Sarah Paulson thought Holland Taylor was "the most beautiful woman". Then Holland slid into her DMs.

In 2005, a then 62-year-old Holland Taylor – best known for her starring roles in Two and a Half Men and Legally Blonde – met a woman named Sarah Paulson.

Sarah is also an accomplished actor, and when they crossed paths at a dinner party in New York, both were in committed relationships. There was a spark, but neither woman thought much about it, not seeing one another again until years down the track.

Then Holland decided to make the first move, by following Sarah on Twitter. And after a few messages back and forth, they decided to see one another. They've been together ever since, confirming their relationship in 2015 via a Twitter post.

When captions fail... pic.twitter.com/b6ECRSA6D3

— Holland Taylor (@HollandTaylor) November 17, 2015

Reflecting on the start of their relationship, Sarah said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen: "We sort of breezed by one another, and then started following each other on Twitter, and then… Yeah, it's pretty great."

In the early days of their relationship, much was said about the 32-year age-gap between the pair. 

In an interview at the time with radio station WNYC, Holland said she had never expected to fall in love with someone younger like Sarah, but that it felt right. It was also one of the first times she had spoken publicly about her sexuality. For Sarah, she has publicly dated women before, saying she doesn't like to label her sexuality. 

"I haven't 'come out' because I am out. I live out," Holland said.

"There's a very big age difference between us which I'm sure shocks a lot of people, and it startles me. But as they say, 'If she dies, she dies'," Holland joked.

Sarah has often been the one asked the most about the age-gap in interviews, saying she is often accused of having "mummy issues" for dating an older woman. 

She explained to Harper's Bazaar that comment had more to do "with our own ageist thinking and the idea that to be old is to cease to have any desire" than anything else.

"Anybody says anything about any person I love in a way that is disrespectful or cruel and I want to cut a b*tch," Sarah said in the interview.

"There's a poignancy to being with someone older… I think there's a greater appreciation of time and what you have together and what's important, and it can make the little things seem very small. It puts a kind of sharp light mixed with a sort of diffused light on something."

Holland Taylor speaking about Sarah Paulson. Post continues below.

From all the responses, DMs and online opinions the couple have received about their relationship, both have said it's all positive for the most part.

But sometimes, the age-gap is addressed with judgement. And that's something Sarah has said frustrates her.

"I do not want to be defined by who I share my bed, my home, my soul with," she said to Town & Country. "I do want to live responsibly and truthfully without hiding. It's complicated, because there is a lot of hate in this world, and a lot of good can come from quote-unquote normalising something for people who don't see it as normal. Our relationship represents a certain amount of hope and risk. Maybe there's something brave in it. Maybe it encourages others to make brave choices. What else can I say? We love each other."

In 2016, Sarah again opened up about the relationship to the New York Times.

"I can say absolutely that I am in love, and that person happens to be Holland Taylor. My choices in romantic partners have not been conventional, and therefore the idea that it is 'other' makes it compelling. I had a complicated home life, and my teachers, predominantly my theatre teachers and my English teachers, were very dedicated to taking care of me in a particular way," she reflected. 

"And in doing so, I think I developed a very easy rapport with people older than myself."

For Holland, she has said that dating someone younger has its own set of interesting quirks - namely the fact they're from different generations, with different upbringings and different reflections on history. But it makes sense for them.

"I must say it has to be part of what has to be the most wonderful thing in my life, is the whole embrace of this wonderful relationship which makes everything else makes sense," she said on Radio Andy. 

Image: Getty. 

"I can't talk about my life today and not mention this wonderful love. I am the luckiest person in the world."

Neither Holland nor Sarah have had children, with Sarah saying her decision not to have kids was a purposeful one.

"I don't want to be torn," she explained in an interview.

"I don't want to look at my child and say, 'You're the most extraordinary thing that ever happened to me, but also the death knell'. It was hard for my mother to be everywhere, to come to the school play and make a living. I've always known what I wanted out of my professional life, and I didn't want to turn around and go, 'If I had only made the choice to just dedicate this time in my life to me'. It's selfish, but I think the word selfish gets a bad rap."

One of the couple's most iconic moments was when Sarah won Outstanding Lead in a Limited Series at the 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards for her work in The People vs. OJ Simpson.

"Hi, Holland – Holland Taylor, if you're watching, I love you," Sarah said in her acceptance speech.

Holland then went to Twitter to respond to the declaration, writing: "If I'm watching...?? If I'm WATCHING??? YES, I'm watching!!! Good LORD! ... I LOVE you!!!"

And there are still plenty of love notes and images of the two shared via social media, as per how the relationship began. 

They love to go to movie premieres together, celebrate New Year's Eve with plenty of party hats, and taking photos together. And of course, posting about each other on social media. Sarah posted on Instagram wishing her partner a happy birthday, writing, "Love of my life. The one. The only one. January 14th is my favourite day of the year – a day to unabashedly celebrate you @hollandvtaylor I am the luckiest of the lucky. I love you only. Happy Birthday magical poet darling."

And nine years on from their first date, Sarah said Holland continues to be "the most exquisitely beautiful woman" she has ever met.

Feature Image: Instagram @mssarahcatharinepaulson.

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