When I started dating my boyfriend, I told him that I prefer to have an open relationship, but that we could have a ‘grace period’ before going into it. Well, now I think it is time, and my boyfriend is suddenly saying that he is not sure if he can go through with being in an open relationship. I want to be with him and commit to him, but I also want to sleep with other people. What do we do?
You say nothing about how long you have been together, but it doesn’t seem like a long time. If an open relationship is a radical idea to him, he may still be processing that you want an open relationship. You need to respect that if you want to be with him, but you can also engage in conversations with him about what he feels about opening up the relationship, and why he is hesitant. Once you build that trust, he may open up to the idea. What you need to do is to respect his decision no matter what – even if it is a monogamous relationship – and not pressure him into anything.
