The glamour of the Marvel Cinematic Universe often hides the grueling reality of blockbuster filmmaking. For actress Elizabeth Olsen, starring as the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) in the 2022 film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the exhaustion during the prolonged 2021 production period in England almost brought her to a breaking point. It was during this time that her partner, musician Robbie Arnett, offered a unique and deeply personal gesture that became her “life-saving” lifeline.
🎬 The Exhaustion of the Multiverse
The filming for the Doctor Strange sequel followed immediately after Olsen had completed the intense production schedule for the Disney+ series WandaVision (for which she received critical acclaim and an Emmy nomination). The back-to-back, high-pressure projects, coupled with the emotional weight of portraying a character like Wanda Maximoff, left her incredibly depleted.
Olsen was reportedly so exhausted during the filming of Doctor Strange 2 that she considered taking a temporary leave from acting altogether. The pressure of maintaining her role as one of the MCU’s central figures, coupled with the rigorous, prolonged filming schedule (which included COVID-19 related delays and constant script changes), took a serious toll.
📝 The Paper Proposal: A Backstage Bet
During this low point, Robbie Arnett—whom Olsen had quietly eloped with before the COVID-19 lockdown (publicly revealed in 2021)—made a tender, non-traditional proposal backstage. According to this touching, highly private story, Arnett, sensing her despair, quietly placed a paper ring on her finger.
Inside the makeshift ring, he had written a simple, powerful, 8-word message:
“Marry me when you’re ready, now smile.”
The gesture was not a formal engagement—the couple had already been officially engaged since July 2019—but an immediate, intimate vow of support and patience during her crisis. Olsen reportedly burst into tears and held onto that fragile paper ring for the remaining three months of filming, using the promise as a personal anchor to get through the long days on the Doctor Strange 2 set. The instruction to “smile now” became her daily focus, a quiet contract between the couple.
💎 The Promise Kept and the Real Ring
When the filming finally concluded and Olsen felt ready to formalize their commitment, Arnett referenced her perseverance as he replaced the paper token with her real, distinctive emerald engagement ring.
He cemented the deeply personal meaning of the paper ring by saying:
“You kept your promise to smile every day.”
This highly private story illustrates the deep personal support that defines the marriage of Olsen and Arnett, who, in addition to their individual careers (Olsen as the star of the MCU and Arnett as a member of the indie band Milo Greene), have also collaborated on a children’s book series, Hattie Harmony: Worry Detective, focusing on themes of anxiety and self-care.