Sarah Paulson and Partner Holland Taylor Live in Separate Homes

Sarah Paulson says the secret to a healthy, long-term relationship is an entirely separate home.

Paulson, 49, who has been with her longtime partner, fellow actress Holland Taylor, since 2015, spoke about her relationship on a Monday, May 13, episode of the “Smartless” podcast. “We don’t live together, that’s the sort of secret,” she said. “Holland and I, we spend plenty of time together but we don’t live in the same house.”

She continued, “We’ve been together for a long time now and I think part of it has to do with, we’re together when we wanna be and we’re not when we don’t.”

When asked if she would want separate bedrooms in the same home rather than “separate dwellings,” Paulson clarified, “No, because we like to fall asleep holding hands, Holland and I. We sleep holding hands. I like to sleep near her. I don’t want to be around her the rest of the time.” She added, laughing, “Just kidding.”

The couple confirmed their relationship in 2015, making headlines for their 32-year-age gap. Taylor, for her part, celebrated her 81st birthday in January.

“Holland, before me, had not been in a kind of long-term relationship, whereas Holland is sort of my third, you know, more than five year relationship,” Paulson explained to hosts Will Arnett, Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman. “So, I tend to do that and have more experience doing that. Holland hasn’t. And so, her life, and to get to be her age and sort of not having really cohabitated with someone for a long time, I think it was a lot to sort of all of a sudden have me and all my neediness in her space.”

Knowing when to keep their lives separate seems to be one of the couples’ strengths, as Taylor has echoed a similar sentiment when it comes to their shared job as actresses. In a January 17 interview with Variety, Taylor admitted that she “can’t imagine” ever working with her partner.

“I don’t like seeing couples doing things because I’m always aware of the coupledom,” she said.

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Paulson has previously acknowledged that her and Taylor’s relationship might seem “unconventional” from an outside perspective, but that’s not something that concerns her.

“I didn’t choose to fall in love with the person I fell in love with. But I think why it’s interesting to people is that on paper, it’s unconventional,” she told Elle in 2018. “For a person who might find themselves in a situation that they fear will be misperceived or judged, maybe they could see me living my life in a way that is authentic to me — just trying to be as real as possible. If that inspires anybody else, that can’t be a bad thing.”