Gay couples in open relationships could be happier and more satisfied, study claims

A new study has found that couples who are in open relationships are more likely to be closer than those in monogamous relationships.

A researcher at The Centre for Health, Identity, Behaviour and Prevention Studies at New York University started a study on 10 gay couples who were in open relationships.

The Guardian reports that Christopher Stults conducted 45 minute interviews with each of the men and their partners this week and found that non-monogamous couples tend to have happier and more fulfilling relationships.

Stults said, “My impression so far is that they don’t seem less satisfied, and it may even be that their communication is better than among monogamous couples because they’ve had to negotiate specific details.”

He also said that open relationships don’t “put gay men at disproportionate risk for HIV and STDs.”

Michael Bronski, a professor in the department of Women, Gender and Sexuality at Harvard University, said, “Gay men have always engaged more often in consensual non-monogamous relationships, and society has consistently stigmatised their decision to do so.”

Stults started the study to see how open relationships are formed, how they evolved over time and how they effect the satisfaction within the relationship.

Participants in the study emphasised that creating rules and sticking to them is the key to making open relationships work.