Open Relationships: Just a Bad Idea
By A.J. Niles
The idea of an open relationship may sound good in theory. Your partner allows you to pursue sexual conquests of other people; You get to date others and your partner at the same time. To the immature person, this really seems like the best thing ever.
However, when this theory is aplied in real life, things are not what they seem.
Now you may be asking yourself, “I see and know of celebrities and athletes that live this lifestyle so it can not be that bad, can it?”
Superstar actor Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith have let it be known that they practice an open relationship. Well if you have been reading the papers, blogs or watching television lately, you have heard about the rumors of a break-up between the two. Supposedly, Will caught Jada in his house “creepin'” with another celebrity.
Now aren't these open relationships supposed to build trust and whatnot? That is something Will and Jada have been proclaiming. However, if that trust was there, supposedly, then this would have never happened (if it did).
This is just one of just a plethora of cases that show why an open relationship just is not a good idea.
If a person truly loved you and respected you, they would not dare seek another person emotionally and/or physically. You would be their everything and would not need or want to give that up.
So if your partner is approaching you with talk of having an open relationship or asking for you to bring another person during your intimate time, there is a serious disconnect there and you need to re-evaluate the relationship.
That leads me to say this: contrary to popular belief, threesomes and “swinging” are not good ideas. Swinging and threesomes are something else that Will and Jada proclaim as great things that spice up their sex life, supposedly. However, you really have to question the relationship if your partner wants to take you to a party where you all have sex with other couples. Not only is that high risk sexual behavior, it will not establish and cement the trust you have in your relationship nor will it save it if it's on the rocks.
Think about it for a second. How is having sex with another person going to improve your relationship?If you really believe that, I have some land on Mars I want to sell you. The only way to save your relationship is to close ranks and love and respect them enough to talk through your issues and work to see them through.
Relationships are seldom easy and if they seem easy, something is seriously wrong. Even though they are not easy, you can rest assured that bringing another person in the bedroom or having an open relationship is only going to compound those issues and make your relationship much worse.
And as for Will and Jada, I hope the rumors are not true and what not.
