Pros and Cons of Open Relationships

I never really understood the point of having an "open relationship". I mean, why not stay single then? I thought that it would be interesting to find out what the advantages and disadvantages are, so enjoy!


PROS-

• You Get to Be With Other People-

In an open relationship you get to experience every opportunity that comes your way, you get to act on your desires and you never go home feeling that pang of regret. It gives you a far greater amount of freedom. If you have ever been in a relationship and have looked at someone else who has caught your eye, then you will know that it can sometimes be frustrating not to be able to act on it. Even worse is when you’re out on your own and someone you are incredibly attracted to starts to chat you up and actually starts making moves on you… before you have to say ‘sorry I’m in a relationship’.

• More Varied Sex-

One of the important reasons is the sex. Plain and simple. It means you get more varied and exciting sex and with more people.

• You Don’t Get Bored-

Because you are getting a more varied sex life and seeing more people, this means that when you’re with your partner you feel more excitement and more freshness. This can help to prevent things from settling into that ‘familiar’ territory and keep things exciting a lot longer.

CONS-

• There Is Guilt-

Of course the idea is that there is no guilt, because technically you can do what you like. However for the vast majority of us it’s very difficult not to feel guilty when we are sleeping with someone who is not our partner – or when we are telling our partner how much they mean to us and we remember what we were doing last night.

• There’s Jealousy

You may or may not feel guilty and everyone is different in this regard. However there is a big chance that you are going to feel jealous when you see your partner with another person, or when you hear them talking about them. You’ll wonder whether maybe they had a better time with them, you’ll worry that they might leave you, and you’ll hate the idea of sharing. This is human nature whether or not you have any interest in a long term relationship.

• Diseases and Pregnancies

 And then of course there is the slight problem of STI’s and pregnancy scares. While it is possible to be safe in an open relationship and to take safe sex seriously, no form of contraceptive is 100% effective and there is always the chance that something could go wrong. Of course this is dramatically increased if you have multiple sexual partners meaning that you could easily end up in trouble. And of course the idea of an accidental pregnancy is much worse when it isn’t with the partner that you want to spend the rest of your life with anyway.

Information by: Colleen Crawford

I still say you should be single if you are doing things like this...