Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara's Love Story

It took two movies together for them to fall in love and change each other’s lives, and soon they will be a husband and a wife. This is the inspiring love story of these two big-screen icons.

45-year-old Joaquin Phoenix has a lot to thank life for as of recently, something that is well deserved for the acclaimed actor, who had a very difficult childhood and is haunted by a devastating family loss.

Not only he has been awarded an Oscar for his outstanding performance in “Joker,” but he is also about to marry his beloved girlfriend and fellow actress 34-year-old Rooney Mara. This is how their love story went on.

FIRST MEETING

Rooney and Joaquin first met each other when they worked together in the 2013 film “Her,” on which the two played a couple in the process of divorce. But because of Rooney’s extreme shyness, Joaquin first thought that she despised him.

Nevertheless, Joaquin was interested enough to seek her friendship, and he went out of his way to look her up on the internet, with the two starting to exchange emails.

“We were just friends, email friends. I’d never done that. Never looked up a girl online,” Joaquin told Vanity Fair in 2019.

FINDING LOVE

Things remained friendly between the two until their work brought them together for a second time when they co-starred in “Mary Magdalene.” Released in 2017, the film started shooting in Italy the year before.

Joaquin played no other than Jesus Christ in the movie, while Rooney played the title character, and shortly after the film was completed, their relationship had evolved into a romance.

Early in 2017, rumors about Joaquin and Rooney dating started to circulate, but a representative of Joaquin denied that they had become more than friends since Rooney’s breakup with her former boyfriend Charlie McDowell hadn’t been confirmed at the time.

MAKING IT PUBLIC

In May 2017, Rooney and Joaquin made their first public appearance as a couple during the Cannes Film Festival, where not only they arrived arm in arm, but also Joaquin openly referred to her as his girlfriend at a press conference.

Then, in September, it surfaced that the couple was sharing a home in the Hollywood Hills.

“They don’t really like to go out. They mainly just like to be with each other as the two of them. They’re in their own bubble,” a source told US Weekly at the time.

PRETTY QUIET LIFE

As Joaquin explained in detail in an interview with The New York Times, Rooney and he led the simplest of lives in their shared home, when they are not away on location, worlds apart from what people expect from Hollywood stars.

The actor revealed that he wakes up every day at 6 a.m. and goes to sleep at 9 p.m., with his normal routine consisting of answering emails, play with his dog, taking karate classes, reading scripts and spending quiet quality time with Rooney.

The days on which Joaquin felt disconnected from everybody and everything and only found solace in drinking alcohol are long gone, and with Rooney by his side, he has found an entirely new meaning to life.

ENGAGEMENT

While an alleged insider told US Weekly in July 2019 that getting married wasn’t in the plans for Joaquin and Rooney because of their alternative lifestyle, the couple surprised everyone days later by confirming their engagement.

The news was confirmed by the same news outlet on July 21, when Joaquin and Rooney had been together for 3 years, following months of speculation since Rooney was seen wearing a large diamond ring in an outing.

When the two are going to tie the knot is yet to be announced, but when it happens, it will be the first time down the aisle for both celebrities.

A SHARED CONVICTION

Joaquin has been an outspoken vegan all his life, due to his strong compassion for animals, and he has used his platform to promote animal rights, a cause that he has in common with Rooney.

Rooney, who has described herself as a vegan since at least 2011, has addressed the issue of using animal products for clothing, creating a clothing line that didn’t involve harming animals in any way, called Hiraeth.

In June 2019, Rooney and Joaquin joined efforts and led together in the march to commemorate the 9th National Animal Rights Day in Hollywood. The annual activity is observed by activists in 30 cities every year.