One of the biggest misconceptions about open relationships is that they aren’t as committed as their monogamous counterparts. This is because people tend to confuse “commitment” and “monogamy.”
As you’ll find out on this week’s podcast (episode #36), these are not the same thing.
Commitment is about being willing to work through the hard parts of a relationship, because you believe it is worth it.
This looks different in every relationship, but here are a few examples:
- Stopping yourself from lashing out in the heat of an argument.
- Being willing to work on yourself because you know your partner deserves that.
- Being vulnerable with your partner even when it’s terrifying.
- Respecting the boundaries of the relationship that you’ve both agreed on.
- Communicating honestly, even when it would be waaay easier to say nothing, or tell a small lie.
This is commitment. It doesn’t necessarily have to have anything to do with monogamy. In fact, I would argue that open relationships require just as much commitment as monogamous ones, simply because of the amount of honest communication involved to keep that relationship healthy.
In my experience, the best part of being open isn’t that I get to play with other people (all though that part is pretty great 😏), the best part is actually the trust and intimacy created by having to be so honest. This isn’t always easy, but the rewards of closeness are so worth it!
If you are interested in learning more about open relationships, check out the latest episode (episode #36) of my podcast Turns Out I’m Into It, available wherever you listen to podcasts.
Play safe, and have fun!
Harley 🐰 xx
