EXCLUSIVE: Couple who became more like ‘co-workers’ after 32 years together reveal how they saved their marriage by taking a seven-month ‘SABBATICAL’ that saw them sleeping in separate rooms – and say their romance is now better than ever

A couple who took a seven-month ‘sabbatical’ from their marriage after becoming ‘more like colleagues’ claim their relationship is now ‘better than ever’.

Sarah Seidelmann, 56, and husband Mark, 57, moved into separate rooms in a bid to rekindle their 32-year relationship.

The parents of four would still have “intimate visitors” – what they call “sleepovers” – but would otherwise spend the night alone.

The pair, from Duluth, Minnesota, labeled the break a “sabbatical” and say it has strengthened their bond.

Sarah, a writer and artist, moved into a separate room in February.

She then left home in June after her father’s death, before moving back in with doctor Mark in September and sharing the same bed.

‘It was this period where I just felt like I needed space. I longed for a place of my own,” Sarah explained.

‘As a couple we have gone through a huge transformation. The relationship is better than ever. It felt like a sabbatical.

“Maybe we all need a sabbatical after marriage.”

Sarah and Mark have been together for 34 years and married for 32 years.

They have four children: George, 27, Katherine, 22, Josephine, 20 and Charlie, 18.

“After being together for so long, both having busy careers and raising four children, we had really become disconnected,” Sarah admitted.

‘We had become a bit more like colleagues. We needed the space to find ourselves apart.”

When Sarah moved to another bedroom in February, they both discovered they enjoyed having their own space.

“I felt bad about sleeping in a separate bedroom and I was afraid my husband would feel terrible about it,” she said.

‘But he also felt better. We would have intimate visits. Slumber parties.”

Sarah decided to move into her own home in June after struggling with the loss of her father.

“I said, ‘I’m moving.’ It was just painful,” she said.

‘It felt so good to be in my own space. I’ve done a lot of soul searching.

‘I really enjoy my own company. The idea of ​​divorce came up.

“But we wanted to repair and repair the relationship.

‘We have repaired the vulnerability. The feeling of security.’

The couple took a trip to Ireland in September and decided they were ready to live together and sleep in the same room again.

“Now we’re back in the same bedroom and it feels really great,” she said.

“It feels wonderful.”

Sarah said she was ‘so happy’ she was walking away from her marriage.

‘Thirty years is a long time. “I took a sabbatical from work 15 years ago,” she said.

“I feel like it’s the same. You learn a lot by doing that. The relationship is a hundredfold.

‘It’s really fantastic.’

Mark admitted: ‘Sleeping in separate bedrooms was a huge energetic relief for me. I felt like I could have my own space without feeling both of our fears all night long.

‘I felt much more relaxed and comfortable. This was all very metaphorical for our relationship in other areas.

‘I have learned that I have no problem taking care of myself and living alone. In many ways it is much easier.

‘But there is also a desire to experience life with someone.

“I better realized the deeper connection and love that Sarah and I share, beyond the dysfunctions of our marriage.

“The inner and relationship work we had done helped foster a sense of deeper connection with each other. We both feel more relaxed.

‘We don’t have to be on our guard all the time. We feel safer being together and more comfortable in that vulnerability.”