Is the quality of my relationship related to our sex life?

We have all heard the stories about couples who fight like cats and dogs but have great sex that keeps them coming back for more. In fact, you may have found yourself in a relationship that was wrong in most respects but sexually exciting -- maybe this is even how you justified it. It begs the question: Is the quality or health of a relationship really connected to a couple’s sexual satisfaction?

The answer is resoundingly yes. Research has shown that the happiest relationships are also the most sexually satisfied relationships over the long term. You can have a bad relationship, with amazing sex, but rarely does the satisfaction last. These relationships either don’t endure long-term or become less satisfying and, eventually, the sex follows suit.

Most sex therapists agree that when a sexual complaint crops up in a relationship, there tends to be an interpersonal issue contributing to or causing it, whether it is how a couple communicates, how they make each other feel, or how connected they are outside of the bedroom. In most cases, relationship quality is indeed related to what’s going on sexually and vice versa.