Sheryl Lee Ralph Explains Why She and Her Husband Have Never Lived Together: 'He Has His Life, I Have Mine' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

They may live thousands of miles apart butSheryl Lee Ralphandhusband Vincent Hugheshave been on the same page for decades.

TheAbbott Elementarystar, 69, opens up toPEOPLE in this week’s issueabout her and Hughes' love story, including their nontraditional living arrangement, which has worked out wonderfully for nearly two decades now.

Four years after her divorce from first husband Eric Maurice, with whom she sharestwo adult children Etienne and Coco, Ralph found love again in 2005 with Hughes. The two met while she was starring inThoroughly Modern Millieon Broadway and they were smitten, but separable from the start.

Sheryl Lee Ralph and Senator Vincent Hughes at their 2005 wedding.Malcolm Ali/WireImage

Malcolm Ali/WireImage

“I’m very fortunate. The man that I am married to is Senator Vincent Hughes,seventh Senatorial district of Pennsylvania,” she says proudly. That said, “You fall in love with somebody and you realize he’s not leaving his career. He’s not leaving Philadelphia. I’m not leaving Hollywood." And, she explains, “When you have children, it’s very difficult.”

Sheryl Lee Ralph PEOPLE Cover.Obidigbo Nzeribe

Obidigbo Nzeribe

Ralph continues, “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.”

For more on Sheryl Lee Ralph, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.

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

Kevin Mazur/Getty

That pair willcelebrate 20 years of marriagethis July, “and some people can’t even get through two,” she adds. “So it’s all good. It is all good.”

One secret to their success: addressing issues head-on, a lesson Ralph says she learned after her divorce. “I’ve evolved into [saying], ‘Let’s talk about it.’ If you sit in problems, you get anxious, depressed, and all the juiciness in life starts to dry up. I can’t have that, because all of that will mess with my good looks!”

source: people.com