Arianne Cohen has been in an open relationship for three years, so in this story she wrote for Britain's The Guardian, she begins with the tale of her relationship. But she also profiles several other poly configurations.
Cohen lets the folks speak for themselves, so the article is chock full of quotes from people in various types of open relationships, as they discuss the logistics of their relationships and how being open works for them.
Cohen muses:
This seems to be a particularly British take on non-monogamy: comfort with the act, mixed with a compulsive need for privacy. Doing it? Fine. Speaking about it? Never. Claire struggles to articulate this side of her life. "It doesn't come up terribly often, because most of the people to whom I might be describing it already know. I guess if I was describing it, I'd say 'open'. Of our larger friend group of 25, it's not new. Maybe a third are currently in open relationships." I asked Claire if anyone had ever reacted badly. "Not recently, and possibly not ever," she says. Her advice for other potential non-monogamists is straightforward: "Think first. Discuss first. Don't be an idiot. Rules of life, really."
Read the rest on The Guardian.