If you and your partner are considering the possibility of having an open relationship, there are several factors you need to consider before jumping in. This means that both of you can have relationships with other people. Are you ready to take it on? Above all, you must establish a series of standards that you will both have to respect and run a certain amount of risk.
What is an open relationship?
Basically, it is a relationship in which both members of a relationship agree to have sex outside of the couple. To have an open relationship, it is not necessary to sign a contract. In fact, many couples don’t even make this decision explicitly but agree that if the opportunity arises to have an affair with someone else, there will be no no problem. Although normally, when we approach this subject as a couple, it is that there is a certain search for other people with whom to have sexual relations with the agreement of our partner.
Normal relationships emphasize fidelity, trust and sexual relations within the couple. But couples who have an open relationship open the door to the possibility of having sexual encounters with other people. Some decide to return to a normal life as a couple, and others are ready to share the love and run the risk that one of the spouses will meet someone else and not return.
Causes of Open Relationships
The idea that we have of this type of relationship is that it mainly concerns young people, but there are also many married couples who, after several years of living together, decide to try new experiences with third parties. And, for a couple to consider having an open relationship, a series of circumstances or causes must present themselves.
Some of these reasons can be: the spouses realize that they are not able to satisfy the needs of the other; that they desire to have sexual experiences with other people; that they live in different or distant countries and decide to maintain this type of relationship for a certain period of time; that they have personal problems and wish to use these sexual relations to escape from them; that their relationship is more based on economic and social reasons than on love or that they need more freedom, distractions and challenges.
Open Relationship Rules
It is essential that before starting an open relationship, the couple establishes a series of rules that both members must respect. Here are some rules that can help you manage an open relationship more easily and pleasantly:
- You must prepare yourself psychologically to avoid jealousy and guilt.
- Both members of the couple must agree to have an open relationship.
- Your spouse should always take priority over other people and this should be made clear from the start.
- You should not tell your spouse the details of every sexual encounter.
- You need to establish a specific time frame for this type of relationship.
- You absolutely must avoid the appearance of feelings for other people.
Some rules won’t be easy to follow, for one reason or another. But if you really want the open relationship to work, you’ll have to at least try. At first, you can try, and if it doesn’t work, give up immediately so as not to harm your relationship.
The For Open Relationships
Having an open relationship has some advantages over a normal relationship. The relationship must be reciprocal and open for both members of the couple – or both, or no one -. First of all, sexual relations are more varied and what we experience with other people can subsequently enrich couple relations and increase pleasure. In addition, this type of relationship allows you not to feel threatened by the presence of a third party, because you know that it will only be temporary.
Jealousy disappears, too, because everyone has internalized this new type of relationship and knows that their partner will come back afterwards. It’s a good option for people who don’t like to feel chained to a relationship but don’t want to end it because it’s working well. It is also a good solution for couples whose flame has died out after a while or those who feel worn out and need to have fun and experience new things.
Cons of Open Relationships
Above all, this type of relationship can cause problems in the event of repeated adventures: they can create a spirit of competition in the couple to see who sleeps with the most people. And, more than anything, open relationships can become problematic if you share the details of your sexual encounter, as it could hurt your spouse. In this case, it is best not to talk about it. Another disadvantage is that the urge to introduce a little change in your life can end up creating a kind of routine because partner changes tend to be boring.
Another risk is that one of the two spouses has more sexual relations than the other and that this causes unexpected jealousies. This could create dissatisfaction in one of the two members which, if not taken into account, could end the relationship. It can also happen that one of the two spouses meets another person with whom he ends up becoming romantically involved, falling in love and ending his previous relationship.
Because introducing a third party into a couple is a very delicate thing. Some couples in an open relationship prefer third parties to be strangers, to prevent feelings from arising and causing jealousy. But others don’t like to make contact with strangers and have relationships with people they know. This creates a risk of emotional involvement in a friendship which ultimately could end both the relationship and the friendship.
As they say, every relationship is a whole world. And having an open relationship is not that easy. These suit a lot of couples but it’s impossible to guess how they might affect yours. You and your spouse need to talk it over, think it through, and be sure what you want to do. When you are really sure of yourself, you can try this new adventure.
