Sarah Paulson is happy with the life she has built with Holland Taylor, and she does not see marriage as their next step.
The American Horror Story actress, 51, discussed her relationship with Taylor, 83, during the November 12 episode of Chelsea Handler’s Dear Chelsea podcast.
The two first met at a dinner party in 2005, while both were in other relationships. They reconnected a decade later and began dating in 2015.
The actresses, who have a 32-year age difference, will celebrate 12 years together in January 2027, Paulson said, according to PEOPLE.
Why Paulson and Taylor Haven’t Felt the Need to Marry
Handler asked what Paulson liked most about being unmarried to the love of her life. Paulson admitted she had not considered the question quite that way, then explained that she felt she had preserved a sense of herself.
“I feel married to her,” Paulson said. What she has never wanted, she explained, is to have that connection set down as something fixed and permanent. “It gives me the heebie-jeebies,” she added.
The freedom she described has nothing to do with dating someone else or spending less time with Taylor. She meant keeping a sense of personal independence within their relationship, and said she believes Taylor feels similarly. Paulson also said neither actress wants to be called a wife.
Handler agreed with her dislike of the term and raised its association with belonging to another person. Taylor had already voiced her position during an August 8, 2024, appearance on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show. Asked whether they might marry, she said they had never discussed it with much interest, according to The Independent.
Taylor said marriage did not hold the same significance for them that it does for many other couples. She left the possibility open, saying they would marry if they wanted to.
Paulson Says Parenthood Would Be Too Overwhelming for Her
Paulson also told Handler she is happy with her decision not to have children. She explained that her concern was her ability to handle the emotional responsibility of raising a child.
She compared it to the intense worry she already feels about her dogs. Even a minor problem can make it hard for her to leave the house, she said. Imagining herself as a parent, she pictured following a child around instead of being able to let them go out into the world.
Holland Taylor Clarified Their Separate Homes in an October Interview
Taylor offered a more practical look at their partnership during her October 20 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. Barrymore asked whether it was true that the couple did not live together.
Taylor has an apartment in New York where Paulson stays when she is in town. If both actresses are in the city at the same time, they share it. In Los Angeles, they maintain separate properties, but Taylor said Paulson had been staying at her home for almost a year while waiting to move into a new house.
“We’re together as much as geography and our jobs let us be,” she said. That update added context to Paulson’s May 2024 appearance on SmartLess, when she jokingly credited separate homes with helping their relationship last.
When the hosts proposed living in one house with separate bedrooms, Paulson explained that she likes sleeping beside Taylor. The two fall asleep holding hands.
