Because 2020 is full of surprising curveballs, of course Brad Pitt is now in a rumoured relationship with a married woman.
According to reports, Pitt has been linked to a German model named Nicole Poturalski after meeting her at — wait for it — her husband’s restaurant in Berlin. The 27-year-old is married to restaurateur Roland Mary, 68, and the couple have a seven-year-old son.
Late last week, Pitt, 56, and Poturalski were spotted in the south of France.
Mary, who owns Borchardt restaurant in Berlin, is reportedly on his fourth marriage and a report from Page Six, says that he and the model are “still married”.
If the rumours are true, Mary and his much younger wife, are in what is known as an “open marriage”.
According to a source of The Daily Mail, who first broke the news, Mary “has been married several times and has five children. He is not interested in negativity or jealousy.”
We’ve all heard of the term “open marriage” or “open relationship”, but here’s what it means by definition.
What is an “open relationship”?
According to Healthline, there are two different definitions of an “open relationship”.
The first says that an “open relationship” is an umbrella term that encapsulates all other forms of nonmonogamy, like monogam-ish, swingers, and polyamory.
The idea is that monogamous means ‘closed’ and nonmonogamous means ‘open’.
The second says that open relationships are one type of nonmonogamous relationship under the Ethical Nonmonogamous umbrella. This usually means that open relationships occur “between two people in a primary relationship who have agreed to open up their relationship sexually — but not romantically.”
People in an “open” relationship do not consider partner exchange “cheating” as long as they have an agreement beforehand that having sex or an emotional relationship with other people is OK.
According to Healthline, if these measures are in place, the relationships are seen as “ethical”.
Why do people enter an “open relationship”?
Some people enter this type of relationship because it could “bring them more pleasure, joy, love, satisfaction, orgasms, excitement or a combination of those”.
Others feel that their partnership can give love to more than one person and once, while others may use it as an opportunity to explore their sexuality.
Other reasons include mismatched libidos — where one cannot satisfy the other sexually — one person is “asexual” and is not interested in sex, while another could be that one has a particular kink or fantasy.
According to a study by Taylor and Francis online, one in five people have been in an open relationship or are in one, because it means more sex.
“It always forces folks to really identify what their desires and needs are,” Licensed marriage and family therapist Dana McNeil, told Healthline.
But it’s not all sex fun and games, there are cons too.
Nonmonogamy can exacerbate preexisting personal issues in the relationships and it will not fix a relationship with an unstable foundation.
I’m thinking of being in an “open relationship”, how do I bring it up?
According to Healthline, do not try to “convince” your partner to be in one, instead, start with “I” statements and then lead into the question.
For example: “I’ve been reading about open relationships, and I think it may be something I want to try. Would you be open to having a conversation about opening our relationship?
“Ultimately, if only one person in a preexisting relationship wants to open that relationship open, you may need to break up,” McNeil told the outlet.
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