'Shark Tank's' Barbara Corcoran Says Secret To Marriage Is Sleeping In 'Separate Bedrooms For 40 Years'

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | March 28, 2024 |

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | March 28, 2024 |

Barbara Corcoran is a real estate mogul and judge on ABC’s Shark Tank. In the past, Barbara has made headlines for throwing a mock funeral for her 70th birthday, making a fat joke about Whoopi Goldberg to her face, and saying she loves to fire people on Fridays.

Anywho, this morning, 75-year-old Barbra went on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna to chat about… I dunno, boring business stuff? Manifesting success? She also talked about her marriage to Bill Higgins, a retired Navy captain and former FBI agent. They got hitched in 1988. Jenna Bush asked Barbara what keeps their marriage “fun.” I mean, I assume the real answer is, “We are filthy rich, take a million vacations, and own 5-6 homes all over the world.” But Barbara’s actual answer was a little more relatable:

“Separate bedrooms. I’ve had a separate bedroom with Bill for, like, 40 years. I have to invite him in. He invites me in. It keeps the sexiness in the whole thing.”

Hoda Kotb asked Barbara why the couple initially decided to do separate bedrooms, and she replied:

“Because he’s such a mess. He puts piles of stuff everywhere and I’m very neat. And so I couldn’t sleep well at night. And now I sleep like a baby.”

Here’s Barbara on TODAY:

Barbara’s secret to a successful marriage reminds me of Sheryl Lee Ralph’s arrangement with her husband. She lives in LA, he’s a state senator in Pennsylvania, and they only see each other every two weeks. Sheryl said she’s “so happy” when she sees her husband, but she’s also happy to leave, cuz she knows she’ll be back again soon.

My parents have been married for nearly forty years, and they sleep separately as well. Err, kinda. My dad always starts the night in bed with my mom, but, eventually, her cartoonishly loud snores drive him to the guest room. Hey, whatever works!