- Sarah Paulson, 45, and Holland Taylor, 77, have been dating since 2015.
- Since then, Paulson and Taylor have been vocal about their love for one another.
- You can catch Taylor in the Netflix series Hollywood, and Paulson in Mrs. America and Ryan Murphy's Ratched.
Fact: Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor are just as captivating onscreen as they are offscreen. The actresses both appear on TV shows that premiered in 2020, which happened to be created by Ryan Murphy.
In addition to starring in Mrs. America on FX, Paulson played the titular character of Netflix's Ratched, an origin story for Nurse Ratched of One Flew Over the Cuckooo's Nest. Taylor has a memorable role in Hollywood, an alternate history of Hollywood's Golden Age.
In real life, Paulson and Taylor are notable for their lasting love for one another. Together since 2015, Paulson, 45, and Taylor, 77, have not only made LGBTQ relationships more prominent in Hollywood, but have opened the door for conversations about age gaps between romantic partners.
During the 2020 Emmys ceremony, which were held virtually, Paulson and Taylor tuned in from the home they share. Laughing and making private jokes on-camera, the couple's affection for one another was palpable.
Over the years, the couple has encountered public scrutiny regarding their 32-year age difference. In a 2016 interview with the New York Times, Paulsonâknown for her work on American Horror Storyâconfirmed her relationship with Taylor and explained how the public interest in her love life was unexpected.
âMy choices in romantic partners have not been conventional, and therefore the idea that it's âotherâ makes it compelling,â Paulson said. âIf my life choices had to be predicted based on what was expected from me from a community on either side, thatâs going to make me feel really straightjacketed, and I donât want to feel thatâŚwhat I can say absolutely is that I am in love, and that person happens to be Holland Taylor.â
During that interview, the Emmy-winning star specifically highlighted the fact that itâs their age gap that makes the relationship work. âI think thereâs a greater appreciation of time and what you have together and whatâs important, and it can make the little things seem very small,â she said. âIt puts kind of a sharp light mixed with a sort of diffused light on somethingâŚI canât say it any other way than thereâs a poignancy to it, and a heightened sense of time and the value of time.â
Similarly, Taylorâknown for Two and a Half Men and movies like Legally Blondeâhas expressed how shocking it was to see the world tune into her love life. âI was blindsided by the reaction to it,â she told InStyle in 2018.
Holland continued, âIâm from an older generation, and for me itâs quite surprising how people talk about personal things of any kind in the press. Itâs not natural to me. That doesnât mean itâs not good, itâs just taken some adjusting. And Sarah, of course, is from a different generation, sheâs very much of today. It was hard for me at first to go through that membrane of being a private person. But itâs been good for me to do it in such a lovely way.â
Funnily enough, Taylor actually kicked off their romantic relationship in the most modern of waysâon Twitter.
While the two had met a decade before they started datingâthey were each in separate relationships at the timeâit wasnât until an encounter at an event that their love blossomed.
âWe sort of breezed by one another and started following each other on Twitter andâŚâ Paulson said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, before her fellow guest Billy Eichner asked, âHolland Taylor slid into your DMs?â
âShe actually did,â Paulson said.
Ultimately, Paulson hopes their public-facing love speaks to others.
âI didnât choose to fall in love with the person I fell in love with. But I think why itâs interesting to people is that on paper, itâs unconventional,â she told Elle in 2018. âFor a person who might find themselves in a situation that they fear will be misperceived or judged, maybe they could see me living my life in a way that is authentic to meâjust trying to be as real as possible. If that inspires anybody else, that canât be a bad thing.â
While they donât shy away from putting their love for one another out there, it wasnât always that way. In a 2017 interview with The Edit, Paulson explained that her inner circle warned her about going public with their relationship.
âEarly on, when people found out I was with Holland, someone said: âI think you have to be careful, Iâm afraid itâs going to affect your career negatively.â I was like, what? It never occurred to me at all.â
She continued, âIt occurred to me, should I not do that? And then I thought, why would I not?...The fact that Iâm having this thought is wrong. But I had a moment of societal concern; wondering if, maybe, people who didnât know that about me would be like, 'Wait, what?' But then, you know, I did it anyway.â
Paulson occasionally acknowledges rumors about their relationshipâand discredits them. "People look at me and Holland and say, 'Mommy issues,' but I parent her as much as she parents me, so thatâs not it," she told The Sunday Times.
Essentially, they've always been vocally proud to be with one another. When Paulson won her first Emmy in 2016 for her portrayal of Marcia Clark in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, she gave Taylor a shoutout during her speech, saying, âI love you.â
In an art-imitating-life twist, Taylor's character in Hollywood becomes involved with a younger person (no spoilers). Referring to their love scene, Taylor tells OprahMag.com, "It was lovely to play that scene. It was a very romantic touch. Ryan [Murphy] does these daring things. You think, 'Really? Is that going to fly? He has an instinctive genius for what a character can do,'" Taylor says.
"It's wonderful for Ryan to cast older actors in these roles. To have us all intimately joined togetherâas if, why wouldn't we be?" Taylor continues. Like her Hollywood character, Taylor knows that love can transcend boundaries. She and Paulson's relationship is a perfect example.
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As the Senior Editor of OprahMag.com, I'm a jack-of-all-trades, overseeing our entertainment coverage (we cover TV shows like The Politician and Big Brother, movies such as J.Lo's Hustlers and Lena Waithe's Queen and Slim), features, news items, andâ as her number one fanâall of Lady Gaga's whereabouts. I proudly edit Coming Out, a series where LGBTQ+ change-makers reflect on self-acceptance. And I edit our Weird or Wellness series, which I highly recommend you read on the weekend. Prior to O, I began my career in the fashion department at Marie Claire, and eventually moved on to InStyle, where I dabbled in social media and covered events such as the Grammys, Toronto International Film Festival, and New York Fashion Week. A native of Miami, I received my journalism degree from the University of Miami. One time, Rosario Dawson complimented my hair and asked to touch it. I let her.
