Mandy Moore is a modern kind of gal—in more ways than one.
The singer and This Is Us star recently opened up to InStyle about her off-screen love story with husband Taylor Goldsmith, and in recounting it, she admitted that she would never have guessed that their social media introduction would have ultimately led to marriage.
“We have a modern kind of love story,” she told the magazine of their digital meet-cute. “… if someone would have told me three years ago, ‘That’s your future husband, and you’re going to meet him through Instagram,’ I would have thought that they were absolutely bonkers. It proves that you have to stay open-minded because you just never know.”
Moore, 34, ostensibly made the first move in the pair’s relationship after she posted two images of the cover of Goldsmith’s band Dawes’ latest album to Instagram. The 33-year-old singer, in turn, saw the posts and reached out to Moore with a friendly message, and their relationship took off from there, with emails back and forth and then, eventually, a first in-person date.
Fast-forward two and a half years later, and Goldsmith made their relationship official by dropping to one knee and proposing to Moore at their home in September 2017. They married in a private, boho-chic backyard wedding just over a year later, in November 2018. (Moore was previously married to fellow singer Ryan Adams; the pair split in 2015).
The This Is Us star told InStyle that as a result of her own experience, she feels like it’s important to dispel any sort of residual stigmas surrounding online dating.
“We shouldn’t have any judgment about what helps people find one another,” she said. “I’ve met lots of friends on Instagram too. We live in such a crazy, exhausting world, I think it’s perfectly logical that this is how we connect with each other. It’s how we all communicate now anyway, so it doesn’t feel weird to me that it’s a way you can find a relationship that will really last.”
Regardless of how relationships begin, Moore said, referencing her character Rebecca and Jack’s epic first meeting across a crowded bar, what really matters is the depth of the love between the two people and how they work together to overcome life’s obstacles. Ultimately, she said, she feels like Rebecca and Jack are her ultimate #RelationshipGoals.
THIS IS US — “I Call Marriage” Episode 114 — Pictured: (l-r) Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson, Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson — (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)
THIS IS US — “I Call Marriage” Episode 114 — Pictured: (l-r) Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson, Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson — (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)
“The first season painted Jack in this other-worldly, superhero light, but I think as the show has continued on, you realized that he’s fallible and human,” she said. “He has made mistakes and has secrets just like all of us do. What I love is that they can still be considered couples goals even though they’re both complex, three-dimensional human beings.”
In fact, she said, being a part of This Is Us and witnessing (and playing!) the sort of love that she aspires toward helps to keep her on track to being her best self.
“I’ve been in this business for almost 20 years, and I know that I have the best jo of my lifetime right now,” she said. “Now I’m also married and I want to have a family, so I’m always trying to operate as my best self.”
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