It was once regarded as a clear sign that a marriage was on the rocks.
But in recent years the number of couples choosing to sleeping apart has increased, with many claiming it keeps their relationships going even longer.
Last week, Bette Midler revealed the key to her long-lasting marriage to to Martin Von Haselberg is down to their sleeping habits.
The actress, 78, tied the knot with the artist, 75, in 1984 and they will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary in December.
When asked what the secret to their long union was, Bette told Entertainment Tonight: ‘Separate bedrooms. My husband snores.’
The Hocus Pocus star added that she and Martin have slept in separate bedrooms since the start of their relationship, but ‘it’s been a fabulous ride’.
The idea of separate bedrooms and sometimes even separate homes has become a hot topic in recent years, with more people confessing to choosing to prioritise their sleep over cuddling their partner.
The phenomenon has been called a ‘sleep divorce’ and has been credited with making romances stronger, by allowing better rest and helping couples cherish their time with each other more.
They then get to enjoy all the benefits of a relationship, before retiring to their own space and avoiding snoring, body heat or duvet stealing.
Many members of the Royal Family have traditionally slept in separate rooms; with King Charles and Queen Camilla believed to retire to their own rooms late in the evening, as the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip once did.
And plenty of celebrities also agree that nodding off alone is a good thing, with their added wealth and space meaning they can even opt for separate houses.
Now MailOnline takes a look at all the other stars who have confessed to choosing a ‘sleep divorce’.
Gwyneth Paltrow has praised the benefits of separate bedrooms, and talked openly about sleeping apart from husband Brad Falchuk to The Sunday Times in 2019.
The actress, 51, began dating the producer, 53, in 2014 and explained that they remained in their separate homes even after the they tied the knot in September 2018, on the advice of her intimacy coach.
Speaking to the publication, she explained that Brad slept at his house for three days of the week, on the days that his two children with ex-wife Suzanne Bukinik stayed over.
He then slept over at Gwyneth’s home for the other four nights, on recommendation of her intimacy teacher Michaela Boehm, for the ‘polarity’ to keep their romance fresh.
The movie star said: ‘Oh, all my married friends say that the way we live sounds ideal and we shouldn’t change a thing’.
In 2020, Gwyneth further praised the practice to Harpers Bazaar, saying: I think it certainly helps with preserving mystery and also preserving the idea that this person has their own life’.
The couple eventually moved in together a year later, with Gwyneth explained to InStyle: ‘We took a year to let everybody [in the family] take it in and let the dust settle’.
Gillian Anderson has spoken openly about the benefits of living apart from her partner Peter Morgan, who dated for four years before splitting in 2020 and then rekindling their romance last year.
In 2020, the Sex Education star, 55, even told The Sunday Times that cohabiting with The Crown creator, 61, would ‘be the end’ of their relationship.
She said: ‘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.’
Gillian explained that there is a ‘new creativity nowadays’ about what a relationship should look like.
She added that one huge advantage of living separately was that she is able to 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’.
She continued: ‘There is nothing locking us in, nothing that brings up that fear of, “Oh gosh, I can’t leave because what will happen to the house, how will we separate?” I start to miss the person I want to be with, which is a lovely feeling.’
Katherine Ryan recently revealed that she and her husband Bobby Kootstra don’t share a bed, opting to do co-sleeping with their two children.
The comedian, 41, who married Bobby in 2019, explained that she sleeps with their daughter Fenna, 19 months, while he shares a different room with their son Fred, two.
The couple opened up about their sleeping arrangements on their show, Katherine Ryan: Parental Guidance in February, explaining it worked best for them and their kids, but admitted they did miss the intimacy of sharing a bed together.
Discussing the situation in one episode, Bobby explained that the four of them had tried sleeping in the same room previously.
But he told viewers that the children kept waking each other up, which led to him and Katherine being in separate rooms.
Katherine shared: ‘We’re both co-sleeping with someone. Bobby sleeps with Fred because I’m sleeping with Fenna. It’s really good for the children to have that.’
Bobby added: ‘Katherine and I co-sleep. I like to call it “man-to-man defence”. We did try to have everyone in the same room but the babies were kind of waking each other up, so we had to switch to separate rooms, which is a bit better but also I do kind of miss sleeping with my sexy wife.’
He later acknowledged: ‘It’s probably not been great for our intimacy. So we kind of are missing a couple of different important connections I think for any relationship really.’
In one clip, Katherine admitted to him: ‘I miss sleeping with you, I do.’
Bobby suggested that the sleeping arrangement would stay in place for two more years unless they have more children, before quipping: ‘Who knows what will happen. I may be dead.’
During an appearance on Lorraine this year, Katherine admitted that having kids had meant her marriage ‘had taken a backseat’, including with the separate bedrooms.
She said her children come first and she likes to spend as much time as possible with them, which includes co-sleeping.
