Episode 523: Real Stories of Non-Monogamy

Open relationships, polyamory, and consensual non-monogamy are receiving more attention than ever, yet they’re still surrounded by stereotypes and misconceptions. In her new book [https://amzn.to/45oUU7v], Alyssa Shelasky moves beyond the debate by sharing the real-life stories of people navigating these relationships. In this episode, we explore what draws people to non-monogamy, what these relationships actually look like, and what we can all learn from them. Alyssa Shelasky writes the New York Magazine column Sex Diaries [https://nymag.com/tags/Sex%20Diaries/], which was developed into an HBO docuseries with Shelasky producing and starring. She is the author of Apron Anxiety [https://amzn.to/4pEu0BQ], This Might Be Too Personal, [https://amzn.to/4yEK8re] and the new book Sex Diaries: Real Life Stories of Non-Monogamy and Polyamory [https://amzn.to/45oUU7v].  Some of the specific topics we explore in this episode include: * What do people get wrong about who practices non-monogamy? * Why do people open their relationships in the first place? * What happens when non-monogamy gets complicated, messy, or doesn’t go as planned? * Which real-life stories challenge our biggest assumptions about open relationships? * What can monogamous couples learn from people who practice non-monogamy? Check out Alyssa's website [https://www.alyssashelasky.com/] to learn more about her work. Got a sex question? Send me a podcast voicemail to have it answered on a future episode at speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology. [http://speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology] *** Thank you to our sponsors!  Passionate about building a career in sexuality? Check out the Sexual Health Alliance. With SHA, you’ll connect with world-class experts and join an engaged community of sexuality professionals from around the world. Visit SexualHealthAlliance.com [http://sexualhealthalliance.com/] and start building the sexuality career of your dreams today. Check out Sex Ed with DB here [https://bit.ly/sewdb-spp] to listen to an episode we love on your favorite podcast platform!  *** Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click here [https://www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/]for previous articles or follow the blog on Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/psychologyofsex], Twitter [https://twitter.com/JustinLehmiller], or Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/justinlehmiller.bsky.social] to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm8JQt7it3re8SypKf-mT2Q] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/justinjlehmiller/]. Listen and stream all episodes on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sex-and-psychology-podcast/id1505460817], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6DCIGjOUaenoKdY71N7NqI], or Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/13619d2a-d69f-4d05-949b-5c1f19eb1995/Sex-and-Psychology-Podcast]. Subscribe to automatically receive new episodes and please rate and review the podcast! Credits: Precision Podcasting [https://precisionpodcasting.com/] (Podcast editing) and Shutterstock/Florian (Music). Image created with Canva; photos used with permission of gue