CULTURE

Sarah Paulson Wishes Holland Taylor a Happy 76th Birthday With the “Most Authentic Picture” of Them

In honor of her girlfriend Taylor’s 76th birthday.


Sarah Paulson ‘Didn’t Choose to Fall in Love’ With Holland Taylor
John Shearer/Getty Images

Sarah Paulson may not care what you think about her relationship with Holland Taylor, but she does seem to care about making sure her girlfriend has an extra-special birthday. On Monday, Taylor turns 76, and in honor of the occasion, Paulson took to Twitter to pour out her heart—and to share what is, without a doubt, the best photo ever taken of her and Taylor (in a way).

“This was the most authentic picture of us on the Internet. Happy Birthday ⁦@HollandTaylor⁩ I love you wildly and forever,” Paulson tweeted. That “most authentic picture” of the two of them, as you’ve probably already guessed, was a sweet shot of two otters, hand in hand, sleeping while floating on their backs. Incredibly accurate, yes, and also, as one of Paulson’s Twitter followers so aptly put it, “otterly adorable.”

Paulson, 44, has been dating Taylor since 2015. Despite facing scrutiny throughout that time for the 30-year age gap between them, the pair have remained unaffected by any such criticism, with Paulson regularly reiterating her hope that their relationship serves as inspiration for others. “I do not want to be defined by who I share my bed, my home, my soul with,” she told Town & Country in early 2018. “My choices in life have been unconventional, and that’s my business. But 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 normalizing 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.”

More recently, in October 2018, Paulson told Elle, “I didn’t choose to fall in love with the person I fell in love with. But I think why it’s interesting to people is that on paper, it’s unconventional.” She continued, “For a person who might find themselves in a situation that they fear will be misperceived or judged, maybe they could see me living my life in a way that is authentic to me—just trying to be as real as possible. If that inspires anybody else, that can’t be a bad thing.”

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that she and Taylor are, indeed, otterly adorable.

Related: Sarah Paulson Is Hopeful That Her “Unconventional” Relationship With Holland Taylor Could Inspire Others