Devastated Man Seeks Advice Online As His Wife Wants An Open Marriage But He Doesn't

"For me, my wife is the love of my life and I don’t want to lose her"

Maryjane

• Published in Interesting
• October 6, 2023

These days, there are people who prefer spicing their relationship by engaging in an open relationship. A relationship style that involves more than two people is referred to as non-monogamy.

Non-monogamy is a sexual or romantic component that may or may not be present in partnerships, and it is practiced by people of all sexual and romantic orientations. To distinguish themselves from those who cheat, some non-monogamy partners prefer to refer to their relationships as ethical non-monogamy (ENM) or consensual non-monogamy (CNM).

When one spouse in a relationship refuses to accept how a partner is interacting with people outside of that relationship, cheating has taken place. When partners in non-monogamy consent to non-monogamy with open communication about new relationships, it could appear as though one of them is keeping a second romantic relationship a secret.

All partners' consent is required in order to practice non-monogamy, and this is what OP's wife wanted to try out. The OP and his wife have been married for over ten years and have two kids who are of school age.

So far, everything was perfect in their relationship until his wife told him that a guy was hitting on her in the gym, and she admitted that it turned her on. Now, she asked the OP how he would feel if they tried non-monogamy, and the OP was shocked.

Keep scrolling to read the entire story in full.

The OP writes

OP reveals that they both like to know what the other person likes as they think it brings them closer together

She said she is missing some excitement and she thinks we could do it together

The OP also had this to.add in the comments:

I agree that if one agrees to it unwillingly, it's never a good thing. I'm an analytical person, I'm trying to understand, why she wants it. I was always supportive with everything she wanted (career, study, move, etc) and she always did everything with a good intention and with our marriage in mind. This now is a big one though and I don't know where to go with this.

The Reddit post got hundreds of comments and here are a bunch of them for you to read through below

OP's wife should go to individual counseling to get some things straight

Letting her know that she is the love of your life

The other partner is feeling trapped and forced to accept

The OP should ahead and search for the meaning of open marriage

This Redditor can tell the OP doesn't want to do it

It's just going to kill the OP if he accepts as he doesn't want it

This Redditor is wishing OP the best

There's a good chance she's gone quiet on the gym guy

Cheating in a monogamous relationship could take the form of one spouse having romantic or sexual involvement with someone else. But this isn't the case here, as the OP's wife wants consent to try out other things.

Redditors have given their one cents, and it's over to you to drop your own advice for the OP in the comments section below. And don't forget to share this post with your loved ones as well.

Maryjane