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1 in 5 people have been in a sexually open relationship.

People who open up tend to be highly satisfied with their relationships at the outset.

At least in the short term, opening up doesn't appear to change life or relationship satisfaction.

Opening up is linked to increased sexual satisfaction for individuals.

Consensual non-monogamy (CNM) is fairly common, with about 1 in 5 adults saying they’ve been in some type of sexually open relationship. Interest in CNM also appears to be on the rise, with internet searches pertaining to polyamory and open relationships increasing significantly over the past decade.

As research has begun to shed light on the prevalence and popularity on CNM, researchers have focused more attention on understanding how these relationships work, including how they compare with those of people who remain monogamous.

What Happens After Opening Up?

Surprisingly little work has explored what actually happens over time when a couple decides to open their relationship, but a study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science offers some insight. A team of US and Canadian researchers explored the trajectory of couples that did and did not decide to open their relationships over a two-month period.

The researchers sought to test conflicting popular beliefs and assumptions about open relationships. On the one hand, some argue that opening up can be a helpful way to address relationship challenges because CNM offers more opportunities to have one’s sexual and non-sexual needs met. Advocates of this perspective........

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