11 Famous Couples Who Have Gotten 'Sleep Divorced'
10/19/2024 11:17 AM
"I have to invite him in -- he invites me in occasionally."
Getting enough sleep is one of the most essential parts of a healthy lifestyle, but it isn't always the easiest thing to get a full eight hours. That can be even more challenging when you have a noisy partner who snores or tosses and turns through the night.
While it's always nice to cozy up in bed with your loved one, often it's necessary to get a little space. Although sleeping in separate bedrooms may seem like a sign that there's trouble in paradise, sometimes a "sleep divorce" is what's best for a couple. Plenty of celebrities have joined in on the trend -- and admit that it has really worked for them.
Find out which celebs don't sleep in the same room...
Famous Couples Who Called It Quits Right Before the Wedding
1. Carson Daly & Siri Pinter
In 2019, Carson Daly and his wife Siri Pinter decided to start sleeping separately when she was pregnant with their fourth child. Carson explained that they both couldn't get comfortable at night, exacerbated by his sleep apnea. Even post-pregnancy, Carson says it's been good for the couple, who still sleep separately several nights a week.
"We're both pretty good-sized humans and it just wasn't really working when she was in her third trimester, and I also have sleep apnea, which is very sexy for the ladies out there, I'm sure," Carson told People. "She couldn't get comfortable, so we were like a commercial you would see, kicking each other and just not sleeping. We woke up and we just shook hands like, 'I love you, but it's time to sleep divorce. It'll be the best thing for all of us.'"
2. Gwyneth Paltrow & Brad Falchuk
Early in Gwyneth Paltrow's relationship with Brad Falchuk, they chose to sleep separately at their own homes several days a week. Not only did it help their families assimilate to the new relationship but it also helped keep their romance "fresh." While they now live together full time, Brad at one point spent several days at Gwyneth's house and the rest of the week with his kids at his own home.
"All my married friends say that the way we live sounds ideal and we shouldn't change a thing," Gwyneth said before the big move.
9 Celebs Who Are Really Big 'Love Is Blind' Fans
3. Cameron Diaz & Benji Madden
Cameron Diaz hasn't specified exactly what her living situation is with husband Benji Madden but she's an advocate of sleep divorces. She explained that an ideal situation for her would be to have completely separate houses.
"We should normalize separate bedrooms," she said on the Lipstick on the Rim podcast. "To me, I would literally, I have my house, you have yours. We have the family house in the middle. I will go and sleep in my room. You go sleep in your room. I'm fine. And we have the bedroom in the middle that we can convene in for our relations."
4. Helena Bonham Carter & Tim Burton
Before Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton split in 2013, they chose to live in separate houses on their property in London. Helena explained that their desire for separate homes began with Tim's snoring issue that made it impossible for her to sleep. The couple eventually purchased two homes in London and joined them together, giving each of them their own space.
"We just have two houses knocked together because mine was too small. We see as much of each other as any couple, but our relationship is enhanced by knowing we have our personal space to retreat to," she told The Telegraph. "It's not enforced intimacy. It's chosen, which is quite flattering -- if you can afford it."
9 Celebrities Who Are Down To Appear On 'Real Housewives'
5. Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott
Tori Spelling and her ex Dean McDermott may have split but when they were still together, they slept in separate rooms for several years. While Dean said it all had to do with a pet pig, Tori says that wasn't exactly the case. Looking back, Tori explained the pig only slept with them for one night and it wasn't animals or kids who came between them. Instead, it had to do with her television habits.
"I think I had the TV on for distraction, like, to distract from my life. Like, I would just zone out and be entertained, which is what my dad said that's what he always wanted to do," Tori told People. "Like, people have hard days, hard work, hard lives, hard relationships, and it's all individual. And when they get home, they just kinda wanna zone out and be entertained and taken out of their world, escapism…So that's what I was just creating for myself. Because guess what? It's funny. He's no longer in my bed. No longer in the marriage."
6. Barbara Corcoran & Bill Higgins
Barbara Corcoran and her husband Bill Higgins have been sleep divorced for four decades. She says that sleeping in "separate bedrooms" helps to keep things "fun" and adds a bit of intrigue as well as "sexiness" to their relationship.
"I've had a separate bedroom with Bill for like 40 years. I have to invite him in — he invites me in occasionally," Barbara said on the Today show. "He puts piles of stuff everywhere and I am very neat so I couldn't sleep well at night. Now I sleep like a baby."
11 Celebs Who Have Gotten Real About Menopause
7. Bette Midler & Martin von Haselberg
Bette Midler is also a longtime advocate of sleep divorces. She says she and her husband Martin von Haselberg have slept separately for 40 years. On a recent anniversary, Better shared that "separate bedrooms" was the secret to their successful marriage because her husband snores. While it may not be for everyone, Bette told ET that "it's been a fabulous ride."
8. Victoria & David Beckham
It's been long rumored that Victoria and David Beckham sleep in different parts of their home in the English countryside. In fact, the couple reportedly have "his and her" wings so that they can take time apart when they need it.
"Even when the pair are in their countryside home in Oxfordshire, England, at the same time, they can be worlds apart. The house has been designed with 'his and hers' wings. I think they quite like having somewhat separate lives. When you've been married that long, some regular distance does you both good," a source told Us Weekly.
11 Celebrities Who Are Married to or Dating Olympic Athletes
9. Donald & Melania Trump
Many people have alleged that Donald Trump and his wife Melania slept apart while living in the White House. While they have not personally confirmed it, numerous biographers have said that the couple kept separate living quarters.
"I don't know any couple that spends as much time apart. It's easy to say that the Trumps have an odd relationship from the outside, but separate sleeping isn't strange at all – it makes sense for two of the busiest people on the planet," said Mary Jordan, the author of The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump.
10. Gillian Anderson & Peter Morgan
Gillian Anderson and her partner Peter Morgan have had a complicated relationship through the years. After dating for four years, the couple split in 2020 but have since rekindled their romance. Before their first split, Gillian said it was important for the couple to sleep separately.
"My partner and I don't live together. If we did, that would be the end of us. It works so well as it is -- it feels so special when we do come together," she said, adding, "[I see] a pair of trousers left lying on the floor at my partner's house and step over them and not feel it is my job to do something about it."
12 Stars Who Turned Down Invites To The White House
11. Baz Luhrmann & Catherine Martin
In 2014, Baz Luhrmann shared that he and his wife Catherine Martin had been sleeping separately for quite some time. He explained that the space just worked better for them and they even have their own floors at their homes in New York and Sydney.
"We worked out a long time ago that we both need space. We are surrounded by our teams of staff all day every day, whether traveling, at work and at our homes. I was finding I was saying things in passing that weren't properly thought through, things would become fraught. We both needed time to ourselves," Baz told Daily Mail Australia.