Inside '80s Soap Star Judith Light's Unconventional Marriage Of Four Decades

Judith Light's marriage to her former "One Life to Live" co-star, Robert Desiderio, isn't exactly typical. Although the artists have been married for decades, they've spent much of their time on opposite coasts. According to Light, that's why they've made it so long. "It's been the best," she told People in October 2017. "I highly recommend it." She continued, "He loves California, and I would never ask him to leave there and he would never ask me to leave [New York]."

Light also stressed the importance of their individual alone time during an October 2024 interview with People. "He loves to be alone, and I love to be alone," she said. "We both love our alone time. We have that. It's also very creative for us." She continued, "We also make sure that, when we're having something that's upsetting for either one of us, that we both make sure that we stay in the room, and we keep talking."

Of course, the couple still prioritizes seeing each other in person when their schedules permit. Back in 2017, Light revealed that she was flying back and forth to see Desiderio while shooting her series, "Transparent." But she wasn't the only one responsible for making sure they spent physical time together. On that particular day, he was en route to visit her. "So it really is this kind of supportive ... we're on each other's team," she said. And while some might find what works for the spouses a little strange, there are actually several celebrity spouses who don't live together. There also some famous couples who might share a roof but sleep in separate rooms.

Judith Light may have gotten her start on "One Life to Live," but she's done other work aside from portraying the legendary Karen Wolek. She's also landed roles in "Who's The Boss" and "Ugly Betty," in addition to others in theater and film. And while Light can thank her talent and hard work for her success, she may not have ever spread her wings if her eventual husband, Robert Desiderio, hadn't encouraged her to leave the popular soap.

When speaking with People in 2017, the New Jersey native revealed that she was content to live in New York, her dream city. However, Desiderio saw so much more for her than just being a soap star. "He said, 'There are people in another area of this business that don't know what you can do,' and I said, 'Are you talking about California?'" Light told People in 2017. Although she initially rebuffed his urging for her to move to sunny California, he insisted.

Of course, Light took his advice. Eventually, however, the opportunity for her to move back to New York to star in "Ugly Betty" came around. But she didn't wait for Desiderio's thumbs up. "Robert said to me, 'Oh, my God, what are you going to do?'" she told the New Yorker in September 2019. "And I said, 'Well, I think the question is, what are you going to do? Because I'm going to New York.'" See continued, "This is the kind of marriage that we have."