This article contains spoilers for Babygirl.

Imagine an accomplished, affluent, high-powered female CEO with a picture-perfect life. She has a devoted husband, two beautiful children and a luxurious penthouse apartment overlooking the city skyline. What more could she wish for?

Babygirl opens with what seems to be a fulfilling sex scene between such a woman, Romy (Nicole Kidman), and her husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas), punctuated by an orchestra of groans and heavy breathing. The scene hints that all is well in the bedroom too. Until, that is, Romy jumps out of bed, runs to her study and masturbates to pornography. Clearly, there are layers beneath the surface of her seemingly satisfying sex life.

As a sex therapist, I know the three themes that are central to this story well: hierarchical workplace romance (when one partner is in a higher position at work than the other), aspects of BDSM (best understood when read in three pairs: bondage and discipline, domination and submission, sadism and masochism), and infidelity.

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Romantic relationships are a natural........

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