Sarah Michelle Gellar, 48, says a small but practical detail at home has helped her avoid common couple conflicts.
In a People interview published on Wednesday, the actor said that having “one bedroom, two bathrooms” has been the key to her long-lasting marriage.
“You don’t have to be so fancy that there’s two bathrooms in your bedroom! There just has to be another bathroom available,” Gellar told People, adding that the setup “stops a lot of petty fighting.”
Gellar has been married to Freddie Prinze Jr. since 2002. The pair first met on the set of “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” and share two kids.
The “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star said keeping a clear boundary between her public and private personas has helped her relationship last in Hollywood.
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“I always say I’m two people: I’m Sarah Michelle Gellar and I’m Sarah Prinze,” she said. “They’re different people.”
The version of her with her husband has “a quieter life and a private life,” she said.
Gellar also stressed that strong relationships don’t last without effort.
“You have to be willing to work. And that goes for relationships, friendships, anything. You have to put the work in,” she said.
“I do feel like we live in this very disposable society. When I was a kid, when your TV broke, my mom and I would carry it like eight blocks in New York City to the TV repair shop,” she said.
But now, she said, people are more likely to replace things than repair them.
“I think because of that, we don’t work as hard at things because it’s easier just to ‘get a new one,'” Gellar added. “You have to put the work in. You have to carve out the time.”
It’s not the first time Gellar has credited separate bathrooms with helping her marriage last.
In 2017, she said that the setup works because not everything needs to be shared.
“I feel like there are certain things that should just be kept your own and they never need to know. Also, maybe possibly a separate shopping credit card, or if you’re a guy, maybe a separate gaming card, you know, so I don’t have to see how much video games cost,” she told Harry Connick Jr. on his talk show.
She reiterated the idea during an April appearance on “Today with Jenna & Friends,” adding, “It’s that simple.”
Gellar isn’t alone. Other celebrities have also embraced having more space at home, including separate bedrooms.
Carson Daly has called sleep divorce “the best thing” to ever happen to his marriage, while Barbara Corcoran said getting a second bedroom prompted her to love her husband “twice as much.”