Katherine Ryan explains the 'three kinds of sex' that couples are 'supposed' to have in a relationship

Katherine Ryan's extensive research into the art of coitus has led her to one conclusion - all couples should be having three 'different kinds' of sex.

The comedian and TV star, 42, shared the secrets behind how she and her husband keep the spark alive while juggling parenting, work commitments, and everything else life throws at them.

She entered a civil partnership with Bobby Kootstra in December 2019 after snubbing a big wedding and heading to Denmark for the ceremony, as it was the 'quickest and easiest' way to do it.

"It was a lovely day," Ryan previously said during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show. "It’s perfect having a civil partner.

"We didn’t have a wedding, I didn’t need to put on a white dress and pretend to be a virgin. That ship has sailed!"

The Canadian star shares son Fred, three, and daughter Fenna, two, with Kootstra, while she is also mum to 15-year-old Violet from a previous relationship.

Earlier this year, just months after she revealed she was battling melanoma for the second time, Ryan announced she was expecting another bundle of joy, marking her fourth venture into motherhood.

As we've established, it's not her first rodeo - so she knows a thing or two about how to navigate sex with Kootstra while carrying a child.

And that's why Jamie Laing was so keen to pick her brain about the topic of sex being 'off the cards' when a woman is expecting.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 36, is currently expecting his first child with wife Sophie Habboo - and the couple admitted they haven't had sex in a 'long' time on their NearlyParents podcast last month.

So when Ryan recently sat down with Laing on his solo show Great Company, he decided to get her opinion on how much sex she believes couples should be having when they've got a baby on the way.

He asked the funnywoman whether lovemaking always gets put on the backburner when a female has a bun in the oven, to which she replied: "I think it ebbs and flows anyway."

Ryan then quizzed Laing on 'how often he wants to be having sex' and he confessed that he 'could do it all the time'.

Speaking from experience, the comedian then explained that she and Kootstra were once 'really up against it' when their children were younger.

"The kids were very small, I was touring and working and we were doing it twice a month," Ryan said of their former sex stats, before she then provide a positive update.

"We have sex about five or six times now, a month," she added.

The mum then explained that due to everything she has both 'heard and read' about how to maintain passion in a relationship, she believes couples should be having 'three kinds of sex'.

Ryan said: "I think you are supposed to have scheduled sex - which is not the most exciting one, but when your lives get busy and when you have children, sometimes you have to go, 'Look, there's a gap here...we should like meet up and have sex'. You should have spontaneous sex as well. And then, the third type was quickies. And once it's done you go, 'Thank god we did that'."

Social media users seemed to really appreciate Ryan's advice, while others heaped praise on the comedian for being so candid about her sex life.

One said: "I love the honesty in this!"

Another added: "Spontaneity is the only way."

A third wrote: "For once, I totally agree with this."

While a fourth chimed in saying: "Every case is different and depends on stages."