Since their 2013 wedding, Aaron Paul and Lauren Parsekian have been parents to two children.

Since they first met in 2010, they haven’t held back from showing one another their love and affection, whether it be through their adorable social media posts or Aaron calling Lauren his “pretty bird.”

The Breaking Bad actor and the director got engaged on New Year’s Eve 2012 in Paris after a couple years of dating. Aaron told PEOPLE about the memorable occasion, revealing that he proposed to his girlfriend on a stoop in the St. Germain neighbourhood.

“We were just dancing to Édith Piaf by ourselves on New Year’s Eve in this tiny courtyard outside of this hotel, and then I begged her to get married.”

She’s an activist

Lauren was motivated to do good and assist others as much as she could after going through some difficult moments as a young child. She and her friend Molly Thompson, both Pepperdine University students, founded the Kind Campaign in 2009 with the intention of putting an end to bullying of girls.

To share their message of kindness and compassion with high school students, Lauren and Thompson went on a speaking tour around the nation. The Kind Campaign, according to its website, sponsors hundreds of school assemblies annually and offers resources to help schools launch their own Kind Clubs.

When discussing the Kind Campaign with PEOPLE in 2014, Thompson said: “[Bullying] is such a worldwide problem. No matter where they are, women share the same emotional experiences.

When discussing the Kind Campaign with PEOPLE in 2014, Thompson said: “[Bullying] is such a worldwide problem. No matter where they are, women share the same emotional experiences.

She was bullied as a child

Being bullied as a child was one of the things that motivated Lauren to establish Kind Campaign. She claimed to have been “put through the wringer” in a 2014 interview with PEOPLE, claiming that bullying had left her with “severe depression and an eating disorder.”

She claimed, “These girls did everything in their power to make me feel alone, ugly, and worthless.” “I lost myself entirely. My grades fell, and I became very insecure.

In an interview with The Good Trade in 2018, Lauren spoke openly about her experience with bullying once more, recounting how her tormentors threw objects at her during lunch, tore up her homework before class, and stole items from her locker. This gang of females exerted every effort to achieve success.

She’s a director

Thompson and Lauren first connected while studying cinema at Pepperdine University. When they decided they wanted to develop Finding Kind, everything they had learned was helpful.

According to Lauren, “We just sat down and thought about what we would have liked to hear when we were in school.” “We asked ourselves what would have had an impact on us at age 12… and worked out a unique curriculum and exercises. A programme with enduring influence was what we were aiming for.

The documentary Finding Kind, which Lauren and Thompson started filming in 2009 and helped launch the Kind Campaign, was released that year. The two travelled 10,000 miles across the country and spoke with hundreds of women and girls about girl-on-girl bullying.

She met Aaron at Coachella

At first, Aaron and Lauren kept their relationship platonic after meeting in 2010 at Coachella. The two became acquaintances and later met at the California music festival when they “fell in love.”

We became buddies after meeting at Coachella, Aaron recalled to PEOPLE in July 2012. We later fell in love at Coachella a year later. At Coachella, we escaped together. Think of it as a first kiss on a Ferris wheel.

He continued by saying that they were aware that a genuine relationship was developing at the time. “You know how they say, ‘When you know, you know?’ He described it as crazy. I couldn’t have imagined myself without her before that moment, even before the kiss on the Ferris wheel.

She and Aaron almost eloped

Early on, the couple’s affections for one another were really strong; they were so close to eloping. Aaron revealed in a 2014 Elle interview that their first outing after Coachella was a trip to Las Vegas.

“We also got into a cab and ordered the driver to take us to the closest chapel. He announced, “We’re getting married. “The Little White Chapel was ultimately shut down. Most likely, we would have followed through. It would have made for a fairly amusing tale. But I’m glad we were able to be married after a year.

She and Aaron got married in 2013

Aaron and Lauren were wed on May 27, 2013, at the Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, California, a year after their almost-elopement.

Bryan Cranston, Aaron’s Breaking Bad co-star, and 250 other guests attended the wedding, and the bride wore an Amsale gown. The pair held a reception with a 1920s Parisian funfair theme as a tribute to their Paris engagement.

To commemorate their wedding anniversary, Aaron and Lauren have sent heartfelt tributes over the years.

Lauren posted a collection of images of the two of them over the course of the eight years, with the caption: “I truly love you more this second than I ever have.”

For things like the fact that you unconsciously wear a hair rubber band around your forehead, she continued

She’s a mom

Parents of two children, Aaron and Lauren. Lauren made the initial pregnancy announcement for the couple in September 2017. Story Annabelle, their daughter, was born to her in February 2018.

Lauren reflected on Story’s birth on Instagram, writing, “There are no words that will ever be able to explain what just happened to my heart.”

For her first Mother’s Day in May 2018, Lauren shared a touching Instagram post about her experience being a mother.

She addressed her then-3-month-old daughter in her letter and said, “No one could have prepared me for the magic I now get to experience on a daily basis. “Magic” is the word I use to describe you and being your mama most frequently.

I smell the top of your head,” she continued.

She loves spending time in nature

Quick perusal of Lauren’s Instagram page reveals her enjoyment of being outside. She frequently shares images taken outside and comments about how much she loves getting away to nature.

She shared a quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson in the caption of a photograph of a bamboo grove, saying, “The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship.”

She mentioned that the family had begun using e-bikes in a post from 2020. The most significant and therapeutic activity for her this year was taking time in nature. Our lives were literally changed by these bikes.

In a 2017 interview with USA Today, Lauren also talked openly about a transformative experience she had while hiking to Machu Picchu.

She’s not afraid to speak up about important issues

As an activist, Lauren is committed to using her platform to raise awareness of crucial social issues.

After 19 fourth-grade kids and two teachers were slain in the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022, she published an ardent Instagram post on gun control.

Lauren stated, “I knew we were doomed when NOTHING changed after Sandy Hook. “And here we are once more… Both gun owners and non-owners alike must band together to call for at the very least, reasonable reform of the nation’s gun laws. I fear that our nation has lost its essence if we can’t come to a consensus on this.

After Roe v. Wade was rejected by the Supreme Court and the constitutional right to an abortion was abolished the next month,

She’s really close to her mom

Debra, Lauren’s mother, joined her while she was filming Finding Kind, and they have a close bond. Lauren stated: “My mom and I made that transition from mother-daughter to friends,” in an Elle interview from 2014. Right out of college, my co-founder Molly and I shot the movie, and we took both of our mothers with us. I travelled in a minivan for two months with my mother when I was barely 22 years old. Since then, she has served as a friend rather than a mother.

Lauren listed her parents as two of her main inspirations in an interview with USA Today.

They “really encouraged me to pursue whatever I was passionate about growing up,” she recalled. They were quite motivating.