Gillian Anderson has explained why she doesn’t live with her partner, saying it would be the “end” of their relationship if they cohabited.
While speaking with The Sunday Times Style magazine, the actor opened up about her relationship of four years with The Crown creator Peter Morgan.
The Sex Education star said there is a “new creativity nowadays to what a relationship should look like”, outlining how not living with her partner benefits them both.
“If we did, that would be the end of us,” Anderson said. “It works so well as it is, it feels so special when we do come together.”
The mother-of-three stated that not living with Morgan allows her to “be completely there” for her children when they are spending time together.
“It’s exciting. We choose when to be together,” the 51-year-old said of her partnership with Morgan.
“There is nothing locking us in, nothing that brings up that fear of ‘Oh gosh, I can’t leave because what will happen to the house, how will we separate?’
“I start to miss the person I want to be with, which is a lovely feeling.”
Anderson added that it is “so huge” for her to be able to see a pair of trousers lying on the floor without feeling the need to “do something about it”.
During the interview, the X-Files star also emphasised the difference between embarking upon a new relationship when you are in your forties, compared to dating in your twenties.
“It’s very different. I think you are more fully formed, especially if you have taken time out of previous relationships to find yourself,” she said.
In August, it was reported that couples who live together but are not married are the fastest-growing family type in the UK.
According to statistics released by the Office for National Statistics, over the past decade the number of couples who cohabit increased by 25.8 per cent, rising from 2.7 million in 2008 to 3.4 million in 2018.
