Some people love falling asleep next to their significant other and waking beside them the next morning, but in the case of one man, there is nothing worse.
Daniel Rhodes, 25, a New Zealand man living in London, recently went viral on TikTok for a fantastic rant against sharing a bed with a partner, calling the idea insane.
"I have to lie next to someone like a plank of wood and have no room for the rest of my life just because I'm in a relationship or married?" Rhodes asked in bewilderment in a video to his TikTok account @_danielrhodess.
"I think that is so needy, if you think you need to sleep next to the person you're in a relationship with. You are unconscious during that time; why do you need to be next to him?"
Rhodes told Newsweek he didn't always hate sharing a bed, but after getting into a relationship, realized: "While I enjoy cuddles, when it comes to actually sleeping, I don't want someone right there all night every night for the rest of me life; go away!"
"I'm a bit of a hectic sleeper. I like to move around a lot," he said, admitting he sometimes wakes up at the other end of the bed.
"Another person being there makes it more difficult to have that perfect sleep. Bed is my quiet safe space for me time," Rhodes added.
His video, aptly taken while Rhodes is in bed, finishes with him saying "I refuse to take part." It had a huge reaction, with over 140,000 likes since being shared on October 22.
Some completely disagreed, with one commenter writing: "There's nothing better than sleeping next to the person you love." Another posted: "I have my partner AND my dog next to me. Feels empty without them."
Others were firmly on Rhodes' side, as one wrote: "Get your own bedroom & have sleepovers when you want. It's so much better."
"Husband & I don't share a bed. He snores & falls asleep instantly. it's better for our relationship to sleep in separate rooms," another commented.
And one woman took things even further, as she posted: "My husband of 27 yrs & I have separate HOUSES! Bliss!"
Social-media worker Rhodes told Newsweek he decided to make the video while "star-fishing" in bed, thinking "this is lovely, I'm so happy right now, what could possibly ruin this?" He realized another person in the bed with him would.
The dream, Rhodes said, would be an Alaskan King Bed—108 inches by 108 inches—or "another beautiful bedroom, set up with a really comfy bed for nights I or my partner wants their own space."
Experts, too, believe there is something to Rhodes' plan to sleep apart, as sleep expert Kora Habinakova of Sleepseeker told Newsweek in 2023: "Sharing a bed with someone can often lead to a restless night's sleep, and with sleep being all the more important in the winter, a sleep divorce may actually be the key to helping your relationship."
Habinakova added: "If you find yourself losing sleep due to you or your partner's habits, sleeping separately could be the perfect way to help both of you feel more rested and actually reduce conflict."
And as Rhodes put it: "Just because we are together doesn't mean we need to cram up side by side like sardines every night."
That said, he believes having separate houses from your partner is a bit too far.
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