History Main / SleepingSingle

* ''IczerOne'' an anime from the late 1980s provides an extremely unusual example. Nagase's parents seem to have separate beds. This is a pretty hardcore {{yuri}} anime we are talking about.

* Averted on ''TheMorecambeAndWiseShow'' where the two protagonists, for no reason which was ever explained other then RuleOfFunny, shared a bed...

* While technically holding to this trope, Rob and Laura Petrie of ''TheDickVanDykeShow'' were arguably the first TV couple to be shown having an obviously dynamic and ''energetic'' romantic relationship, due to the fantastic chemistry between stars Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore.

** Likewise Herman and Lilly of ''TheMunsters'', who were actually shown in bed together a few weeks after the ''Bewitched'' episode mentioned in the page intro. This may or may not have been hand waved by them [[WeirdnessCoupon being 'weird']].

* On ''FawltyTowers'', Basil and Sybil did this, although by then they could have easily shared a bed. They just hate each other.

* Ned and Chuck from ''PushingDaisies'' have to sleep in twin beds, as Chuck would die by touching Ned, but it also helps with the general [[TheFifties retro feel]] of the show. Later on they put the beds together separated by a plastic sheet, with an inserted arm-glove for hugging.
* Lampooned in the ''{{Roseanne}}'' episode "The Fifties Show", which satirizes various old sitcoms.
--> '''Dan:''' What do you say tonight we push our twin beds together and...?
--> '''Roseanne:''' Stop, the kids will hear you!
* One episode of ''KeepingUpAppearances'' had Hyacinth get a flat in a former big country house as a holiday home. Although they slept in the same bed at home, in the flat they had twin beds; Hyacinth implied they're now too old to be getting up to anything which would require a double.
* In a ''MarriedWithChildren'' episode Al makes separate beds, because he hates sharing the bed with Peggy.
* In perhaps a parody of this trope, Bree and Orson are shown in a hotel room with twin beds in one episode of ''DesperateHousewives'', despite the fact that they're there on their ''honeymoon''.
* On ''{{Seinfeld}}'', Frank and Estelle Costanza have separate beds. But as Frank explains, it's because Estelle has the "jimmy arms" and this was the only way either of them would get any sleep.

* Done as a throwaway gag on Series/{{Scrubs}}. Eliot's WASP-ish, emotionally distant father comes to visit, and says that her mother is having the bedroom redecorated...but he's keeping his the same.

* Francis and Elizabeth Urquhart in the ''HouseOfCards'' trilogy. They seemed to have a very open marriage.
* For a single episode of ''KingOfQueens'' the couple sleep in separate twin beds. A delivery mistake brought them twin beds instead of a new king-size and they are told it will take time to fix and ship out the replacement bed. They grow to like the separate beds (she can read late and he can eat in bed without disturbing each other) and consider keeping them while their friends and family become increasingly worried that their marriage is in trouble. In the end, they decide they miss sleeping in the same bed and send for the replacement bed.

* Certain Jewish traditions surrounding the ''Niddah'', or a woman's menstrual cycle, stipulate that she sleep in a separate bed from her husband during and after her cycle. Many modern Orthodox couples set this up by giving her a separate bedroom for this time.

* Certain Jewish traditions surrounding the ''Niddah'', or a woman's menstrual cycle, stipulate that she sleep in a separate bed from her husband during and after her cycle. Many modern couples set this up by giving her a separate bedroom for this time.

** They may have just been using one of the beds together, and wanted a single large bed for greater comfort. After all, Amy and Rory still managed to [[spoiler:conceive a child]] while in the TARDIS. (When fans asked how and when, StevenMoffat and NeilGaiman's [[WordOfGod both tweeted]] -- accidentally at the same time, and completely by coincidence -- "on the ladder".)

->--'''Niles Crane''', ''{{Frasier}}''

* The movie ''{{Pleasantville}}'', largely set inside the world of a fictional '50s sitcom, makes explicit reference to this trope. One of the signs that the show's world is changing is that larger beds are for sale.

* Classic 1955 Creator/AlfredHitchcock movie ''TheTroubleWithHarry'' included a then-racy comment that a couple would need a double bed, which caused the heroine (played by Creator/ShirleyMacLaine) to have a major blush-attack.

* ''AChristmasStory'' shows Ralphie's parents with the twin bed setup as he cleverly hides the BB gun advert in his mother's magazine.
* A strange example in ''{{Giant}}''. Bick and Leslie do this later in their marriage, even though they started by sleeping in the same bed and are still HappilyMarried.
* Used to contrast the protagonist's two marriages in ''TheCaptainsParadise''.

* Classic 1955 Creator/AlfredHitchcock movie ''TheTroubleWithHarry'' included a then-racy comment that a couple would need a double bed, which caused the heroine (played by ShirleyMacLaine) to have a major blush-attack.

* The Music/AllAmericanRejects music video to "Give You Hell" uses this trope.

* Zig-zagged in ''Film/SnowWhite'' where though the Dwarves sleep in seperate (named) beds, Snow white, aparently, pushes several together to sleep upon. thereby making one bed.

* averted on ''TheMorecambeAndWiseShow'' where the two protagonists, for no reason which was ever explained othet then RuleOfFunny, shared a bed...
* played with on ''FatherTed'' - Ted and Dougal have twin beds in the same room, again for no evident reason other than RuleOfFunny. The question of precisely where Father Jack and Mrs Doyle sleep is, perhaps mercifully, never addressed.
** Father Jack has his own room, never seen but referred to on occasion, and he is locked in it at least once

* The All American Rejects music video to "Give You Hell" uses this trope.

* In ''Series/DoctorWho'' Rory and Amy have been unwillingly doing this, as after the TARDIS shenanigans result in their bedroom being deleted, they tell the Doctor that when he puts it back in, leave out the bunk bed.

* In the ''Imager's Portfolio'' series by L.E. Modesitt Jr, all married imagers are ''required'' to have separate quarters from their spouses. This is because Imagers sometimes Image in their sleep, which could be dangerous for anyone else in the room.

* In ''VisualNovel/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'', Natsuhi and Krauss have separate bedrooms, and it's heavily implied they have a SexlessMarriage.
** George and Shannon slept in separate rooms during a date before the events of the series, to Jessica's disappointment. [[spoiler: If they had slept in the same room, nothing in the series would most likely never had happened since Shannon/Yasu's secret would have gotten out because George would have seen Shannon/Yasu's mutilated crotch (which may include that Yasu is in reality a guy)]].

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Deconstructed in this Cracked.com [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19230_the-5-least-romantic-keys-to-happy-relationship.html article]], which argues that couples who sleep separately tend to be happier.
[[/folder]]

** They may have just been using one of the beds together, and wanted a single large bed for greater comfort. After all, [[spoiler:Amy and Rory still managed to conceive a child while in the TARDIS. On a ladder, according to StevenMoffat and NeilGaiman's [[WordOfGod accidental canon]].]]

[[caption-width-right:250:"Great news, honey! Our nightstand is pregnant!"]]

* This trope as a whole was actually very common, at least in the U.S, for married couples; it wasn't until after the 1960's and the Sexual Revolution that the idea of a couple sleeping in the same bed became a regular thing. There's now a pretty even split of couples who share a bed and couples who sleep in different beds today.
** Also, studies show that those who have certain sleeping habits (like snoring) or health problems are better off sleeping in different beds, and this shows that accommodating those needs ''improve'' a relationship. These studies are usually the reason for married pairs to sleep in different beds; before, different beds were considered to be wholesome and chaste, and the idea of "snuggling" was considered to be vulgar.

* played with on ''FatherTed'' - Ted and Dougal have twin beds in the same room, again for no evident reason other than RuleOfFunny