Definition: An open marriage is the term often used to describe a marriage relationship where the husband and wife have no reservations about one another being sexually involved with other people.
Although the 1972 book, Open Marriage, is often considered the source for the term open marriage, George and Nena O'Neill only briefly mentioned extramarital sex in marriage.
Shirley MacLaine on her open marriage: "I was married for 30 years, but he lived in Japan. I lived with many other men ... Men always wanted to get married, in my experience. So I stayed married to Steve so that I wouldn't marry them."
Source: Sarah Hampson. "At 74, Shirley MacLaine ..." Globe and Mail. 9/14/2008.
Also Known As: Responsible non-monogamy, open relationship
Examples:
Will Smith on open marriage: "In our marriage vows, we didn't say 'forsaking all others.' The vow that we made was that you will never hear that I did something after the fact...If it came down to it, then one spouse can say to the other, 'Look, I need to have sex with somebody. I'm not going to if you don't approve of it - but please approve of it.'"Source: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Marriage Profile
