Jodie Sweetin's Unique Sleeping Arrangement With Her Husband Is Actually Genius For Couples

When Jodie Sweetin opened up about sleeping together-but-apart from her husband, there were, naturally, some eyebrows raised. The actor shared that she and her husband Mescal Wasilewski sleep in two separate twin beds, but push them together, so they sleep side-by-side. "My husband is the lightest, worst sleeper," she explained on the "Good Guys" podcast. "Once I'm out, [I'm] dead to the world. There could be bombs going off and ... nothing," she quipped. "We have ... two twin beds pushed up against each other in a king-sized thing with two separate duvets," she explained. "I've been married four times. So after a few, I think you just kind of go, 'maybe I should have some space on my own.'"

Sweetin's arrangement works for her marriage, but not everyone is convinced. To many people, it's essential to learn how to get a good night's sleep when sharing the bed with your partner, rather than giving up. However, according to the experts, sleeping separately but together might just be the best of both worlds. Glam spoke exclusively to Tracy Ross, LCSW, a relationship expert and couples therapist, and she shared that separate beds aren't always a red flag. "To me, [Jodie Sweetin's sleeping arrangement] sounds less like a sign of distance and more like a sign that they know themselves and each other," she says. "They've figured out a way to protect something that matters — good sleep — without giving up the closeness of sharing a bedroom." In essence, figuring out that a sleep divorce can actually help your relationship is healthy, because it doesn't force a way of life that doesn't work for you.

For Jodie Sweetin and her husband, as well as many other couples, a sleep divorce is practically a relationship saver. However, for others it's a sign that things are going wrong. This is why family and couples therapist Tracy Ross says that the only thing that really matters when it comes to sleeping arrangements is if you're doing what works for you. "Relationships don't thrive because couples follow a prescribed set of rules," she tells Glam exclusively. "They thrive when two people can talk honestly about what they need and create a life that accommodates both people."

Ross adds that it's important for couples to figure out what works for them in every area, including sleep, money, sex, socializing, parenting, and alone time. The right formula for one relationship might not work for another. This is why she focuses less on the arrangement and more on the feelings surrounding it. "If both people feel connected, considered, and comfortable with it, there's no problem to solve," she says. "The trouble comes when separate sleeping reflects unresolved conflict, avoidance, or when one person wants more closeness and the other is pulling away."

Another thing to note is that sleeping together and sleeping in pushed-together twin beds aren't the only options. Another popular arrangement is the Scandinavian sleep method for better rest, which involves sharing the same bed but having different duvets. If you're looking for more independence than a sleep divorce would give you, consider looking into how married couples make it work living apart but staying together. As Ross reminds us, "Couples get to decide for themselves what closeness looks like."