An open relationship taught me everything I needed to know about love

Sleeping with someone other than your partner is the ultimate betrayal – the worst thing you can do in a romantic relationship, right? Not necessarily. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the best lessons I’ve learned in how to be a good partner, and have a good relationship, came from exploring non-monogamy. I’m not here to recruit for polyamory, I should say. I’m now in a happy, basically monogamous relationship. But starting out non-monogamous actually proved a pretty fantastic bedrock for long-term, committed love.

Ethical non-monogamy is the umbrella term for , with the consent of all involved. Within that, you have everything from a couple who indulge in occasional snogs with strangers through to fully polyamorous relationships, where people may have profound commitments to several people simultaneously.