Holland Taylor is opening up about the secret to her 12-year relationship with Sarah Paulson — and it might surprise romantics. The 83-year-old actress told Drew Barrymore that the couple has thrived for "12 years, going on" without ever sharing one roof, according to People.
"Well we do as much time as we possibly can, because work takes us apart constantly," Taylor explained on the October 20 edition of The Drew Barrymore Show. "But I have an apartment here [in New York City], and [Paulson] stays here in my apartment when she's here." In Los Angeles, each has her own separate house — though Paulson, 51, has been living at Taylor's home for almost a year while waiting to move into a new property she bought.
"So we're together as much as geography and our jobs let us be," Taylor said. The arrangement echoes what Paulson herself said on the SmartLess podcast in 2024: "Yeah, we don't live together. That's the secret to it. We spend plenty of time together, but we don't live in the same house."
Taylor also gushed about her partner, calling Paulson "a fascinating person in many unexpected ways" and "the most artful friend of anyone I've ever known." Tyla reports the couple first met in 2005 but didn't start dating until a decade later, in 2015. Last year, Paulson joined Taylor when she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where Taylor called her "shining star."
The couple's living arrangement has fascinated fans for years. Paulson first revealed the setup on the SmartLess podcast in 2024, calling it the secret to their longevity: "We're together when we want to be, and we're not when we don't." Taylor's latest comments confirm the philosophy still holds — even as Paulson's nearly year-long stay at Taylor's LA home blurs the lines.
At 83, Taylor remains as sharp and charming as ever, while Paulson, 51, continues her acclaimed run on screen. Twelve years in, their unconventional arrangement looks less like a quirk and more like a blueprint.
Photo: Harry Langdon Studio, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons