Joaquin Phoenix has recently sparked marriage rumours with his longtime partner, Rooney Mara. On his Sunday appearance on the Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso podcast, the Joker star was discussing his 2020 Oscars speech when he referred to the 39-year-old actress as his “wife” publicly for the first time.

Joaquin Phoenix sparks marriage rumours with Rooney Mara

Phoenix told host Fragoso that he got the inspiration for his acceptance speech while he “was talking with my mom and my wife.” Moments later, the 49-year-old called the Carol star by her first name, confirming that he was indeed talking about her. “Rooney was like, 'That's what you should say!'” he said. Despite the podcast being the first time he called her wife, Phoenix refrained from giving a clarification on his alleged marital status.

The Gladiator actor first met Mara in 2012 while working together on the set of Spike Jonze's drama film Her. They didn't get together at the time but later reunited on the set of Mary Magdalene. In 2017, they made their relationship public and went on to get engaged in 2019. While they have mostly been private about their relationship, Phoenix said in a rare interview the same year he got engaged, “She’s the only girl I ever looked up on the internet.”

In 2020, they welcomed their first child, 4-year-old son River, who they named after the Walk the Line actor's late brother, who died aged 23 of a drug overdose in 1993. Earlier this year, the couple announced that they were expecting their second child. Back in February, Mara flaunted her baby bump at the 74th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany.

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