When Sarah Paulson's friends found out that she and Holland Taylor had taken their relationship
to the next level, they warned her about going public with their love for one another.
They told her she'd have to be careful, and they were afraid it was going to affect her
career negatively.
The couple has a whopping 32 year age difference, and naturally, their relationship received
a mountain of criticism.
While they've done their best to brush off the negativity, that doesn't mean that the
rest of the world has backed off.
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unconventional Hollywood power couples!
"I didn't choose to fall in love with the person I fell in love with.
But I think why it's interesting to people is that on paper, it's unconventional," Sarah
Paulson shared, opening up about her relationship with Holland Taylor.
Sarah Paulson, 45, and Holland Taylor, 77, have been dating since 2015, and since then,
Paulson and Taylor have been vocal about their love for one another.
They have not only made LGBTQ+ relationships more prominent in Hollywood but have opened
the door for conversations about age gaps between romantic partners.
The couple met way back in 2005 at a dinner party, years before they eventually started
dating; however, Paulson was dating actress Cherry Jones at the time.
Cherry is 18 years Sarah's senior, and by then, the former couple had been together
for seven years.
Sarah and Cherry Jones confirmed their relationship in 2005 when they celebrated Cherry's
Tony Award wins with a kiss that was broadcasted all over the world.
There's no doubt that they were in love.
But, Sarah had just landed her first big TV part, and looking back, she admitted that
she was nervous the kiss would backfire on her career.
Rumors began to surface that the duo had split when Cherry didn't thank Sarah in her 2009
Emmys speech.
Not much later, Cherry admitted to US Magazine that after seven years together, they had
broken up: "It's the happiest break up that's ever been.
We grew so much together and now we can send each other off with a kiss and great love."
Before that, the actress had also dated men, including the actor and playwright Tracy Letts,
who is nine years older, and they had also been engaged.
The couple announced their engagement in the late '90s, but they called it quits shortly
after.
In an interview, she explained, "I was young - 24.
We loved each other, it just didn't work out."
However, despite dating both men and women, Paulson was always careful not to label her
sexuality because she never wanted to face criticism should she change her dating habits
later on.
However, in 2013 Paulson explained that she would describe her sexuality as 'fluid.'
When the American Horror Story star first laid eyes on Holland, she told The New York
Times that she was instantly blown away by Taylor's beauty the first time they met, confessing
that Taylor was "probably the most exquisitely beautiful woman" she'd ever seen.
"It's a long story.
We met a very, very long time ago.
I was with someone else; she was, too," Sarah explained.
Regardless of their commitment to other relationships, sparks flew between them, and the chemistry
was undeniable.
Paulson said that they started following each other on Twitter after crossing paths once
again in 2015.
Holland slid into Sarah's DMs, and the rest is history.
Fans were surprised to find out that it was Taylor who made the first move on the actress.
And with that, Sarah could only say, "She actually did.
Yeah, it's pretty great," - Although she only shared that info a year into their relationship.
Before opening up to the public about their romance, the couple kept things on the down-low
during their first few months together, and while fans could only speculate, both actresses
were careful not to confirm anything at first.
In November that same year, Taylor confirmed she was in a relationship with a woman who
was younger than her, without giving Paulson's name.
She confessed that it was the "most wonderful and extraordinary thing" that happened to
her life.
"There's a very big age difference between us which I'm sure shocks a lot of people,
and it startles me," she admitted.
Later that month, she posted a photo of Paulson dressed in a ballgown during a wardrobe fitting,
writing "When captions fail..." — immediately making fans speculate that Paulson was the
unspecified girlfriend.
When it comes to her own sexuality, Holland explained that she's never "come out" because
she never felt the need to.
"I haven't come out because I am out, I live out."
Despite all the digging we did, there wasn't much information about Taylor's dating history.
While the actress had never openly spoken about being attracted to women in the past,
she also came from a generation where same-sex relationships weren't something the world
was open to accepting or even discussing during that time.
So it's possible that Holland had perhaps kept her relationships with other women in
her past top secret.
Shortly after Holland's interview, there was even more speculation around whether she and
Paulson were an item.
Paulson shared that Taylor was her (quote) "favorite actress" on Twitter after watching
her in a performance of "Ripcord" in Manhattan.
In a 2016 interview with The New York Times, Paulson finally decided to open up about her
relationship with Taylor for the first time, confirming to fans all over the world that
they were indeed a couple and very much in love.
"What I can say absolutely is that I am in love, and that person happens to be Holland
Taylor."
The actress also discussed their age difference and why it works for their relationship.
Sarah went on to say that she found the attention over her relationship very "surreal," especially
when it came to their age gap.
She explained that she felt like there was a greater appreciation of the time that they
have together, and they're able to focus on what's important.
However, despite the love and support they received from fans online, it became difficult
to ignore the backlash they received too.
"Believe me, there have been plenty of young people on the internet who have tweeted horrifying
things to me about it, and who don't support it and who are so cruel.
So it's just a bit of a dance.
But once I try to not let into my brain too often."
Sarah explained.
Taylor has also opened up about the public eye on their relationship, stating that she
was completely blindsided by the attention that they received.
"I'm from an older generation and for me it's quite surprising how people talk about personal
things of any kind in the press."
However, the actress did add that she felt like the luckiest person in the world and
that it was impossible to talk about her life and not mention the wonderful love she has
for Sarah.
Although Paulson said that most of the public's reactions to her relationship are positive,
she doesn't tolerate anything negative or nasty comments about her partner.
"Anybody says anything about any person I love in a way that is disrespectful or cruel
and I want to cut a bitch," Sarah explained.
However, she admitted that she hoped that having her relationship in the public eye
would help erase some of the stigmas around age differences in relationships.
"I do want to live responsibly and truthfully without hiding.
It's complicated, because there is a lot of hate in this world, and a lot of good can
come from quote-unquote normalizing something for people who don't see it as normal," she
said.
At the 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards, Paulson won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited
Series for her role as prosecutor Marcia Clark in American Crime Story: The People v. O.J.
Simpson.
Although Taylor wasn't in attendance, Paulson still gave her a shout-out during her acceptance
speech, as well as earlier on the red carpet: "Hi, Holland — Holland Taylor, if you're
watching, I love you."
In response, Taylor tweeted, "If I'm watching … ?? If I'm WATCHING???
YES, I'm watching — !!! good LORD!
… I LOVE you!!!"
When it comes to love and relationships, Paulson said that she hopes that her unconventional
relationship will inspire others to follow their hearts.
She explained that for anyone that might find themselves in a situation that they fear would
be misperceived or judged, that they should see her living her life honestly and openly.
She had always tried to be as real as possible.
She added, "If that inspires anybody else, that can't be a bad thing."
For Taylor, she confessed that she feels like "it's kind of a mystery" to her why Paulson
is still with her.
"I'm surprised by Sarah.
I mean, that we love each other and respond to each other this way is not the surprise,
but that she would make a commitment like this and that she would share her life with
me is a constant surprise every day really," she said.
She added that she's aware that a large age difference can be a challenge for any relationship,
and she thinks that Sarah is incredibly brave for living her truth and wanting to share
their relationship with the world.
So, whenever she feels scared, she just follows the lead of the woman that she loves, and
she couldn't feel more blessed.
She continued saying that Paulson is "at the center of her life."
The couple is still happy and going strong despite all the hate they may receive.
The most important thing to them both is that they've found happiness in each other's arms
and nothing else matters beyond that.
They're spending quality time with one another, and during the international pandemic, they
even found a way to improvise some new living arrangements.
While the pair live together, they still own their own houses, meaning that they were able
to spend time alone as and when they chose to during the lockdown.
We couldn't be happier for both Holland and Sarah, and we hope that their special love
brings them all the joy that they both deserve!