Sarah Michelle Gellar has shared the ‘simple secret’ behind her joyful 23-year union with Freddie Prinze Jr.
The two first crossed paths in the 90s while working on the 1997 teen thriller, I Know What You Did Last Summer.
In their early 20s, Gellar and Prinze collaborated on several films during the early years of their relationship, including the 1999 romcom She’s All That, and later in the 2002 comedy Scooby-Doo and its 2004 sequel Monsters Unleashed, following their marriage in 2002.
Having enjoyed more than twenty years of wedded bliss, the couple are also proud parents of two children: Charlotte, 15, and Rocky, 12.
It’s clear they have discovered the key to maintaining a happy and healthy relationship.
The actress, known for her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is set to appear in the show’s upcoming revival. She discussed this and her husband’s involvement in the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel during an appearance on Today with Jenna & Friends.
However, co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Tiffany Haddish were eager to learn the ‘secret’ behind the couple’s enduring 23-year marriage.
The 48-year-old actress swiftly answered: “Separate bathrooms. It’s that simple.”
Years ago, the couple decided to maintain separate bathrooms, which Gellar mentioned as a ‘secret’ to their marriage in 2017.
Speaking on Harry Connick Jr’s talk show, Harry, she explained: “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.”
This revelation came as the couple celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary in September of the previous year, having once again collaborated on the movie Clerks III in 2022.
In 2020, the couple recounted to PEOPLE that their first date happened by chance, emphasizing the friendship they had developed before becoming serious.
“We were friends for a very long time,” Gellar recalled. “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 chimed in: “From our first date, I didn’t go on dates with other girls, nor did I even want to pursue dates with other girls.”
Although the couple has spent much of their adult lives in the public eye, they prioritize similar values regarding their children.
Gellar shared with The Hollywood Reporter that neither Rocky nor Charlotte will be allowed to explore acting professionally until after they graduate high school.