Moving in together is a big step in any relationship, but it’s certainly not a prerequisite, and it may surprise some to learn that a number of celebrity couples have chosen not to. We’re not just talking about celebs sleeping in separate rooms, either. These are the A-listers who have kept their own seats even when the relationship got serious.
We kick things off with Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor. Paulson and Taylor’s relationship stretching back to 2015, and in honor of the latter’s 79th birthday in 2022, Paulson even declared that Holland was the love of her life in an Instagram post. However, lovebirds do not live together. In fact, Paulson spoke about their living arrangements in an appearance in 2024 “SmartLess” and thought that was the “secret” to staying together so long. “We’re together when we want to be, and we’re not when we’re not,” she said. As for why they didn’t just have their own rooms, Paulson pointed out that it was important for both of them to really be together when they were in the same room. “Holland and I, we sleep holding hands… I like to sleep near her,” she said, continuing to argue that it was. “I don’t want to be around her for the rest of the day,” she laughed.
Jokes aside, Paulson also pointed out, “Holland before me hadn’t been in a ton of long-term relationships.” Given their age difference, that meant most of her life, the “George of the Jungle” star was used to having her own space. “To come up to her age and kind of not have been with anybody for a long time, I think it was very sudden to have me and all my me-ness in her space,” Paulson said. Fair enough!
Brian Cox and Nicole Ansari-Cox love their freedom
After two previous marriages, Brian Cox found lasting love with Nicole Ansari-Cox, and with more than two decades together, their marriage has been his longest. The two don’t live together full-time, though, and like Sarah Paulson said on “SmartLess,” he’s credited that for keeping them together.
speaks to The Times in 2026, Cox explained their decision to have their own home in the same London neighborhood. “By keeping things separate, we are responsible for our own mess. It’s that simple,” he said. “Her space is very important to her and my space is very important to me.” The “Successions” star added: “I think if we’re thrown together, we feel locked together.” It’s worth noting that even when the couple is in the same house (because they also have homes in Upstate New York and Brooklyn), they also prefer to have their own bedrooms.
Cox had also talked about having his-and-hers space in a 2025 interview with The Timesand admitted to the outlet that when it came time to go to his wife’s flat in London, “I’m always a bit nervous.” They would be good nerves, however, and speak to Hello! in the wake of their 2026 vow renewal, which coincided with their 25th wedding anniversary, Ansari-Cox said it was another benefit. “It feels like you’re dating again. You know, ‘Should we go to yours or mine?'” she shared. The couple also said they would recommend it to anyone, even if separate homes were not an option. “I think people should at least find a way to have separate spaces within their shared space,” Ansari-Cox told the magazine. Similarly, Cox shared, “Let the other person be free. Let the other person be who they are. That’s who you married.” Well, it certainly works for them.
Sheryl Lee Ralph also loves having space from Vincent Hughes
Another A-list couple who prefer to live apart? “Abbott Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph and Sen. Vincent Hughes, who have been together since the early aughts and have kept their own residences throughout.
Some maybe has no idea that Ralph is married to a politicianbut she and Hughes got hitched in 2005, and the actor talked him up and saw some in a 2025 interview with Peopleanimated describes him as “Senator Vincent Hughes, Seventh Senatorial District of Philadelphia.” However, she also told the outlet that she was thrilled that they were doing their own thing. “He has his own life, I have my own life. He has his own real career, I have my own real career. He has his light to stand in, I have my light to stand in. … We also live in separate places. When I go to see him. love to see him. When it’s time to leave, goodbye, see you soon! I’m telling you: Life is good,” she joked. Hughes went on to explain that they had lived far apart from the start and that neither of them was willing to give up everything they had already built at that point. Furthermore, she pointed out, “When you have kids, you can’t just pick up your kids and move across the country.”
Luckily, Ralph and Hughes’ living arrangements have worked out for them, and the actor also told People about their see-each-other-every-other-week dynamic: “We’re going to celebrate 20 years of marriage, please, and some people can’t even make it through two, so it’s all good!” As for Hughes, he has also touted their separate homes as something that keeps things fresh, “Tamron Hall” that whenever he missed his wife, what got him through was “the anticipation of being together.” Ah!
RuPaul’s husband Georges LeBar prefers to be at his ranch
RuPaul’s husband and partner of over three decades tends to keep a low profile, and the TV star has long joked that Georges LeBar has no interest in the Hollywood scene. Fortunately, it goes both ways. After all, LeBar is a rancher, which the iconic drag queen is not to herself. Speaking to “Hollywood Today Live” back in 2017, RuPaul said, “Most of the time he’s at the ranch … but he doesn’t want me to come there” (via People). Of course, RuPaul did visit the Wyoming property from time to time, and did so while being true to himself. “I dress up in beautiful Western clothes,” he shared, but even then the novelty could only go so far, and he also said he kept his visits to a minimum. “God bless you, Wyoming, but it’s very boring and it’s the most isolated place on earth,” he told the paper.
RuPaul also addressed his and LeBar’s separate living arrangements in a 2019 sit-down with Judge Judy Interview. “We see each other about every three weeks,” he told the other TV legend. Still, he added that he always knew his man was in his corner. Responding to what Judge Judy had said about her marriage to Jerry Sheindlin (that he was her “home anchor”), RuPaul said the key to a strong relationship was having “someone you know will look out for your best interests no matter what.”
Of course, LeBar also leaves the ranch on occasion, and RuPaul was referring to their Beverly Hills house as “our manger” to Architectural Digest. What’s more, they also take regular amazing vacations. “He needs breaks from time to time,” RuPaul told “Hollywood Live Today.” Balance, baby.
Robin Roberts and Amber Laign credit separate apartments for their long relationship
Next up, Robin Roberts and Amber Laign, who have both pondered that not living together may very well be the reason they’ve been together since 2005. Roberts shared in her 2014 memoir, “Everybody’s Got Something” “Amber and I have been a couple for almost 10 years now, but we choose not to live together. Maybe that’s why we’ve lasted almost a decade!” Similarly in a very rare comment to E! News in 2025, Laign joked about their staying together for so long, “The real secret: separate apartments.”
It’s worth noting that Roberts and Laign haven’t completely sworn off living together. In “Everybody’s Got Something”, Roberts recalled that Laign moved in with her when she was receiving treatment for myelodysplastic syndrome. Roberts also moved into their Connecticut home during the pandemic, and although she had packed light and probably expected it to be a shorter period than the seven months it turned out to be, she and Laign made it. “We spent more time together this past year than in the previous 15 years combined,” Roberts shared People.
Because of how private Roberts and Laign are for the most part, it’s not clear if the “Good Morning America” star moved in with Laign when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. However, she shared further “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” that she gave a favor to her longtime love so that it is possible. Still, like we said, it was in 2025 that Laign joked about keeping separate apartments, so even if Roberts moved in with her temporarily, she might have just moved out again. Either way, these two may not live under the same roof all the time, but they certainly live by the promise: “In sickness and in health.”
Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt do not live together for logistical reasons
Sticking with famous news personalities, another couple who don’t live together are Fox News stars Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt. The couple initially kept mum about their relationship, but confirmed their engagement in December 2024. They also explained why they had no plans to live together. While Hannity made it very public that he was moving to Florida earlier that year, Earhardt still lives, works and raises his daughter in New York City. She made it abundantly clear on “Fox & Friends” in early 2025, telling viewers, “I’m staying on the curvy couch. I’m going to continue to live in New York. My daughter loves her school, I love my community, and of course I love my job. … Sean’s down in Florida, and we don’t miss a weekend without each other, so we’re going to make it work” (. Daily Mail).
A few months later, Earhardt once again addressed her and Hannity’s living arrangements and admitted it Daily Mail that it probably didn’t look ideal from the outside, but that it worked for them. “It’s not conventional. We live on opposite ends of the East Coast, but when you love someone, you make it work,” she told the magazine. Earhardt also said she and her daughter simply had a new routine, flying to Palm Beach on Fridays and then flying home Sunday afternoon after church and brunch.
Well, Earhardt and Hannity certainly aren’t the only famous couple who aren’t under the same roof every day, and if it worked for RuPaul, Brian Cox, Robin Roberts, and Sarah Paulson, it sure can work for them too.
