Oscar Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow has become quite the lifestyle guru over the years thanks to the success of her brand, Goop. While some people have a lot to say about the kind of products she promotes, it seems like her advice still holds weight to many people.
And recently, the 46-year-old mother of two dished out details about the unusual but beneficial living arrangements that she and husband Brad Falchuk observe.
Half a Week
According to the actress, she and Falchuk don’t really live together full-time. In fact, they only spend half the week together and says that they couldn’t be happier about the arrangement. As Paltrow revealed, her husband stays in his own place three nights a week and goes to stay with her in her Los Angeles home for the rest of the four.
This set up was reportedly suggested to the couple by Paltrow’s ‘life teacher’ in order to keep their relationship ‘fresh’. While it’s not the typical living arrangement that regular married couples have, the actress says that her other married friends actually find her and Falchuk’s way of living to be ‘ideal’.
According to Us Magazine, Paltrow and Falchuk first met in 2014 while working on the television show ‘Glee‘, which Falchuk actually co-created. Their relationship was purely professional at first with Paltrow playing the recurring character of Holly Holliday. But things soon became romantic and the two started dating. They got engaged three years later and the rest is history.
Considering the Kids
Another perk of the arrangement, according to Paltrow, is that it also considers their children. As she revealed in an interview with WSJ, she and Falchuk decided to keep two homes to be ‘sensitive’ to her two children with former husband Chris Martin and Falchuk’s two kids from his previous relationship with producer Suzanne Bukinik.
Paltrow believes that it’s best that they tread lightly considering that their teenage children are at a ‘pretty intense’ time in their life. The actress’ kids, Apple and Moses, are now 15 years old and 13 years old respectively.
According to Antonia Hall, a relationship expert, living part-time may not be ideal but can be good for couples who find that the arrangement works for their needs. And with people exploring new ways of being together, Hall believes that non-traditional setups like Paltrow and Falchuk’s will become more prevalent.
Going for What Works Best
Another relationship expert, Naketa R. Thigpen, also found merits in Paltrow and Falchuk’s unique living arrangements. For Thigpen, it’s important for couples to be able to focus on their partner’s needs while doing what works for both parties.
Living separately may not be a piece of viable advice for all married couples but they can still learn a lesson from it, says Thigpen. Not everyone has money to keep two homes. What they do is create separate ‘safe spaces’ each, where they can openly communicate about each other’s needs.