Here’s Why An Open Relationship Is Actually Good For You, According to Science

A lot of people spend their time worrying whether or not their sexual desires and practices fit in with what society deems “normal.”

Well, fret not my friends, because that’s a hot load of garbage.

Some of the allegedly “taboo” sex acts society savagely judges and looks down upon are actually really, really good for your relationships and mental health, and the ones labeled “normal” are the ones that, well, kinda suck.

Most people frown upon polyamory, but little do they know that couples who are in open relationships are way, way happier, and more fulfilled than the naysayers. If honestly and openly dating more than one person at a time is your cup of tea, this pertains to you.

As we all know, one of the secret ingredients to a successful relationship is communication, which is where a lot of traditional couples fall short.

Polyamorous couples have a relationship built on honesty, trust, and obviously, openness, so there is no lying or sneaking around. Unlike cheating monogamous people.

If polyamorous Cindy really hits it off with polyamorous Stacie, she talks about it with her girlfriend, polyamorous Barbie, who is also dating polyamorous Ken at the same time. Barbie is okay with Stacie, Cindy is okay with Todd, and everyone is happy.

And now a new study is backing up this theory.

Researchers at the University of Michigan, analysed different relationships among participants older than age 25. The sample included more than 2,100 people, with about 1,500 individuals in monogamous relationships and around 600 in committed non-monogamous relationships.

The group rated relationship components: satisfaction, commitment, trust, jealousy and passionate love, which is the intense love feeling often described in new relationships.

Researchers found no differences between monogamous and consensual open participants in terms of satisfaction and passionate love.

However, levels of jealousy were lower and trust was higher among those engaged in committed open relationships.

The researchers also tackled the assumption that people in open relationships don’t care about each other enough to be happy in their primary relationship.

The team found that an individual had more satisfaction, trust, commitment and passionate love in their primary mate than in their secondary relationship.

Lead author Dr Terri Conley, an associate professor of psychology and women’s studies at the University of Michigan; said

On the other hand, people in open relationships were significantly less satisfied and less committed to their relationship than their monogamous counterparts.

Overall, the outcomes for monogamous and consensual non-monogamous participants were the same – indicating no net benefit of one relationship style over another.”