A man who cheated on his pregnant wife during a footy trip with mates says being unfaithful saved his marriage.
Revealing intimate details about his open relationship on SBS’ Insight program on Tuesday, Michael said his infidelity ended up being the best thing for his marriage with wife Renee.
‘I went on a footy trip away with my mates. Renee was pregnant with our third. All my mates were sitting around saying look at the girls on the dance floor, so I went and danced with them,’ he said.
Revealing intimate details about his open relationship on SBS’ Insight program on Tuesday, Michael said his infidelity ended up being the best thing for his marriage with wife Renee (pictured together)
‘I took a girl down the beach. I went back to footy training the next morning with my hair full of sand, and all my mates were cheering me on, [saying] I’m a hero.’
Michael said he revealed his indiscretion to Renee when he got home, and that was the beginning of real change for their relationship.
‘When I went home that night she asked, ‘did you have a good time?’ I said yeah very good. She said ‘ah all my netball friends were there’, and it all came out,’ he said.
Michael said the couple struggled at first because Renee suffered from depression, but they quickly went from strength to strength.
The couple told Insight they were together for 20 years before they made the joint decision to open their marriage and invite other people in.
It wasn’t long before Renee developed a strong connection with another man.
She said the connection helped her realise she too wanted an open relationship.
‘At the start, I thought it was all him … it’s just Michael that wants to do this,’ she said.
The couple told Insight they were together for 20 years before they made the joint decision to open their marriage and invite other people in (pictured together)
If not for the change, Michael (pictured) said the couple were headed for divorce
If not for the change, Michael said the couple were headed for divorce.
The couple said they now had’total freedom’ and an ‘amazing’ bond.
Michael and Renee join a growing number of couples who have chosen to open their relationship up to other people.
A study conducted at the University of Michigan in 2017, found people in open relationships were just as happy, if not more happy, than people in monogamous relationships.
The sample included more than 2,100 people, with about 1,500 in monogamous relationship and 600 in committed non-monogamous relationships.
Researchers found people in consensual open relationships felt similar levels of satisfaction and passionate love.
However, levels of jealously were lower and trust was higher among those engaged in committed open relationships.
SBS’ Insight will look into various couples’ open relationships. The program will air on Tuesday at 8.30pm.