have quietly tied the knot.
While speaking to Italian magazine Best Movie about his film C'mon C'mon, Phoenix referred to Mara as his "wife."
"[Director Mike Mills] invited me to his house and we started discussing why he wanted to make this film with me and eventually I listened to my wife, who is always right, and I agreed," the actor said, per Hello! magazine.
He also briefly mentioned his 18-month-old son, River, while reflecting on working with his costar, child actor Woody Norman.
"I let Woody guide me, he taught me a lot, I hope my son can grow up with his sensitivity," Phoenix said.
Amy Mackelden is a freelance writer, editor, and disability activist. Her bylines include Harper's BAZAAR, Nicki Swift, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, ELLE, The Independent, Bustle, Healthline, and HelloGiggles. She co-edited The Emma Press Anthology of Illness, and previously spent all of her money on Kylie Cosmetics.
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