Elon Musk and Grimes have ’semi-separated’ - but what does this mean?

Elon Musk and Grimes arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala (Met Gala) in 2018. Picture: Reuters/Carlo Allegri

Elon Musk and Grimes arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala (Met Gala) in 2018. Picture: Reuters/Carlo Allegri

Published Sep 25, 2021

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Elon Musk and Grimes have announced that they have “semi-separated” after three years of being together. This announcement left most of us scratching our heads in confusion. What is “semi-separated” and how does it work?

Musk revealed the news of the semi-separation to Page Six in a story published on Friday.

The publication quoted Musk as saying the pair remain on good terms and are currently co-parenting their one-year old son, X Æ A-Xii Musk.

"We are semi-separated but still love each other, see each other frequently and are on great terms," Musk said. "It's mostly that my work at SpaceX and Tesla requires me to be primarily in Texas or traveling overseas and her work is primarily in LA," he added. "She's staying with me now and Baby X is in the adjacent room."

’Semi-separation’ has been a popular trend among couples for the past few years.

This term is commonly used when a marriage is at breaking point, but the couple still live together in the same home. While you might think “Okay, but what is the point?”, there are a number of reasons for continuing to live together in the same home.

A couple might semi-separate for the following reasons: when they feel uncertain as to whether breaking up is the correct decision, financial reasons, lifestyle choice, or when the couple have children and don't want to break up the family environment.

There are also three stages in the semi-separating process before the final decision to divorce or break up is made.

The first stage of semi-separating is choosing to stay in separate rooms.

The second stage of semi-separating will involve the parents taking turns to spend time with the children on a weekend. Since both still live in the same house, one of the parents will have to be away and out of the house.

The third stage of semi-separating is when the parents don’t share meals together and start to lead separate lives during the week.

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