A UK couple have explained how opening up their relationship helped to save their marriage.
Of all the weird and wonderful sex trends out there at the moment, swinging seems to be one of the most popular, as couples explore the opportunity to share their beds with other partners and singletons.
Such is the popularity of 'ethical non-monogamy' that there are now festivals, cruise ships and even TV shows dedicated to swinging, with Daz and Jem enjoying the latter when they appeared on Open House: The Great Sex Experiment.
The show has soared in popularity in recent years and features some sexy scenes that many would find shocking, whether it's childhood sweethearts opening up their relationship, or one bloke throwing up at the thought of his girlfriend sleeping with another guy.
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But while many might feel ill at the thought of sharing a bed with anyone other than their partner, Daz and Jem have suggested that swinging helped to save their marriage.
Jem, a content creator from Bournemouth, said: “Swinging really saved us — mentally and getting that connection back.
“People class it as cheating and say we are ‘splitting marriages up’. People are angry about something they don’t understand.
“We’re having the best time in our 40s.”
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Educating others about their relationship and swinging is something the pair have gotten used to over the years, having first opened up their marriage after five years together, with Jem gifting her similarly short-named partner a trip to a swinging party as his Christmas present, which might have been a little hard to wrap.
Jem said: “It was this lovely mansion and exclusive party. It has a sex dungeon and swimming pool. It was a shock, but it opened our eyes to this whole new world.
“We had a kiss with another couple, and it really turned us on. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other for two weeks.
“We had a really strong relationship — it was an exciting and fun thing to explore. We entered it very slowly.”
There have been rocky moments while exploring each other's boundaries, but now they are stronger than ever after taking a brief break in 2023 to focus on their business.
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Daz said: “There were feelings of jealousy we had to confront after our first experience with another couple. I was quite confrontational with Jem — I said ‘I’m not enjoying this and you’re enjoying it too much’.
“But I realised as a guy I’m thinking about what other people would think. These feelings of jealousy will always be there — but they don’t control me.
“It doesn’t affect our relationship.”
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And now, after saving their own relationship, the couple suggest they are helping others to save theirs too, although I think the vast majority of blokes might be sleeping on the sofa if they suggest sleeping with another woman as a way of fixing problems.
Jem said: “You don’t have to go down the swinging route.
“We’re speaking to couples and helping them reconnect — helping them in the bedroom to talk about their fantasies.”
Daz said: “There are a lot of couples around our age where that early relationship energy has gone — through career, family or something else.
“People start looking elsewhere for excitement and desire. There is a whole lifestyle you can explore as a couple.
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“It keeps people together. It keeps the excitement. The alternative is to go and cheat — physically or mentally.
“So many relationships breaking down could have been saved.”
James Moorhouse