diff --git a/book/src/editor.md b/book/src/editor.md
index ba03e90e5..1c0ca6c09 100644
--- a/book/src/editor.md
+++ b/book/src/editor.md
@@ -79,6 +79,9 @@ The `[editor.statusline]` key takes the following sub-keys:
 | `center`      | A list of elements aligned to the middle of the statusline | `[]` |
 | `right`       | A list of elements aligned to the right of the statusline | `["diagnostics", "selections", "register", "position", "file-encoding"]` |
 | `separator`   | The character used to separate elements in the statusline | `"│"` |
+| `separator.left`   | The character used to separate elements in the left statusline | `"│"` |
+| `separator.center`   | The character used to separate elements in the center statusline | `"│"` |
+| `separator.right`   | The character used to separate elements in the right statusline | `"│"` |
 | `mode.normal` | The text shown in the `mode` element for normal mode | `"NOR"` |
 | `mode.insert` | The text shown in the `mode` element for insert mode | `"INS"` |
 | `mode.select` | The text shown in the `mode` element for select mode | `"SEL"` |
@@ -104,7 +107,7 @@ The following statusline elements can be configured:
 | `primary-selection-length` | The number of characters currently in primary selection |
 | `position` | The cursor position |
 | `position-percentage` | The cursor position as a percentage of the total number of lines |
-| `separator` | The string defined in `editor.statusline.separator` (defaults to `"│"`) |
+| `separator` | The string defined in `editor.statusline.separator` (defaults to `"│"`) (`separator`/`separator.left`/`separator.center`/`separator.right`/) |
 | `spacer` | Inserts a space between elements (multiple/contiguous spacers may be specified) |
 | `version-control` | The current branch name or detached commit hash of the opened workspace |
 | `register` | The current selected register |
diff --git a/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs b/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs
index 7437cbd07..9fba1c120 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ use tui::buffer::Buffer as Surface;
 use tui::text::{Span, Spans};
 
 pub struct RenderContext<'a> {
+    pub position: RenderPosition,
     pub editor: &'a Editor,
     pub doc: &'a Document,
     pub view: &'a View,
@@ -37,11 +38,20 @@ impl<'a> RenderContext<'a> {
             view,
             focused,
             spinners,
+            position: RenderPosition::default(),
             parts: RenderBuffer::default(),
         }
     }
 }
 
+#[derive(Default)]
+pub enum RenderPosition {
+    #[default]
+    Left,
+    Center,
+    Right,
+}
+
 #[derive(Default)]
 pub struct RenderBuffer<'a> {
     pub left: Spans<'a>,
@@ -76,7 +86,10 @@ pub fn render(context: &mut RenderContext, viewport: Rect, surface: &mut Surface
     element_ids
         .iter()
         .map(|element_id| get_render_function(*element_id))
-        .for_each(|render| render(context, write_left));
+        .for_each(|render| {
+            context.position = RenderPosition::Left;
+            render(context, write_left)
+        });
 
     surface.set_spans(
         viewport.x,
@@ -91,7 +104,10 @@ pub fn render(context: &mut RenderContext, viewport: Rect, surface: &mut Surface
     element_ids
         .iter()
         .map(|element_id| get_render_function(*element_id))
-        .for_each(|render| render(context, write_right));
+        .for_each(|render| {
+            context.position = RenderPosition::Right;
+            render(context, write_right)
+        });
 
     surface.set_spans(
         viewport.x
@@ -109,7 +125,10 @@ pub fn render(context: &mut RenderContext, viewport: Rect, surface: &mut Surface
     element_ids
         .iter()
         .map(|element_id| get_render_function(*element_id))
-        .for_each(|render| render(context, write_center));
+        .for_each(|render| {
+            context.position = RenderPosition::Center;
+            render(context, write_center)
+        });
 
     // Width of the empty space between the left and center area and between the center and right area.
     let spacing = 1u16;
@@ -495,6 +514,11 @@ where
     F: Fn(&mut RenderContext, String, Option<Style>) + Copy,
 {
     let sep = &context.editor.config().statusline.separator;
+    let sep = match context.position {
+        RenderPosition::Left => &sep.left,
+        RenderPosition::Center => &sep.center,
+        RenderPosition::Right => &sep.right,
+    };
 
     write(
         context,
diff --git a/helix-view/src/editor.rs b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
index 635f72619..8fc900e22 100644
--- a/helix-view/src/editor.rs
+++ b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
@@ -460,7 +460,7 @@ pub struct StatusLineConfig {
     pub left: Vec<StatusLineElement>,
     pub center: Vec<StatusLineElement>,
     pub right: Vec<StatusLineElement>,
-    pub separator: String,
+    pub separator: StatusLineSeparator,
     pub mode: ModeConfig,
 }
 
@@ -484,7 +484,7 @@ impl Default for StatusLineConfig {
                 E::Position,
                 E::FileEncoding,
             ],
-            separator: String::from("│"),
+            separator: StatusLineSeparator::default(),
             mode: ModeConfig::default(),
         }
     }
@@ -575,6 +575,135 @@ pub enum StatusLineElement {
     Register,
 }
 
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "kebab-case", default)]
+pub struct StatusLineSeparator {
+    pub left: String,
+    pub center: String,
+    pub right: String,
+}
+
+impl From<String> for StatusLineSeparator {
+    fn from(v: String) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            left: v.clone(),
+            center: v.clone(),
+            right: v,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl Default for StatusLineSeparator {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        String::from("│").into()
+    }
+}
+
+enum StatusLineSeparatorField {
+    Left,
+    Center,
+    Right,
+}
+
+struct StatusLineSeparatorVisitor;
+
+impl<'de> serde::de::Visitor<'de> for StatusLineSeparatorVisitor {
+    type Value = StatusLineSeparator;
+
+    fn expecting(&self, formatter: &mut std::fmt::Formatter) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        formatter.write_str("a string or a map with keys 'left', 'center', and 'right'")
+    }
+
+    fn visit_str<E>(self, value: &str) -> Result<Self::Value, E>
+    where
+        E: serde::de::Error,
+    {
+        Ok(StatusLineSeparator::from(value.to_string()))
+    }
+
+    fn visit_map<M>(self, mut map: M) -> Result<Self::Value, M::Error>
+    where
+        M: serde::de::MapAccess<'de>,
+    {
+        let mut left = None;
+        let mut center = None;
+        let mut right = None;
+
+        while let Some(key) = map.next_key()? {
+            match key {
+                StatusLineSeparatorField::Left => {
+                    if left.is_some() {
+                        return Err(serde::de::Error::duplicate_field("left"));
+                    }
+                    left = Some(map.next_value()?);
+                }
+                StatusLineSeparatorField::Center => {
+                    if center.is_some() {
+                        return Err(serde::de::Error::duplicate_field("center"));
+                    }
+                    center = Some(map.next_value()?);
+                }
+                StatusLineSeparatorField::Right => {
+                    if right.is_some() {
+                        return Err(serde::de::Error::duplicate_field("right"));
+                    }
+                    right = Some(map.next_value()?);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        let left = left.unwrap_or_else(|| String::from("│"));
+        let center = center.unwrap_or_else(|| String::from("│"));
+        let right = right.unwrap_or_else(|| String::from("│"));
+
+        Ok(StatusLineSeparator {
+            left,
+            center,
+            right,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for StatusLineSeparatorField {
+    fn deserialize<D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<StatusLineSeparatorField, D::Error>
+    where
+        D: Deserializer<'de>,
+    {
+        struct FieldVisitor;
+
+        impl<'de> serde::de::Visitor<'de> for FieldVisitor {
+            type Value = StatusLineSeparatorField;
+
+            fn expecting(&self, formatter: &mut std::fmt::Formatter) -> std::fmt::Result {
+                formatter.write_str("`left`, `center`, or `right`")
+            }
+
+            fn visit_str<E>(self, value: &str) -> Result<StatusLineSeparatorField, E>
+            where
+                E: serde::de::Error,
+            {
+                match value {
+                    "left" => Ok(StatusLineSeparatorField::Left),
+                    "center" => Ok(StatusLineSeparatorField::Center),
+                    "right" => Ok(StatusLineSeparatorField::Right),
+                    _ => Err(serde::de::Error::unknown_field(value, &["left", "center", "right"])),
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        deserializer.deserialize_identifier(FieldVisitor)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for StatusLineSeparator {
+    fn deserialize<D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Self, D::Error>
+    where
+        D: Deserializer<'de>,
+    {
+        deserializer.deserialize_any(StatusLineSeparatorVisitor)
+    }
+}
+
 // Cursor shape is read and used on every rendered frame and so needs
 // to be fast. Therefore we avoid a hashmap and use an enum indexed array.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]