There Are Some Weird Things About Barbara Corcoran's Marriage

Barbara Corcoran has been married to her husband, Bill Higgins, for close to four decades, so it's safe to say she knows a thing or two about making a relationship work. As it turns out, flipping convention on its head is one of the ways she's gone about it over the years. 

Strange as it may seem, the couple sleeps in separate bedrooms — and not ones they can freely enter without being expressly told they're allowed to. Corcoran shared this detail in a March 2024 episode of "Today with Hoda and Jenna," telling the hosts, "I've had a separate bedroom with Bill for, like, the 40 years. I have to invite him in, he invites me in." Corcoran added that the decision initially stemmed from their differing levels of tidiness. Specifically, the "Shark Tank" star found her partner's messiness so overwhelming that she wasn't able to get a good night's rest. As such, it's not exactly surprising that when it comes to Higgins' invitations, Corcoran admitted on "The Jamie Kern Lima Show" that she wasn't particularly interested. Speaking of the singular time he extended her an invitation to his boudoir, Corcoran quipped, "I said, 'No, thank you.' That's why he hasn't come back!"

That's not to say the longtime couple never spends any time together, though. Corcoran also shared on "The Jamie Kern Lima Show" that they love to play Scrabble together and are equally competitive. "I love beating him at Scrabble, and he loves beating me at Scrabble, and that's a great night," she gushed, adding that they play over a glass of wine ... before going to their separate rooms. Hey, if it works, it works! 

Mess aside, another major reason why Barbara Corcoran believes separate bedrooms are the secret to success in her marriage is because having them allows her to recharge her social battery, and in turn, be kinder to her husband. Pointing out that her life is jam-packed between work and entertaining her loved ones, she explained on "The Jamie Kern Lima Show" that by the end of the day, she really needs some space to decompress. However, she jokingly pointed out, "My husband is not relaxing." Sharing that Bill Higgins was prone to bouncing ideas off her before bedtime, Corcoran explained that she doesn't have the bandwidth for that — and that it ended up making her irritable towards him. "I'm a little short," she admitted. 

With that in mind, Corcoran explained that she needed to have a space she could retreat to, to re-center herself. She also chuckled that having her own, off-limits room helped communicate her need for space to Higgins in a very efficient way. "If I go to the living room, my husband follows me. I go to my bedroom, he doesn't dare come in," she said. Luckily, the "Shark Tank" star and her husband live in a sprawling penthouse apartment, so there are more than enough places for him to hang out solo. 

Unorthodox as it may seem, it's certainly worked for Corcoran and Higgins. What's more, even with their separate rooms, there's no question that Corcoran adores her husband. Taking to Instagram in November 2024, she wrote, "What I've got is the real, lasting stuff. Bill is my rock, my closest friend, and an amazing father and grandfather. I couldn't ask for a better partner in life." With that kind of love, who needs to share a room, anyway?