Featured Image Credit: Getty/Getty/frankandhelena
Topics: Sex and Relationships, ITV, Science
Jess Hardiman
Topics: Sex and Relationships, ITV, Science
Many people might worry they’re not having enough sex – whether they’re single and going through a bit of a dry spell or in a long-term marriage trying to juggle intimacy with parenting young kids.
After all, we all know what it’s like to find out a friend is getting down and dirty at every waking moment during the honeymoon period of a new relationship.
Oddly, it often leaves us feeling shameful for our own sexual routine... even if everyone cringes slightly when they start pawing at one another inappropriately in the pub.
But everyone’s situations are different, right?
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Well, that may be true, but according to new research, there is a magic number for how often ‘happy’ couples tend to sleep together, on average.
The study, commissioned by ITVX to tie in with the release of drama Love & Death, quizzed 2,000 British couples who have been together for 10 years or longer.
Experts surveyed the participants about various factors contributing to a long-lasting relationship, with most of them (64 percent) saying ‘having fun together’ was key.
Others included compromise (50 percent), admitting when you’re wrong (51 percent) and having no secrets (43 percent).
Naturally, sex featured on the list as well, even if it wasn’t the leading ingredient to a happy partnership.
Not only the research find that did 32 percent consider regular sex as a huge aspect of success, along with 24 percent putting it down to a regular sex drive, it also found that the couples polled (who had been together for at least a decade, remember) had sex on average seven times a month.
That said, some also admitted to sleeping in separate bedrooms, so sometimes it seems like it’s not all about intimacy.
The study revealed that the honeymoon period ends approximately nine months after a couple get together, while also delving into the habits around infidelity – including one in five saying they had been unfaithful to their partner, and that 58 percent had been found out of doing so by their other half.
However, a whopping 85 percent who had experiencing cheating said they managed to work things out, with 38 percent saying it actually ended up making their relationship stronger.
A spokesperson for ITVX said “It’s fascinating to learn that almost half of all married couples in the UK are impacted by infidelity.
"Thankfully, the vast majority of British couples are able to resolve things amicably.”