Every once in awhile, it’s nice to remember that love is real, and it is embodied by the relationship between Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor.
In a new cover story with The Edit (in which she, unrelatedly, looks amazing), Sarah Paulson talks about her roles as they’re cast by Ryan Murphy, who she claims likes artists who are a bit “off-center.” Asked if she sees herself that way, Paulson brings up some parts of her life that meet a lot of scrutiny, specifically her relationship with Holland Taylor who is 32 years older than her.
“I think so. My life choices are, um, unconventional. I’m with a much older person [her girlfriend of two years is actress Holland Taylor, 74] and people find that totally fascinating and odd, and, to me, it’s the least interesting thing about me,” she shrugs. “But I do feel a bit unconventional. I am a woman of a certain age who chose not to have children, and who has made my career my priority. I am the captain of my own ship, and I’ve never looked to anyone else to validate that, or tell me it’s okay.”
It isn’t “off-center” that Taylor and Paulson are in love! It’s great! They’re perfect! But being in love is so dang hard even when people aren’t reacting with disbelief or inappropriate levels of curiosity. Paulson says that at the start of her relationship, she was cautioned not to talk about it:
“Early on, when people found out I was with Holland, some said: ‘I think you have to be careful, I’m afraid it’s going to affect your career negatively’. I was like, what? It never occurred to me at all.”
Though it hadn’t occurred to her to be worried, once the idea was in her head, Paulson says she did feel a moment of doubt. After winning an Emmy in 2016, she wonder whether or not to send a message of love to Taylor during her acceptance speech.
“It occurred to me, should I not do that?” she says, still looking puzzled as to why it crossed her mind. “And then I thought, why would I not? The fact I’m having this thought is wrong. But I had a moment of societal concern; wondering if, maybe, people who didn’t know that about me would be like, wait, what?” She beams, broadly. “But then, you know, I did it anyway.”
Yes, she did.