50 Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson slams age gap critics

Sam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who have two children, have a 23-year age gap. Photo / Getty

Sam Taylor-Johnson's marriage to Aaron Taylor-Johnson "works better than her last" relationship.

The 50-year-old filmmaker has hit back at those who slam the age gap between her and the Avengers: Age of Ultron star, who is 23 years her junior, and insists it has been a lot more successful than her other romances.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: "If I gave a second thought to other people, I would be the unhappiest person, probably still in a miserable marriage.

"People like to talk about it. I'm like, 'Yeah, but it works better than my last marriage.' It's lasted longer than a lot of my friends' marriages. We're already a team. We are already parents that run our house, so when we work together it's the best."

Meanwhile, Aaron - who has Wylda, six, and Romy, five, with Sam - previously insisted he doesn't notice the age gap between him and his wife.

He said: "I don't engage with [talk about the age gap]. At an early age when I saw articles, it just f***ed me up ... What does it even f***ing matter about our age? I never noticed it when we fell in love with each other.

"And I don't notice it now ... We just instinctively gel ... People who know me call me Benjamin Button - they think I'm an old soul and she's a young soul."

The pair wed in 2012 when the actor was in his early 20s and Aaron says he had no issue with getting married at an early age because he was keen to have children with Sam as soon as possible.

He added: "I met Sam and I knew I wanted to be with her. And it got clearer, each step ... I wanted kids, we had kids and I was really into that, taking time off and involving myself in the bubble of her pregnancy."

- Bang! Showbiz