The Surprising Benefits Of Open Marriage

This leads to the next surprising benefit of open marriage. If you and your partner are free to explore other relationships, within whatever bounds you establish, you also have the opportunity to choose your partner, and then choose them again, based on true desire rather than out of obligation or guilt or duty. You have access to their whole, carefree self, not just the part you lay claim to in your marital and domestic arrangements. In other words, by opening up your marriage, you might find yourself deciding to just be with your spouse. You might, for a time, practice a kind of monogamy that is chosen rather than de facto.

The obvious benefit of open marriage, expanding your sexual horizons, has some surprising benefits of its own. While the novelty of someone new has its advantages, there is often no substitute for the familiarity long-term sexual relationships offer. When you can have both, life is full indeed. After enjoying time with other men or women, you might find yourself developing a deeper appreciation for your partner, once he or she is out there learning new things and bringing them back to you. And while comfort and familiarity can breed dullness, it can seem less stultifying when it’s not your only option. Nothing dampens sexual desire and love like feeling completely and utterly trapped.

My husband and I are still relatively new to open marriage and have much to learn, but we continue to be surprised by the ways our relationship has grown since we opened up to each other and opened up our marriage. We might not always stay this way, but for now it works and we’re happier than we’ve ever been.