Family & Relationships Open Marriages/ Relationships- an emerging trend?

[phantom13]

Two couples of my acquaintance have tried it. Both had kids. In both cases it was effectively a last ditch effort to try and keep the family unit together despite the marriage being essentially dead. In both cases it was just a precursor to a proper separation and divorce.

If I was to speculate why they did it, I would guess it basically came down to money. These days the cost of housing means most families are two-income and leveraged out the wazoo. In both cases I mention, the eventual split resulted in the family home being sold and everyone involved - partners and kids - ending up in a significantly worse financial position.

But the idea that unhappy people resort to open marriages because they can't afford to get divorced is depressingly banal and makes me really sad.

Theres no doubt the whole "last ditch effort" thing is a thing but i do think more and more young people are open to the non monogamous relationship idea than ever before.

Abbie Chatfield (bag her all you want but shes a thing now) speaks openly on her radio show and (highest rated i think) podcast. Home and Away is doing a storyline right now about a girl who wants to date around the bay very openly.

I think the emerging trend element is more to do with people being more open about it than they were in the past which will naturally lead to more people doing it.

 

[Caesar]

Theres no doubt the whole "last ditch effort" thing is a thing but i do think more and more young people are open to the non monogamous relationship idea than ever before.

Abbie Chatfield (bag her all you want but shes a thing now) speaks openly on her radio show and (highest rated i think) podcast. Home and Away is doing a storyline right now about a girl who wants to date around the bay very openly.

I think the emerging trend element is more to do with people being more open about it than they were in the past which will naturally lead to more people doing it.

I guess it depends a bit on how you label it but young kids wanting to date non-exclusively has always been a thing, I don't see that as a particularly novel phenomenon

to me 'open relationship' implies two people with a deep long-term emotional commitment to each other - just without sexual exclusivity

I'm skeptical there's been much of a rise in that, although I'm not exactly plugged into the zeitgeist

 

[phantom13]

I guess it depends a bit on how you label it but young kids wanting to date non-exclusively has always been a thing, I don't see that as a particularly novel phenomenon

to me 'open relationship' implies two people with a deep long-term emotional commitment to each other - just without sexual exclusivity

I'm skeptical there's been much of a rise in that, although I'm not exactly plugged into the zeitgeist

Yeh thats probably fair. To go a bit further "deep long-term" is open to interpretation.

 

[The Sultan]

I have some experience in this area, when i was between long term relationships many years ago i found the "hot-wives" in the open marriage scene an untapped (so to speak) gold mine of issue free-renezvous. I met the husbands once or twice and it wasnt as awkward as it sounds, one time i did the deed whilst he was in another room and then after we had a beer and chatted about footy. Another guy who i still chat to occationally, allowed his wife to see who she wanted as long as he knew what was going on. however she still ended up going behind his back, and they seperated.

TBH from my observations most of the relationships were pretty gone, they were painting over the cracks and it was signifiantly skewed in the womans favour. The swinger scence which i also popped into fro a brief period was a lot better and the relationship seemed a lot healthier