Ryan Thomas has revealed that he and fiancée Lucy Mecklenburgh sleep in separate beds and have separate living rooms at their Manchester home, a living arrangement he jokingly says means they 'don't really like each other'. The couple, who have been together since 2017, share two homes with their children, and Ryan says the separate quarters are partly due to their different TV tastes.
Couple's Unusual Living Arrangement Revealed on Podcast
Speaking on his podcast At Home With the Thomas Bros, alongside his brothers Adam and Scott, Ryan explained the setup. 'In Manchester, we stay in separate beds and we have separate living rooms,' he said. His brother Adam, 38, replied: 'Which I think is f****d up personally as well. You need to stay in the same bed as her.'
Ryan, 42, clarified that while their London property lacks enough rooms for separate quarters, their Manchester home offers ample space. 'Two living rooms. We watch telly separately. We don’t really like each other… I try and spend as little time with Lucy as possible,' he quipped, adding, 'She likes to watch these American TV series and I like to watch crime.'
Ryan's 'Frisky' Attempt and Lucy's Perspective
Ryan recounted a moment when he tried to initiate intimacy in Lucy's living room. 'I stand over her growling like a little puppy dog. I started stroking her and she just looked at me like “what are you doing”,' he told his siblings. He added that Lucy responded, 'Ryan, can you at least sit in the same room as me and watch a series with me,' to which he replied, 'I don’t really want to watch the series with you, you know exactly what I want and I’m here.'
When in London, the family has to watch TV together due to space constraints. Ryan joked, 'I’m sitting there thinking “this is a bit weird”. We don’t sit in the same room together. We only had sex twice and got two kids.' His brother Scott, 38, questioned whether Ryan thinks this is normal, and Ryan responded: 'I don’t know, but it is in my house. What is normal? Who’s got the rulebook of what you’re supposed to do? It’s my house, my rules and that’s how it is. Well it’s Lucy’s rules actually.'
Sleeping Apart Is Not Uncommon
Ryan's comments come as a 2025 study by Bedstar found that one in five couples in the UK now sleep in separate rooms, with about two-thirds doing so every night. More than 40% attribute it to sleep issues. Lucy previously explained on the podcast: 'Basically we sleep in separate bedrooms because Ryan is a nightmare sleeper. Ryan snores, he sleep talks, he whacks me in his sleep.'
Despite the separate beds, Ryan recently expressed his enduring affection for Lucy during a holiday to Crete. In an Instagram post, he wrote: 'When we first met on Bear Grylls 10 years ago, one of our favourite things to do was sneak off down the beach to watch sunsets. Every holiday we’d find the best spot, and before the kids we’d even stay up to watch the sunrise with a bottle of champagne. These days im lucky to get her past midnight!' He added: 'Those have always been some of my favourite memories with Luce. This holiday we discovered the hotel had a babysitting service, so we got to do our favourite thing again… find a beautiful restaurant, watch the sunset, and just be us for a few hours. I love my kids more than anything, but every now and then I love having Lucy Meck all to myself.'
