Sam Taylor-Johnson makes rare comment about 23-year age gap with husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson

The romance raised eyebrows when they first got together – him at 18, her at 42. Now, Sam Taylor-Johnson has offered a rare peek into their life.

Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Picture: Fergus McDonald/John Phillips; Getty Images

Sam Taylor-Johnson says the people criticising her relationship with Aaron Taylor-Johnson are “abusive” trolls who are “upset” with their own lives.

The 57-year-old acclaimed director – who is 23 years older than her actor husband, 33 – said in a new interview that their much talked about age gap “never” comes up in their marriage.

“I mean, it’s coming up now because you’re asking,” she told The Guardian.

“And it comes up on the outside perspective of people who don’t know us, because I guess people will always … we’re a bit of an anomaly, but it’s that thing. After 14 years you just think, surely by now it doesn’t really matter?”

The couple at the world premiere of Back to Black in London this week. Picture: John Phillips/Getty Images

The Fifty Shades of Grey filmmaker noted that their relationship has already lasted longer than her first marriage to art dealer Jay Jopling, 60, whom she was married to from 1997 to 2008, reports Page Six.

“So, if you think of it in that way, then the age gap doesn’t really make any difference,” she said.

Sam also spoke candidly about her dealings with “abusive” people online who have been critical of her romance with Aaron, whom she met on the set of her 2009 film, Nowhere Boy.

“It’s just there, but it doesn’t mean anything,” she said of the social media commentary

“It is just people upset with their own sadness; with misgivings about their own life,” she went on, noting that her children don’t seem to “care” about the criticism either.

“They see two loving, happy parents, so it doesn’t really register. They just think people are a bit mean, or mad.”

They first met in 2009 on the set of Nowhere Boy. Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

The mother of four — who shares Wylda, 13, and Romy Hero, 11, with Aaron, and Angelica, 25, and Jessie, 15, with Jopling — said she has always remained confident in her relationship.

“If I had been cynical for a second, it wouldn’t have worked. If I had questioned anything, it would never have worked,” she said.

“I’m quite instinctual. I’ve gone feet first into everything in my life. I’m always, ‘This seems amazing,’ and I jump straight in and go through the experience, whether good or bad. It’s definitely a ‘F**k it, let’s go with it’ approach. And I’m a great believer that the heart overrides everything. Love conquers all.”

Aaron, who described his wife as “a great filmmaker and a wonderful storyteller” in an interview last month, previously admitted that the ongoing criticism of their marriage was challenging.

“There’s a protectiveness that I feel,” he told Rolling Stone UK.

“I think it’s really difficult. There’s also part of me that feels like if something didn’t work, I’m the one that’s responsible,” the Kick-Ass star continued.

“People see and perceive this thing around my career, and that’s OK. But I’m just trying to juggle my family and my work. I’m doing normal life; dentist appointments. Career doesn’t necessarily take a back seat, but it takes a different thought behind the choices that you make.”

The couple tied the knot in 2012.

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.