Have you seen A Quiet Place, yet? If not, you should. It's an incredible movie that's both emotionally devastating and absolutely terrifying. I've never found silence as tense as I did while shoving anxious fistfuls of popcorn in my mouth throughout the film. But the reason that it worked — the reason I was literally at the edge of my seat — was due in large part to Emily Blunt and John Krasinski’s body language in the performance.
The powerful chemistry and the connection they share leapt off the screen and made me really believe they were a couple facing horrifying circumstances. You root for them both on and off the screen, because knowing that they're a real couple with two children (like their character counterparts) blurs the line. And their romance IRL seems to be truly one for the ages. If there's any celeb couple I'm rooting for, it's these two.
A little back story: They first met through a friend in 2008. Krasinski told Ellen DeGeneres that at the time, he wasn't looking for a relationship, but when he met Emily that all changed. "I was so nervous," he said. "I was like, ‘Oh God, I think I’m going to fall in love with her.’ As I shook her hand I went, ‘I like you!'"
The two married in 2010, at George Clooney's swanky estate in Lake Como. (Celebrities! They're just like us! Ahem.) In 2014, the couple welcomed their first child (a daughter named Hazel) and two years later they had a second (a daughter named Violet). Along the way, they've continued to be adorable and gush about their love. "When I feel the support that I have from him, I feel invincible," Blunt told InStyle. "There's someone behind you on your good days, and someone in front of you on your bad days." So yeah, they're pretty much relationship goals.
Sure, they talk a good game, but could they possibly be as happy and in love as they seem? To get to the bottom of all things Blunt and Krasinski, I reached out to Patti Wood, body language expert and author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma to share what she sees when looking at their over the years.
In this photo, which was taken a few months after they got engaged, Wood sees a couple that's just happy to be together, and who wants to be connected. “I like that they’re both leaning in," Wood tells Elite Daily. "At least we see the top of that love V [which is where their hips create a V-shape], and there’s some overlapping of the arms and shoulders… So, that shows that they’re in sync.”
She also sees genuine, and more importantly, matching joy in the couple. “They’re both smiling and showing their upper teeth,” she says. “If you look at their faces they both have ‘up’ facial expressions. See the chubbiness above their cheeks? That and the little lines around the eyes tells you it’s a real smile, and I love that both of them have that full upper grin.”
In this photo, taken about a year after the couple were married, Wood sees that little has changed between the two. They are still just thrilled to be with one another and wanting stay close and connected. “Again, you see that matching upper teeth, kind of pooched out smile that they both have,” says Wood. “I like that her arm goes all the way around. You can see her fingers just at his waistline — her upper left hand — so she wants to be all the way around him to get him as close and around him as possible."
Wood sees John’s desire to reciprocate in the “most honest part of the body,” his feet. “If you look down at the feet, he’s walking and putting his weight in towards her…" Wood says. "He could be aimed at the camera and instead he’s side-by-side, wanting to be up against her and be towards her."
She adds, “If you look at the weight and alignment of the body, the weight and the step is towards her. You see that from the feet all the way up to the knee, all the way up to the waist and the body, and the way the head is, he’s walking to be close up and put his weight towards her.”
And what does that mean? Wood explains that it’s an indication that their connection is the most important thing for the couple.
“I love that it just captures them in a moment where they’re together and it’s not about the cameras," she said. "It’s about them having fun in that moment.”
In January 2013, when this photo was taken, Emily was pregnant with the couple’s first daughter, Hazel. If anything in this picture, Wood sees a couple that is even closer and more at ease. What she's immediately drawn to is not just that Emily is sitting in John’s lap, but the way that she is doing it, which Wood found unusual.
“A lot of times when you sit on somebody’s lap, you’re kind of down inside and you’re looking up, or you’re high up, and looking down,” she says. “In this case, she’s moved her body and she’s done that turn to the left and then turn over to the right, so that their heads can be close and on the same level. So it’s highly intimate.” Wood interprets that as a sign that, “she wants to be and feels like she’s on the same level as him.”
Wood says that this is a couple who is very connected and comfortable with each other. “He’s just happy [and at] ease… Her being on his lap is just so normal, so effortless, just so right," she says. "There’s no embarrassment, there’s no awkwardness in either of them to have that posture, which is highly unusual.”
In 2016, the couple was still going strong. Wood says that every inch of this image shows two people who are equally invested in their connection. She points out a series of alignments as evidence.
“If you look at their necks, they’re making an equitable effort to put their heads towards each other," she says. "And sometimes I see in couple photos where one person is making all the effort and the other person is kind of backing off. If you go nose to nose and you go mouth to mouth, there are straight lines between the mouths, straight lines between the noses, and straight lines between the eyes. So, that shows a great desire to be aligned and again, we’re seeing something that shows an equitable amount of love. That they love each other equally.”
In this most recent photo, taken at a screening of their film A Quiet Place, Wood continues to see a couple who can make even the most jaded of us believe in love. While they are kind of posed and frozen on the red carpet, the tilt of John's body is a dead giveaway about their dynamic to Wood.
“You see quite a bit of his leaning, see how if you go from the feet all the way up you see a slight lean towards her, we’ve got a slight overlap,” she says, adding that this shows his desire to be close and connected to her. But for Wood, the standout in this image is Emily’s expression. “My favorite part of this photo is the look on her face…" she says. "He makes her laugh. Just being with him, she’s got a little kid laugh on her face that’s just sweet.”
So, what is Wood’s takeaway? “Usually when I look at the arch of the relationship, I’m seeing the relationship disintegrate,” says Wood. “In this case, I’m just seeing consistency, that they make each other happy, that they’re very comfortable around each other, that he really just wants to be up and towards her throughout the photos, and that they’re comfortable in their intimacy with one another.” This all bodes well for our favorite celebrity couple! Protect them at all costs.
Love is alive!
