24th
This Newt Gingrich open marriage story is driving me crazy
Clearly, I am going to have to write about my own experiences dating people in open marriages (hint: be prepared for way too much TMI). Politically, I’m not a fan of how much monogamy is pressed onto every one of us as mandatory. But personally, I think people are just as fucked up in open or so-called open marriages as they are outside of them. More on that from me soon. From Salon:
At the same time, though, Block argues that Gingrich wasn’t really looking for an open marriage. He wanted to continue an affair he was already having, she says. “I’m kind of infuriated that they’re using the term ‘open marriage.’ All he wanted was permission to have an affair. He basically said to her, ‘Can I keep seeing her or do you want to get divorced?’ Any time you bring up divorce, you’re not talking about open marriage.’”
That’s often the reality of the situation, however, according to Taormino. The discussion about opening a marriage up often comes after an infidelity has been discovered, she says.
“People who believe in non-monogamy as an option would love to tell you that we’re all so enlightened,” Taormino says, “but the truth is, plenty of the couples that I talked to for my book came to a place of non-monogamy from cheating. I think it would be a mistake to dismiss this as Newt wanting to have his cake and eat it too.”
