Sarah Paulson Doesn’t Live with Girlfriend Holland Taylor After Nearly 10 Years as a Couple

The ‘American Horror Story’ star opened up about her relationship during an appearance on the ‘SmartLess’ podcast on May 13

Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor pose at the opening night after party for the Second Stage Theater play "Appropriate" on Broadway at The Yard House Times Square on December 18, 2023
Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor in December 2023 . Photo:

Bruce Glikas/WireImage

Sarah Paulson is getting candid about her living situation with girlfriend Holland Taylor

While appearing on the May 13 episode of the SmartLess podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, the American Horror Story star, 49, revealed she still doesn’t live with her girlfriend of nearly ten years 

“Yeah, we don’t live together. That’s the secret to it,” Paulson says of her long-lasting romance. “We spend plenty of time together, but we don’t live in the same house.”

She explains that she and the Two and a Half Men alum, who first met in 2005 and went public with their relationship in 2015, have "been together for a long time now. And part of it has to do with, we’re together when we want to be and we’re not when we don’t.”

Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor attend the Fendi Couture fashion shows on January 26, 2023 in Paris, France.
Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor holding hands in January 2023. Daniele Venturelli/Getty

After the hosts suggested that maybe Paulson and Taylor, 81, could try living in the same house but have separate bedrooms, the Ratched alum still stands her ground.

“No, because my favorite thing to do — we fall asleep holding hands. I like to sleep near her," she says, before joking, "I don’t want to be around her the rest of the time. Just kidding.”

Paulson explains that her partner's romantic history may be part of the reason their arrangement works best for them.

“Holland, before me, hasn’t been in a ton of long-term relationships, whereas Holland is my third. I tend to do that and have more experience doing that, Holland hasn’t. So to get to be her age and sort of not having really cohabited with someone for a long time — I think it was a lot to sort of have me and all my me-ness in her space.” 

Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor pose at the opening night for Stephen Sondheim's "Company" on Broadway at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on December 9, 2021 in New York City.
Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor in December 2021. Bruce Glikas/WireImage

The couple first met at a dinner party nearly twenty years ago while Paulson was dating actress Cherry Jones. Taylor was also in a relationship at the time. 

Almost ten years later, they reconnected in 2015 after Taylor slid into Paulson’s DMs on Twitter. Paulson explained the scene during a January 2019 appearance with Billy Eichner on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

"It's a long story. We met a very, very long time ago. I was with someone else; she was, too," she recalled. "We sort of breezed by one another, and then started following each other on Twitter, and then …"

Eichner then asked, "Holland Taylor slid into your DMs?" and Paulson replied, "She actually did. Yeah, it's pretty great."

Sarah Paulson and girlfriend Holland Taylor pose at The Opening Night of "The Front Page" on Broadway at The Broadhurst Theatre on October 20, 2016 in New York City
Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor in 2016. Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

During a Nov. 2023 appearance on The View, the actress couldn’t help but gush over her relationship with Taylor.

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"I am thrilled and I feel very lucky to be with a person who is smarter, wiser, wittier than I, and that just makes my life better in every possible way" she said. "It makes me want to be a better person and a fully realized person."

Paulson added, "She just also makes me feel seen, which I think is the most important gift you can give to any person."

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