A mother-of-two who has had a string of affairs said married couples should feel able to sleep with other people.
Sex therapist Louise Van Der Velde, of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, claims husbands and wives should be ‘open and honest’ about their desires to be unfaithful.
Speaking on Jeremy Vine on Channel 5 today, the 44-year-old added couples should take their lead from racy BBC drama Wanderlust, which sees a sexually frustrated couple agree to an open marriage.
Sex therapist Louise Van Der Velde, of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, appeared on Jeremy Vine on Channel 5 today, pictured, to argue why husbands and wives should be ‘open and honest’ about their desires to be unfaithful. She believes married couples should be able to cheat
Mrs Van Der Velde said couples should take their lead from racy BBC drama Wanderlust, starring Toni Collette, pictured, which sees a couple agree to an open marriage
The TV discussion saw guests Nadine Dorries, Owen Jones and Matthew Kelly, discuss whether affairs have become an acceptable part of public life in light of the recent scandal surrounding Boris Johnson.
Mrs Van Der Velde, who has had multiple affairs with a string of lovers, was brought in to give her expert view on the matter.
She said: ‘I do like to shine on this subject in a massive way. The marriage model hasn’t changed in 150 years and how much have we changed since then?’
Mrs Van Der Velde and her doctor husband Stephen, pictured, agreed to have an open marriage in the years before his sudden death in March 2004 at the age of 34
The sex therapist explained she experienced first-hand the devastation of infidelity when her late husband, GP Stephen, told her he wanted to have an affair.
The pair had an open relationship in the last years of her marriage before he died suddenly aged 34 in March 2004.
‘When he came to me after eight years… and said “I’m thinking about sleeping with someone else”. I went through all of the emotions that anyone would go through. The hurt, the rejection, and the why aren’t I good enough.
‘I think the ideal is that we should be able to do it open and honestly and tell our partner. Like Wanderlust – wonderful! We’re doing it open, we’re doing it honestly.
The Jeremy Vine discussion saw guests Nadine Dorries, Owen Jones and Matthew Kelly discuss whether affairs have become an acceptable part of public life in light of the recent scandal surrounding Boris Johnson. Pictured, presenter Vine on the show today
‘But unfortunately because society’s programmed us that that’s not right, actually through the church, and we’ve had programming since we were little that it’s not right. We don’t do it.’
Mrs Van Der Velde added that she estimated between 50 and 60 percent are having affairs but lying about it.
BBC’s Wanderlust sees married couple Joy and Alan Richards (Toni Collette and Steven Mackintosh) agree to sleep with other people after growing tired of their own sex life.
The show has caused a stir with its graphic sex scenes including the first female orgasm shown on BBC.