{"id":571284,"date":"2026-03-29T03:45:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T03:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/571284\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T03:45:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T03:45:31","slug":"is-the-secret-to-a-happy-marriage-having-a-separate-mens-shed-and-she-shed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/571284\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the secret to a happy marriage having a separate men’s shed and ‘she shed’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is the secret to a happy marriage having a separate men’s shed and “she shed”?<\/p>\n

Jodie Cox jokes with her husband about who has the most hobbies.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Dave and Jodie Cox have always prioritised their own hobbies within their marriage. (ABC Far North: Amanda Cranston)<\/p>\n

After 33 years together, the “almost” empty nesters believe following their own passions has kept their relationship strong.<\/p>\n

Following individual passions<\/p>\n

For three decades, Jodie and Dave Cox have shared a happy marriage.<\/p>\n

And it’s all the happier, they say, because they each have their own creative projects and the space to pursue them.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Dave’s studio is where he works on his passion projects. (ABC Far North: Amanda Cranston)<\/p>\n

For Dave, that includes fixing cars, building stuff, electronics, making short films, documentaries and editing.<\/p>\n

His shed out the back is full of cars and his inside studio is used for editing projects, such as docos and local short films.<\/p>\n

“These are passion projects, I think if I did it for work it wouldn’t be as much fun,” he said.<\/p>\n

Jodie, on the other hand, loves paper crafting, candle making, decoupage, mosaic and high teas.<\/p>\n

\"Lady<\/p>\n

Jodie says her craft room is therapeutic and she couldn’t live without it (ABC Far North: Amanda Cranston)<\/p>\n

She has a dedicated craft room, where she often sits with girlfriends creating cards and catching up.<\/p>\n

“I would never want to be without my craft room, it’s therapeutic,” Jodie said.<\/p>\n

She also jokes that she can’t afford any more hobbies because she doesn’t have any more space.<\/p>\n

“We love doing things together, but having time and space to ourselves helps create a more sane environment,” Jodie said.<\/p>\n

Finding purpose<\/p>\n

Jane and Todd Mitchell run a civil construction business together.<\/p>\n

After 21 years of marriage, they are about to become empty nesters when their youngest heads to university next year.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jane is now pursuing her own passion projects while Todd has many hobbies. (ABC Far North: Amanda Cranston)<\/p>\n

Given the couple spends their working hours together, they also need time to pursue their own interests during their down time.<\/p>\n

Jane said she finally feels like she can focus on her own hobbies (now).<\/p>\n

Last year she founded the She Shed in Cairns, so other women had a space to connect, create friendships and engage in their hobbies.<\/p>\n

“It’s opened up a whole network of new friendships and I’m actually crafting again,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Lady<\/p>\n

Jane inside the She Shed in Cairns, which allows lots of women to enjoy craft and friendship. (ABC Far North: Amanda Cranston)<\/p>\n

Todd said the She Shed has been great for Jane.<\/p>\n

“She’s definitely happier because it’s given her purpose,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Todd is happy because he gets to add to his growing collection of vintage tractors, motorbikes and mountain bikes.<\/p>\n

“You’ve got to have your own interests, as long as you come together at the end of the day,” Todd said.<\/p>\n

“And you love each other.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Todd has been collecting vintage tractors for years and has his own shed for his passion. (Supplied: Jane Mitchell)<\/p>\n

Your own identity<\/p>\n

Psychologist and CEO of Relationships Australia, Elisabeth Shaw, agrees relationships won’t thrive if couples are entirely focused on each other.<\/p>\n

“It’s not so much about the separateness, it’s about bolstering your own identity so you bring stuff back to the nest that enriches you both,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Having separate interests can be very valuable.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Psychologist and CEO of Relationships Australia NSW, Elisabeth Shaw, says couples need outside interests to thrive. (Supplied: Elisabeth Shaw)<\/p>\n

Ms Shaw said having other people and interests outside the marriage bubble brings life and energy to the relationship, separate news, stories and experiences to share.<\/p>\n

She explained that it helps you discover new things about yourself, and seeing your partner engaged and having fun can be very attractive.<\/p>\n

“There’s no ‘one size fits all’ and couples need to find their own rhythm,” Ms Shaw said.<\/p>\n

Whether couples are empty nesters, navigating retirement or taking on the role of full-time carer, Ms Shaw believes taking time to pursue their own interests becomes vital.<\/p>\n

“It’s perfectly normal to take time for yourself as part of a healthy relationship \u2014 it’s not a bad thing,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Hayley and Gio love having their own space to work on projects.\u00a0 (ABC Far North: Amanda Cranston)<\/p>\n

Space and creativity<\/p>\n

Cairns artist Hayley Gillespie believes all couples need their own space to think and create.<\/p>\n

After working for years from the lounge room of the Queenslander she shares with her partner of 12 years, Giovanni (Gio) Douven, Hayley built an art studio in the backyard.<\/p>\n

“When I walk through the doors of my studio, my brain is in a different creative space,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Lady<\/p>\n

Artist Hayley built an art studio in her backyard. (ABC Far North: Amanda Cranston)<\/p>\n

“I go into my own world and it’s good stress-relief.”<\/p>\n

Having always worked from home, Hayley said having separate spaces for both her and Gio has been great for their relationship.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Gio likes to tinker in his shed but also helps Hayley with her art projects, like the giant fibreglass fish. (ABC Far North: Amanda Cranston)<\/p>\n

Gio has his own shed space under the house for his tools, bikes and home projects.<\/p>\n

“I like tinkering on the car, working on my bikes and I make a lot of stuff for Hayley here,” Gio said.<\/p>\n

Hayley said it is vital they each have their own space to make a mess and follow their own passions.<\/p>\n

“It’s what makes us such a great partnership, and he makes all my DIY dreams come true,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Lady<\/p>\n

Hayley is able to switch off and be creative in her art studio. ((ABC Far North: Amanda Cranston))<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is the secret to a happy marriage having a separate men’s shed and “she shed”? Jodie Cox jokes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":571285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[280521,64,63,22424,280515,280520,134,280512,60292,280519,136477,211639,280518,2581,63408,280517,280516,3637,1793,280513,280514,205672],"class_list":["post-571284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-art-studio","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-carer","tag-craft-room","tag-empty-nesters","tag-entertainment","tag-happy-marriage","tag-hobbies","tag-home-projects","tag-interests","tag-man-cave","tag-mans-cave","tag-marriage","tag-mens-shed","tag-passions","tag-pastime","tag-relationships","tag-retirement","tag-secret-to-a-happy-marriage","tag-she-shed","tag-supportive-partner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}