Have you ever questioned if monogamous relationships made sense for you?

This week, I'll explore other relationship styles where all parties involved are happy,

healthy, and ethical.

Welcome back to Savvy Psychologist, I'm your host, Dr. Monica Johnson.

Every week on this show, I'll help you face life challenges with evidence-based approaches

a sympathetic ear and zero judgment.

If you've been listening to my podcast, you've gotten used to the idea that most things

are on a spectrum, and that one end of the spectrum is not superior to the other.

Keep that in mind as we discuss today's topic, non-monogamy.

Ethical or consensual non-monogamy are umbrella terms for relationship styles outside of traditional

monogamy. They might be unfamiliar to you. They're not often talked about mainstream media.

We are still stuck on the idea that boy meets girl and they live together happily ever after

until death. We can enjoy this narrative too. The film, the notebook, still messes me up sometimes,

and I am always introducing people to the film Love and Basketball.

Monogamy is great. When it works, the problem is that it's not for everyone, and we can see this

in the research. One study noted that 50% of sexually active 16 to 45-year-olds in America admitted

to being unfaithful to their partner. We also hear all the time about how 40 to 50% of marriages

end in divorce. Now, there's a multitude of reasons that cheating in divorce happens.

It would take me a hundred savvy psychologist episodes to cover them all.

But one reason is that a percentage of people are not meant to be in monogamous relationships

as we have traditionally defined them. Sometimes the shoe just doesn't fit, no matter how hard you try,

and it's not a weakness or an inability to commit as we'll cover later in the episode.

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