Brenda Blethyn, best known for her role in Vera, has been with her husband Michael Mayhew for over 50 years, yet they live in separate flats. The 80-year-old actress and Mayhew, who married in 2010, maintain separate homes because they cannot agree on the ideal room temperature.
Why They Live Apart
Brenda told Prima Magazine that Michael lives in the flat above her after they purchased both properties. She explained: "My husband and I have taken the flat beneath ours as he's always cold, I'm always hot, and I'd say, 'Oh, I'm going to open a window', and he'd say, 'Oh, no, don't do that, turn the heat on,' so we needed a bigger place."
She added: "I'm hearing more and more of couples adopting that way of living permanently, but, for us, it will be readjusted once we find somewhere appropriate. The dog is happy as he's got two different places to go – he prefers to be with me, though."
Their Unique Arrangement
Brenda has described their setup as "living apart together" and called it "brilliant" in an interview with The Yorkshire Post. In 2014, she told MailOnline: "I genuinely think it's about having our own space. We have a place on the coast in my hometown of Ramsgate in Kent, and even when we're there we sit in separate rooms, Michael with his music in one, me with my crossword in another."
She continued: "We have so little in common but the relationship obviously works. Michael makes me laugh like nobody else does, and I think he likes me for my honesty and my kindness."
Their Long Relationship
The couple first met at the National Theatre in 1975, but did not marry until 35 years later at a registry office ceremony in 2010. This is not Brenda's first marriage; she was previously married to Alan Blethyn from 1964, when she was 19, for nine years. She kept his surname as her stage name.
Speaking about her first marriage, she told The Guardian in 2013: "My brothers looked after me and protected me from predators – so well that I was quite innocent sexually when I came to marry for the first time at 19." She also said: "My first husband, Alan Blethyn, just fell for someone else. I was devastated when he left, but he really was a lovely fella – and the other lady is nice too. It was just one of those things."
On why they married after such a long engagement, she told Radio Times: "We were getting on a bit and it seemed the sensible thing to do. Neither of us were going anywhere so it just presents a problem if one of us pops our clogs."
