UPDATE ARTICLE: A recent study has found that up to 1/3 of married couples in America now sleep separately or have a “sleep divorce”.
The New York Post has reported that the American Academy of Sleep Medicine surveyed more than 2000 couples in March, finding that the age group most likely to sleep separately in the same house is 25 – 34, at 19%. It seems that as the age demographic decreases or increases, the likelihood shrinks.
So, how does one bring this up with their own partner? Be respectful and clarify your needs, while ensuring that nothing about the relationship will change, other than the fact that you’ll both be better rested.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Sources close to Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have revealed that the couple currently sleep in separate bedrooms, but if that wasn’t enough, the bedrooms are in different houses!
Parker and Broderick purchased adjoining houses in New York City, equipping each with their own wing. While this has been labelled a form of “conscious uncoupling”, a term made famous after the divorce of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, the pair are still very much married, and insiders near the couple say that this arrangement is “crucial to keep them together”.
“They’ll be tearing down a wall between the town houses to make a mega mansion, but it’s definitely one side for her and the other for him, with the kids having access to both,” the source told RadarOnline. “He’s incredibly untidy whereas she needs a meticulously organized dressing room suite for her clothes.”
Safe to say there is no hidden duress here; Broderick and Parker are just an “odd couple”, who recognize that they need to make concessions to keep the peace. (Although, this writer can hardly call a personal townhome a “concession”.)
“They still have dinner together and if the mood’s right they’ll have a ‘sleepover,’” the insider reports. “So it’s not really that they’re living separate lives, more that they’re treating an almost-20-year marriage with the care and respect it deserves.”
Honestly, Broderick and Parker might be onto something. Other celebrities like Judy Collins and David Beckham have praised separate sleeping arrangements, as a beneficial part to keeping the mystery in a long-term relationship. Although it’s not feasible in every relationship, anecdotal evidence suggests there maybe some virtue to having a different personal space from your partner.
Sources:
Celebrity Couples Who Slept In Separate Beds (thelist.com)
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick’s House in Manhattan | Architectural Digest
Inside SJP & Matthew Broderick’s Bizarre ‘Conscious Coupling’ Decision (radaronline.com)
Celeb Couples Who Sleep In Different Rooms (nickiswift.com)
