celebrity

Pregnancy rumours and an engagement: Inside Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara's relationship.

For years, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara have kept their relationship intensely private.

The couple, who took their relationship public for the first time in 2017, are famously quiet about their relationship.

In fact, when the couple walked the red carpet at the 2020 Golden Globes together, many viewers admitted they didn’t even know the pair were together.

joaquin phoenix rooney mara
Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara at the Golden Globes. Image: Getty.
joaquin phoenix rooney mara
Image: Getty.
ADVERTISEMENT

Phoenix, who won a Golden Globe for Best Actor – Drama for his appearance in Joker, grew emotional when he thanked Mara during his acceptance speech.

"Todd, you were such an amazing friend and collaborator, you convinced me to do this movie," he said, thanking Joker director Todd Phillips. "I'm such a pain in the ass, I cannot believe you put up with me."

"Rooney, I love you," he added, tearfully.

ADVERTISEMENT

Phoenix previously won a Golden Globe for his appearance in Walk the Line in 2006 alongside Reese Witherspoon.

Over the years, the 45-year-old, who has been described as the "most fascinating actor" in Hollywood, has appeared in Gladiator, The Master, and Hotel Rwanda, earning him a number of award nominations.

Rooney Mara, on the other hand, is a star in her own right.

ADVERTISEMENT

Over the years, she's appeared in The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Side Effect and Carol, which earned her multiple awards and countless nominations.

Now, the couple are reportedly expecting their first child together.

According to a source who spoke to Page Six, Mara may be as far as six months along in her pregnancy.

Despite the claims, representatives for both Phoenix, 45, and Mara, 35, haven't yet responded to requests for comment from the media.

Phoenix and Mara first met on the set of Spike Jonze's Her in 2013.

The movie, which starred Phoenix in the main role, followed Theodore's (Phoenix) separation from Catherine (Mara), as he falls in love with an operating system named Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).

In an interview with Vanity Fair in November 2019, Phoenix admitted that he initially thought Mara hated him while filming Her. He soon learned, however, that she was "just shy".

"She's the only girl I ever looked up on the internet," he told the publication.

"We were just friends, email friends. I'd never done that. Never looked up a girl online."

joaquin phoenix rooney mara
Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara in Her. Image: Getty.
ADVERTISEMENT
joaquin phoenix rooney mara
Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara in Mary Magdalene. Image: Getty.
ADVERTISEMENT

Several years later, Phoenix and Mara reunited on the set of biblical drama Mary Magdalene in 2016.

The movie, which followed the relationship Jesus was rumoured to have had with Mary Magdalene, starred Phoenix as Jesus and Mara as Mary Magdalene.

It was around this time that rumours began to swirl about a possible relationship between the pair.

In early 2017, the couple took their relationship public at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival.

While promoting his film You Were Never Really Here, Phoenix and Mara made their public debut at the festival's closing ceremony.

Several months later, a new profile on Phoenix in The New York Times confirmed the pair were living together in the Hollywood Hills.

In the profile, he shared they enjoy meditating, relaxing with their dogs Oskar and Soda, and even binge-watching Netflix.

"He watched the 10-hour true-crime doc The Staircase recently because Mara wanted to," the publication shared.

ADVERTISEMENT

Watch the trailer for Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix. Post continues below.

In July 2018, a report in The Cut claimed Phoenix and Mara are "never" going to get married.

"They're never going to get married because they think marriage is too mainstream," a source told Us Weekly, according to the publication.

"Joaquin transforms all his girlfriends into being holistic, vegan, spiritual and into saving the world."

Part of the source's claims were correct. Phoenix, who has been vegan from the age of three, is one of the most prolific animal rights activists in Hollywood.

Mara, who is also vegan, joined Phoenix in leading a march for National Animal Rights Day in West Hollywood in June 2019, as they walked the streets carrying the bodies of dead birds in their hands.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Rain Phoenix (@rainjphoenix) on

ADVERTISEMENT


The rumours published in The Cut about their marriage plans, however, weren't exactly true.

In May 2019, Mara was spotted wearing a diamond ring on her left hand, sparking rumours that the pair were engaged.

Two months later, the couple confirmed their engagement.

Interestingly, Phoenix actually faked his own engagement back in 2014, when he announced that he was marrying his yoga instructor on the Late Show with David Letterman.

"I think like my life's so boring, and it seemed like something exciting to talk about, and I wanted the audience to like me," he told Good Morning America, explaining why he faked the news. "They really like people getting married."

ADVERTISEMENT

Amid the release of the critically-acclaimed Joker, Phoenix and Mara made several public appearances together.

In August 2019, the pair attended the premiere of the film at the Venice Film Festival.

joaquin phoenix rooney mara
Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara arrive at the Venice Film Festival. Image: Getty.

The next month, at the Toronto International Film Festival, Phoenix thanked Mara on stage, calling the 34-year-old his "filthy dragon".

ADVERTISEMENT

"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," he said.

Most recently, Phoenix and Mara are partly responsible for the 2020 Golden Globes deciding to serve a completely vegan meal at the show.

"Joaquin and Rooney Mara sort of organised that. In the vegan mafia, Joaquin and I have known each other for decades – and I don’t know if I’m even allowed to say this – but I know that he was one of the people who helped arrange that. I don’t know if it was predominantly him or with other people, but he had mentioned to me a while ago that he was working on it," Moby told Page Six.

Joaquin's representative confirmed that he was behind the change to go vegan at the Golden Globes, adding, "By acknowledging animal agriculture’s role in the degradation of our planet and boldly taking measures to do its part to reduce harm, the [ Hollywood Foreign Press Association] has shown great leadership."

Feature Image: Getty.

This post was originally published on January 7, 2020, and updated on May 19, 2020.

For more on this topic:


Sign up for our weekly "TV and Movies" newsletter. Every week, our Entertainment Editor Laura Brodnik gives you a backstage pass to the best movies, TV shows and celebrity interviews.