Sarah Michelle Gellar has opened up about what she believes has helped keep her marriage to Freddie Prinze Jr strong, 23 years after they tied the knot.
The two actors first crossed paths in the 1990s while working on the 1997 film I Know What You Did Last Summer, where they quickly formed a connection.
They later appeared in more projects around the same era, including She’s All That (1999) and the live-action Scooby-Doo movies — the 2002 original and 2004 follow-up Monsters Unleashed.
As their careers stayed busy, their relationship continued to deepen, and they married in 2002.
Since then, they’ve built a family together and share two children: daughter Charlotte and son Rocky.
When it comes to what makes their relationship work day to day, Gellar says one specific household setup has made a big difference — sharing a bedroom, but not a bathroom.
“You don’t have to be so fancy that there’s two bathrooms in your bedroom!” she told People. “There just has to be another bathroom available.”
Gellar also explained that she separates her public identity from her private life, describing it as balancing two versions of herself.
“I always say I’m two people: I’m Sarah Michelle Gellar and I’m Sarah Prinze. They’re different people.”
Reflecting on how they’ve maintained stability over the years, the 48-year-old said they’ve intentionally kept things low-key and largely out of the spotlight — something she credits fans for respecting.
She revisited the same topic last year when she appeared on Today with Jenna & Friends and was asked again about the “secret” behind their long-lasting marriage.
“Separate bathrooms. It’s that simple.”
Her stance on the bathroom rule isn’t new, either. She mentioned it years earlier, back in 2017, during an appearance on Harry Connick Jr.’s talk show Harry.
After reiterating that two bathrooms can be a relationship saver, she added that some things are simply better left private — and joked that spending habits might also benefit from a little separation.
“I feel like there are certain things that should just be kept your own and they never need to know. Also maybe, possibly a separate shopping credit card? Or if you’re a guy, maybe a separate gaming card so I don’t have to see how much video games cost.”
The couple have spoken before about how their relationship began, including recalling how a long friendship eventually turned into something more.
“We were friends for a very long time,” Gellar said. “We’d had many dinners before. And we were supposed to go with someone else, and the third person didn’t make it out, and we decided to still go…. We were just two people at dinner catching up. We had a long car ride and a long dinner and things just happened.”
Prinze also shared that once they started dating, he wasn’t interested in keeping his options open.
“From our first date, I didn’t go on dates with other girls, nor did I even want to pursue dates with other girls.”