It took the tragedy of 9/11 for Paul Bettany to ask 'Snowpiercer' star Jennifer Connelly to marry him
Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly's 19-year-long relationship — which includes two years of knowing each other as colleagues and 17 years of being married — is a true embodiment of love in times of fleeting romance. They got engaged before even dating. Paul and Jennifer first worked together on the sets of 'A Beautiful Mind' in 2001 but it wasn't immediately that the now-married couple started dating. It took for the film to be wrapped up until they could take the next steps. However, it wasn't until the events of 9/11 that Paul realized what Jennifer really meant to him.
As he watched the towers crumble under the force of terror, the 'Avengers: End Game' star's instinct was to call Jennifer to learn of her whereabouts. A couple of years ago, in a chat show with Larry King, Paul narrated how he was in Tuscany buying groceries when he witnessed the horrific event unfold on TV at a shop. "At that moment, my mind was changed forever and I ran back to this house and spent two days trying to call this woman that I sort of barely knew. And I remember very clearly thinking to myself 'what are you doing?' I realized I was in love. So, I finally got her on the phone and I said I am coming over and let's get married. And that's really what happened, we had never dated," he shared in this video.
Jennifer said yes in an instant and that was because she did have a liking for him ever since they met for the first reading of their first film together. "I thought, 'Hmm, he's really good, that guy'," she told Entertainment Tonight. But what got her to fall in love with him was his guitaring skills. "He started playing guitar and it was all over," she admitted. The couple shares two kids, Stellan and Agnes Lark. Jennifer has a son, Kai, from a previous marriage.
On the work front, Jennifer will be playing Melanie Cavill, the head of hospitality, in 'Snowpiercer.' It's quite the ride, figuratively and literally. The sci-fi drama centers its plot on a 10-mile-long train that must circle the globe with 3,000 survivors aboard to be able to come to terms with an ice age.