Star Wars posters on the wall? No chance
LIBBY ASH, 24, an account manager for a PR company, moved in with partner David Richards, 26, an electrical engineer, three years ago. They are renting a house, where they have separate bedrooms, and are saving for a deposit for a mortgage.
LIBBY SAYS:
WHEN David’s housemate announced he was moving out in 2017, we’d been dating for three years and decided it was the perfect opportunity to live together. While we love one another’s company, we both also like our own space, so decided that I would take the bedroom his friend had vacated on the first floor. I’ve always been a light sleeper and David works shifts — he’s either up at 5am, to start at 6am, or not coming to bed until 1am after finishing at 10pm — so, either way, he’d be bound to disturb me. We’re both wise enough to know that would inevitably lead to rows. However, our arrangement doesn’t get in the way of our love life. In fact, I think it means we’re less likely to take one another for granted. You make more of an effort when you’re not under each other’s feet all the time. Tuesdays, when David finishes work at 2pm, and Fridays are dedicated ‘date’ nights. We cook and eat dinner at home or, before lockdown, would go out to a restaurant. He has a smart TV in his bedroom so I take my toothbrush into his en suite, and we round off the evening watching a film or series and I’ll then spend the night in his bed. David snores and, when I try to roll him on to his side or give him a nudge in the night it makes him grumpy, so if it becomes a problem, I’ll creep out and go up to my own room. I like things to be tidy, so it’s great to find it just as I left it — clean and in order. My room is very feminine. I have fairy lights, pretty little mirrors, a nice rug and cotton bedsheets while David’s is like a man cave: all dark bed-sheets. He even has Star Wars posters on the walls, for heaven’s sake! I also have my own bathroom, where I can leave all my perfumes and moisturisers, and I never have to put up with shaving hairs in the sink. When we tell people we have separate bedrooms, they are intrigued.
Of course, they ask about the sex but I explain that we have two nights a week when we’re together and that makes it more special. I think some probably envy us.
DAVID SAYS:
SOME of my friends think it’s a bit odd — but I think we get the best of both worlds. We spend lots of time together but also have our own space to do what we want, so I’m not sure it will change, even if I stopped working shifts. I can watch Star Wars films after a late shift, which Libby wouldn’t want to do. I never stay over in Libby’s room because it gets too bright in the mornings, whereas I have a black-out curtain to keep the sun out. I definitely keep it tidier than I would if Libby didn’t join me in there. If we shared a bedroom, I’m sure she would object to me having all my football memorabilia, weights and aftershave lying around.