Joaquin Phoenix is one of the most private actors in Hollywood. Always refusing to talk about himself, he's walked out from several interviews and only speaks publicly about his vegan advocacy. So when the actor was in the spotlight for his Oscar-winning performance in Joker, curious fans were surprised to find out that he's been living with his Mary Magdalene co-star and real-life partner, Rooney Mara.
The Gladiator star had only been in rumored flings and a three-year relationship with Liv Tyler in the '90s. But it's with Mara that Phoenix found a family. In 2020, they welcomed a baby boy whom they named after the actor's late brother, River. Both low-key and passionate activists, the couple is obviously a match made in heaven.But when they first met on the set of Her, Phoenix actually thought the actress didn't like him. Here's why.
The Truth About Their First Meeting
Her was a critically acclaimed movie that brought Phoenix a lot of attention in the industry. The 2013 sci-fi drama brought out the actor's range. Little did he know, it would also bring him the love of his life. The Master star was immediately taken by the actress. But he thought she didn't like him or even hated him. As it turned out, she was just shy.
"She’s the only girl I ever looked up on the internet," Phoenix told Vanity Fair in 2019. "We were just friends, email friends. I’d never done that. Never looked up a girl online." It's kinda ironic since his character in Her falls in love with a computer system.
Despite Phoenix's little crush on the Carol star, he stayed in the friend zone until they worked again in 2017 for Mary Magdalene. They tried to keep the courtship under wraps, but speculations quickly circulated in the media. The couple finally confirmed their relationship when they were seen hugging at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
It was a casual gesture and neither of them made a comment about it. However, since the press had been onto them for a while at that point, all eyes were on them the whole time. They even saw Phoenix place his hand on Mara's leg as he was called for the Best Actor award. It was for his performance in You Were Never Really Here.
The Truth About Their Live-In Situation
Though they now have a baby together, a source close to the couple said that they don't plan on getting married. In 2018, the insider said, that they were "so in love" but were "never going to get married because they think marriage is too mainstream." The two continue to share a home in Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.
However, there were speculations that Phoenix had proposed to Mara in 2019. The actress was seen wearing a sparkly jewel on her ring finger. Of course, they didn't make any statement on the rumors again — the same way they dodged questions about expecting their first child in 2020 which turned out to be true.
How They Plan To Raise Their Son
The pair has been focused on raising their son these days. Viktor Kossakovsy, the executive producer for the documentary Gunda starring Phoenix, revealed that the actor couldn't attend the 2020 Zurich Film Festival because "He just got a baby... he cannot promote [the film] right now."
The couple recently shared what they've learned in parenting so far and how they plan on raising their son, River. Even though the actors are both vegan, Phoenix said that he's "not going to impose my belief on my child... I don't think that's right."
The actor still hopes that River will turn out to be vegan but he vows to empower his son to make his own choice. That is by "[educating] him about the reality." That means no McDonald's for the little Phoenix. "I'm not going to indoctrinate him with the idea that McDonald's have a Happy Meal because there's nothing f--king happy about that meal," said the Ladder 49 star.
He added that he would start telling River about animal cruelty as early as possible. He explained: "I'm not going to tell him that it's OK to read books about all the wonderful little farm animals, and they say ‘oink oink oink' and ‘moo moo moo', and not tell him that that's what a hamburger is." According to the actor, he's simply not "going to perpetuate the lie" and that he's "also not going to force [River] to be vegan. I'll support him. That's my plan." Fair enough.
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