The ‘Little Women’ stars secretly tied the knot in Edinburgh, Scotland in July 2024
Duncan McGlynn/Getty
Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden on Jan. 14, 2019
Saoirse Ronan is offering a glimpse into her private relationship.
In an interview with USA Today, the American-Irish actress, 30, made a rare comment about how her husband, Jack Lowden, has changed her life, which she said was previously consumed by work.
“I feel like I’m part of a group, which I never thought I would have,” Ronan, who secretly tied the knot in July, told the outlet. “I used to think, ‘You’ll never have friends. You’ll never have a partner.’ I was so in my own world, in a lot of ways. So now, to feel like I’ve got a very rich personal and social life — it’s so precious to me.”
The couple, who have been notoriously private about their relationship, met on the set of 2018’s Mary Queen of Scots. Lowden, 34, played the queen’s second husband, Lord Darnley.
The two first sparked engagement rumors last October when Ronan stepped out with a diamond ring on her left hand at the Louis Vuitton Womenswear Spring-Summer 2024 show in Paris. The following July, PEOPLE confirmed their marriage in Edinburgh, Scotland.
In September, they made their first red carpet appearance as a married couple in coordinating navy blue outfits at the Emmy Awards.
Amy Sussman/Getty
Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 15, 2024
While speaking to USA Today, Ronan also said, “My life has become so much more than just work.” She added, “For a long time, that’s all I did; that’s how I met people and made sense of the world.” But according to the outlet, she now has a “beautiful network” of friends.
Lowden and the Lady Bird star, meanwhile, are producers of the 2024 adaptation of The Outrun, which is based on Amy Liptrot’s 2016 memoir about the author’s recovery from alcoholism. Ronan also stars as Rona in the film, and is currently back on the promotional trail for the first time since 2019’s Little Women.
The couple is also searching for other scripts to transform for the big screen — particularly stories set in Scotland, where Lowden is from.
Ronan told the outlet that as collaborators, “Jack is a lot calmer than I am. He’s my voice of reason. But as a duo, we’ve both been on film sets our whole lives, so we have an appreciation of what we’re asking actors to do. We always want them to feel safe.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Similarly, in 2022, Ronan told PEOPLE that she and the Slow Horses star “have very similar tastes.”
“I completely trust his eye,” she said at the time. “And I know when he says something’s working, it really is, because he doesn’t ever sugarcoat anything. So I think that really helps, having someone that you really trust. And he’s a sort of typical Scot, where if there’s a problem, he’s the first one to try and solve it.”
Ronan also revealed to USA Today that she would like to act with her husband again, saying, “Jack didn’t want to for a long time, but I’ve now convinced him that’s a great idea. I’d really like to do something together on stage.”
