Open Relationships Don't Equal Better Sex

Monogamous couples most satisfied in the bedroom: survey
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 9, 2017 11:39 AM CDT
Open Relationships Don't Equal Better Sex
Monogamous couples are most satisfied sexually: Dalia.   (Getty Images/proud_natalia)

Feel like monogamy is keeping you from an exciting sex life? Take note: An open relationship, with the potential for more sexual partners, does not necessarily mean you'll be more sexually satisfied. That's according to a survey of more than 11,000 people from 28 European countries, aged 18 to 65. In the survey conducted by German research company Dalia in March, 82% of monogamous couples and 80% of married couples reported that they were sexually satisfied, compared to 71% of couples in an open or polyamorous relationship and fewer than half of singles, reports Quartz. Other than singles who are "looking," those in open relationships were actually the most likely to be unsatisfied sexually.

Some 22% said they weren't sexually satisfied, compared to 12% of married participants and 11% of monogamous respondents. Interestingly, a University of Michigan survey of some 2,000 people over 25, published in March, found heterosexuals in open relationships were significantly less satisfied with their relationship overall than those in monogamous relationships, reported Michigan Live. On the flip side, though, those in polyamorous relationships reported having higher levels of trust and lower levels of jealousy than their monogamous counterparts. That left researchers to conclude that there is "no net benefit of one relationship style over another." (Americans appear to be having trouble in the bedroom.)

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