6 Celebrity Couples Who Lived Apart While Happily Married (and Why One Swears by It!)

Mar. 15, 2025

Sheryl Lee Ralph and Senator Vincent J. Hughes attend the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on January 15, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Photo:Kevin Mazur/Getty

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Married life doesn’t look the same for everyone.Though married couples do frequently live under one roof, some — including some celebrities — have embraced “living apart together” or LAT relationships.According to social psychologist Dr. Samantha Joel, there are “some meaningful benefits to living separately” for long-term, committed couples, such as experiencing more passion and excitement and increasing satisfaction through self-expanding activities that reduce boredom in a relationship.Sheryl Lee RalphandGwyneth Paltroware among the stars who have enjoyed this nontraditional relationship. Read on to discover more happily married celebrity couples who have thrived while living apart.

Married life doesn’t look the same for everyone.

Though married couples do frequently live under one roof, some — including some celebrities — have embraced “living apart together” or LAT relationships.

According to social psychologist Dr. Samantha Joel, there are “some meaningful benefits to living separately” for long-term, committed couples, such as experiencing more passion and excitement and increasing satisfaction through self-expanding activities that reduce boredom in a relationship.

Sheryl Lee RalphandGwyneth Paltroware among the stars who have enjoyed this nontraditional relationship. Read on to discover more happily married celebrity couples who have thrived while living apart.

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Sheryl Lee Ralph and Vincent Hughes

Sheryl Lee Ralph and Vincent Hughes.MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty

MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty

Whilespeaking with PEOPLEfor a recent cover story, theAbbott Elementarystar shared that she and her husband of nearly 20 yearsVincent Hugheslive on opposite coasts.

Because their jobs require them to live in Hollywood (where Ralph filmsAbbott)and Philadelphia (Hughes is a senator), they found a solution early on in their relationship that works for them.

She added, “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. He is not looking at me thinking about status or this or that. He’s doing his thing. I get to do my thing.”

02of 06Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad FalchukBrad Falchuk and Gwyneth Paltrow attend the Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix’s “The Brothers Sun” at Netflix Tudum Theater on January 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagicIt took one year of marriage before thePoliticianactressmoved in with her husband,Brad Falchuk, but she had her reasons.According toThe Sunday Times, Falchuk spent three nights a week at his own house and four nights at Paltrow’s Los Angeles home, an arrangement that her intimacy teacher, Michaela Boehm, approved as a means of keeping the relationship fresh.“Oh, all my married friends say that the way we live sounds ideal, and we shouldn’t change a thing,” Paltrow told the British newspaper in 2019.During an appearance onJimmy Kimmel Live!that same year,theGoopfoundertold hostJimmy Kimmelthat their kids played a role in the decision.“I think, really, because we each have two teenage children whom we love very much, but we were just trying to be mindful andgive them a little spaceand not move too quickly,” she said.

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Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk

Brad Falchuk and Gwyneth Paltrow attend the Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix’s “The Brothers Sun” at Netflix Tudum Theater on January 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic

Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic

It took one year of marriage before thePoliticianactressmoved in with her husband,Brad Falchuk, but she had her reasons.

According toThe Sunday Times, Falchuk spent three nights a week at his own house and four nights at Paltrow’s Los Angeles home, an arrangement that her intimacy teacher, Michaela Boehm, approved as a means of keeping the relationship fresh.

“Oh, all my married friends say that the way we live sounds ideal, and we shouldn’t change a thing,” Paltrow told the British newspaper in 2019.

During an appearance onJimmy Kimmel Live!that same year,theGoopfoundertold hostJimmy Kimmelthat their kids played a role in the decision.

“I think, really, because we each have two teenage children whom we love very much, but we were just trying to be mindful andgive them a little spaceand not move too quickly,” she said.

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Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian

Travis Barker (left) and Kourtney Kardashian attend the 2022 Met Gala celebrating ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2 in New York City.Cindy Ord/MG22/Getty

During a 2022 interview with Amanda Hirsch on theNot Skinny but Not Fatpodcast, Kardashian opened up about life with herBlink-182drummer husband,Travis Barker, and how they had planned to combine their households — eventually.

“We’re in the place wherewe’re figuring out how to blend our householdsand our kids and what life looks like now,” the reality star said. “For the most part, we’re getting those things in place. We do family dinner every Sunday night with all the kids at his house.”

The couple — whowelcomed their first child together, sonRocky Thirteen Barker, in 2023 — still has their own separate houses.

When asked if a shared home was in their future, Kardashian said, “There will be. We want our kids to feel really comfortable. They have both lived in their homes their whole lives, for the most part … They each have their rooms. We are a block away.”

On a June 2024 episode of Hulu’sThe Kardashians, the businesswoman revealed her plans to move into Barker’s home following Rocky’s birth.

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Nico Tortorella and Bethany Meyers

Nico Tortorella and Bethany Meyers attend the 29th annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York on May 5, 2018.Ben Gabbe/Getty

Nico TortorellaandBethany Meyersgot marriedin 2018, but tying the knot didn’t mean they had to move in together immediately.

TheMattachine Familystar told PEOPLE in 2019 that while they had bought a home in upstate New York, they were taking their time moving in together.

“We still don’t live together,” Tortorella said. “We see each other on a weekly basis. We’re FaceTiming all day, every day.”

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Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy

Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy in 2022.Hatnim Lee/FilmMagic

Hatnim Lee/FilmMagic

Claire Danesand actor-husbandHugh Dancyhad to take their marriage long-distance while she filmedHomelandin North Carolina, and he worked on other projects in New York.

When Dancy joined theHomelandcast for its sixth season, they were reunited in 2016 and began living together in New York.

“I can’t quite believe my luck,” the Emmy-winning actress told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour at the time. “Miracles of miracles, we’re both filming in our actual place of residence. I think I’m really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed … It’s been a long, long time.”

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Ashley Graham and Justin Ervin

Ashley Graham and Justin Ervin in 2024.Stephanie Augello/Variety/Getty

Stephanie Augello/Variety/Getty

Ashley GrahamandJustin Ervinare nowhappily cohabitatingwiththeir three sons; however, for much of their relationship — the twostarted dating after meeting at a churchin 2009 — they lived apart.

Graham said of their long-distance love: “We have a rule: We don’t go longer than two weeks without seeing each other. It’s absolutely fabulous. I love it. We just meet in L.A. or New York. We meet in Paris, Miami. It’s pretty sexy.”

source: people.com