logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
20m 30s

When Two Open Marriages Collide

The New York Times
About this episode

What are the boundaries of an open marriage? And what are the boundaries of an open marriage when your wife’s boyfriend has an accident that puts him in a coma? Do you introduce yourself to the hospital workers as the patient’s girlfriend’s husband?

Wayne Scott and his wife, Elizabeth Thielman, have a “creative arrangement,” as Wayne puts it in his Modern Love essay. They share the children, the cats and the mortgage, but they have permission to see other people romantically.

Today, we hear Wayne’s story about an accident that tested the parameters of their marriage, and we talk to Wayne and Elizabeth about how they have navigated their relationship in the years since.

You can find information and photos related to this episode here.  

Up next
Aug 20
Bridget Everett Says a Best Friend Can Be Your Greatest Love (Encore)
Stories of romantic love are everywhere, but the actor, singer and comedian Bridget Everett says that friendships deserve our attention, too. Onscreen and in everyday life.Last Fall, Everett appeared on Modern Love to talk about her HBO Original series “Somebody Somewhere,” which ... Show More
38m 9s
Aug 13
Where Did All My Male Friendships Go?
Sam Graham-Felsen never imagined being lonely. Throughout his childhood and as a young man his life revolved around his friends. But when Sam got married and then had kids, going out with his friends almost felt like a luxury. After years of focusing on everything in his life exc ... Show More
1h 1m
Aug 6
The Kind of Pain She Wanted
For her entire life, Grace Hussar has been an overthinker. No matter how much she wanted to be in the moment, she always felt as if she was just outside it. But when she took up endurance running, she realized something: Extreme pain turned her thoughts off. She wanted more of th ... Show More
46m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
Whine About It: Open Marriages
When a “hall pass” just isn’t enough… would you try an open marriage?? Jana sits down with sex therapist Dr. Tammy Nelson for an honest conversation about what an open marriage actually is, and how we define cheating in 2023.   Jana discovers why open marriages skyrocketed during ... Show More
34m 24s
Feb 2024
Bonus: Inside a Mother's Open Marriage
When She Wants More host Jo Piazza landed an interview with the author Molly Winter about her new memoir discussing her open marriage she knew it had to go into our podcast feed. Molly Winter recently hit the New York Times bestseller list with her account of the first ten years ... Show More
57m 30s
Mar 2023
George Eliot and married life
George Eliot was a leading novelist who scandalised Victorian society by eloping to Germany with a married man and living in unlawful conjugal bliss. She dedicated her books to ‘her husband’ and wrote of 'this double life, which helps me to feel and think with double strength'. T ... Show More
41m 55s
Mar 2023
Opening Up
More and more women are seeing multiple partners outside of their marriage without lying to their spouses. While an open marriage may not be an affair in the traditional sense, it is another way for women to explore what they want and need from a partner without the lying and sub ... Show More
31m 23s
Feb 2023
Can an Open Relationship Save Your Marriage? | 48
Love! Everybody wants to find it. However, keeping up a relationship can sometimes be just as difficult as finding one. We try everything to stoke the fire that might be burning out - so could the answer be to throw another log on the fire? Nikki and Malone ask the burning questi ... Show More
1h 2m
Dec 2021
Love is Blind
Lauren and Cameron got engaged before they ever set eyes on one another. They met on the reality TV show Love is Blind. If you're not familiar with the show it involves 15 men and 15 women going into this experiment where they see if they can find love through a wall. An actual w ... Show More
31m 16s
Aug 2020
En Inde, «la femme n'a aucune valeur et il n'y a pas d'amour: il n'y a que les castes»
L'amour, le sexe, le couple… ces concepts sont-ils les mêmes aux quatre coins de la planète? Marion Hazout et Victor Viriot, en couple depuis quatre ans, ont voyagé dans neuf pays pour apprendre comment cela se passe, ailleurs.Dans ce cinquième épisode de Relations internationale ... Show More
24m 57s
Jun 2023
Communicating About Adventure
Trying new things can be a wonderful way to add adventure to your marriage. Jim Daly talks with Chris and Jenni Graebe about some adventures they've had. Plus, John Fuller speaks with the Smalley's about which one of them is more adventures, and communicating with your spouse abo ... Show More
12m 14s
Aug 2021
Saison 3 - 3. Karla & Marion : comment vivre une sexualité équilibrée ?
Avant d'être en couple Karla aimait papillonner, et ne jurait que pas la non-exclusivité. Puis, elle a rencontré Marion et tout a changé. Dans cet épisode du podcast « Les Couples au lit », adapté d'un documentaire Téva, Marion et Karla nous parlent de leur couple et de la manièr ... Show More
6m 18s
Dec 2018
BONUS EPISODE: A New Kind of Cinderella Story
The actor Nico Tortorella plays a sexy heartthrob on the romantic comedy television show Younger. Nico's real life love story with fitness star Bethany Meyers is so much more interesting. Bethany and Nico are both non-binary, queer and in a polyamorous marriage. This special bonu ... Show More
31m 43s