Hollywood actor Joaquin Phoenix, 49, has sparked marriage rumours after publicly referring to his longtime partner, Rooney Mara, as his "wife" during a recent interview on the Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso podcast. While discussing the inspiration behind his 2020 Oscars speech, Phoenix mentioned both his "mom" and "wife," later clarifying that he was speaking about Mara, though he did not confirm their marital status.

Phoenix and Mara, who first met in 2012 while working on the film Her, didn’t begin dating until years later when they reconnected on the set of Mary Magdalene. The couple went public with their relationship in 2017 and became engaged in 2019. They welcomed their first child, River, in 2020, and earlier this year, they announced they were expecting their second.

Phoenix's latest film, Joker: Folie à Deux, was released in India on October 2.