2.  An open relationship is a relationship in which the people involved agree that they want to be together, but in which romantic or sexual relationships with additional people are accepted, permitted or tolerated. To large degree this is a generalization of the concept of open marriage beyond matrimonial relationships.open marriage

3.  Some relationships place strict restrictions on partners (e.g. polyfidelity); such relationships are polyamorous, but not open.polyfidelity  Some relationships permit sex outside the primary relationship, but not love (e.g. swinging); such relationships are sexually non-monogamous but not polyamorous or open.swinging  Some polyamorists do not accept the distinctions "in a relationship/not in a relationship" and "partners/not partners"; without these divisions, it is meaningless to classify relationships as 'open' or 'closed'.  Some polyamorists consider 'polyamory' to be their philosophical orientation — they believe themselves capable and desirous of multiple loves — whereas 'open relationship' is used as a logistical description: that is, it is how their polyamory is expressed or implemented. They might say of themselves, for instance, "I am polyamorous; my primary partner and I have an open relationship (with the following ground rules)...."  Some relationships may be primarily a long-distance relationship where the couple still want to be together, but one or both of them also wants to see other people.  Some people occasionally use an open relationship to test their partner.  The additional relationship can also be without sex or without physical contact with other people

4.  ) Make sure that it’s what you and your partner really want This summer I had recently come out of a terrible breakup, and I was in no mood to exclusively date anyone; the very idea of commitment terrified me. So, when I met someone I liked, I attempted my first open relationship. Inevitably, something went wrong. I went on a date with another guy, and my boyfriend-type-man-person (what the hell are you supposed to call your open relationship SO anyway?) got angry. “Clearly, you don’t care about me, Sally.”  2) Lay down some ground rules Cool, so you’ve both agreed to an open relationship. Now for the hard part: actually being okay with that. Let’s be honest: there’s no way you want to think about your guy with some ridiculous girl, whose name was probably something like “Candi.” So make a decision about whether or not you want to share tales of your escapades with one another. 3) Don’t overdo it there’s nothing wrong with sowing your wild oats, but, in the words of MAD TV's ever so eloquent Bon Qui Qui, “Don’ get crazy!” It’s already exhausting enough to keep up with one relationship—don’t overwhelm yourself. Open relationships are extremely delicate creatures that, like dwarf hamsters or origami paper cranes, should be handled with care

5.  Some relationships place strict restrictions on partners (e.g. polyfidelity); such relationships are polyamorous, but not open. polyfidelity  Some relationships permit sex outside the primary relationship, but not love (e.g. swinging); such relationships are sexually non- monogamous but not polyamorous or open.swinging  Some polyamorists do not accept the dichotomies of "in a relationship/not in a relationship" and "partners/not partners"; without these divisions, it is meaningless to class a relationship as 'open' and 'closed'.dichotomies  Some polyamorists consider 'polyamory' to be their philosophical orientation — they believe themselves capable and desirous of multiple loves — whereas 'open relationship‘  is used as a logistical description: that is, it is how their polyamory is expressed or implemented. They would say of themselves, for instance, "I am polyamorous; my primary partner and I have an open relationship (with the following ground rules)...."  Some relationships are usually a long-distance relationship where the couple still want to be together, but one or both of them also wants to see other people.  Some people occasionally use an Open Relationship to test their partner.  It can also be a relationship without sex.

6.  The Canadian rapper Abdominal has a song called "Open Relationship" on his album Escape from the Pigeon Hole about engaging in an open relationship.CanadianrapperAbdominalEscape from the Pigeon Hole  · British rapper The Streets references an open relationship in the song "Dry Your Eyes" on his album A Grand Don't Come for Free.rapperThe StreetsDry Your Eyes A Grand Don't Come for Free  · Popular sex educator Tristan Taormina is also an advocate of open relationships.sex educatorTristan Taormina  · Some social networking sites, including Face book and Orcus allow users to set their relationship statuses to in an open relationship.social networking sitesFace bookOrcus  · Those in "open relationships" might refer to themselves as "O.R.F.F.s" (open relationship friends forever), a take on the more common abbreviation "B.F.F." which refers to "best friends forever"