A MARRIED couple who started swinging after years of monogamy have told of how it brought them closer than ever. Katie, 34, and John, 41, from Florida, first met on Plenty of Fish, and at the time, thought of themselves as conventional when it came to relationships. But then, a drunken threesome with a friend changed everything. Not only did it help Katie realise that she was bisexual, but the couple were both struck by how "right" it felt to sleep with other people. Katie said: "I've spoken to lots of people since then and they all had that same feeling when they first started." Realising they weren't as monogamous as they thought, Katie and John began doing research and eventually discovered swinging. The lifestyle made sense to them, and they decided to give it a go together. It took a year before they did a full couple swap, and there were lots of issues with jealousy and rules at the beginning. "Some of the rules we set were no kissing, use protection, no separate meet-ups, and no emotional connections," said Katie. John added: "I think jealousy is always going to be a real issue for any human being, but we've been in the lifestyle a while now so it's easier to navigate. It's all about communication." Though they have found a new community of like-minded people, Katie and John say they have lost all of their "vanilla" friends since they started swinging. They also receive a lot of negativity on social media, where they openly post about their lifestyle in a bid to normalise non-monogamy and dispel common misconceptions. John said: "I would say probably about 70% of comments are mean, 20% are single guys wanting to hook up and then 5% are nice." Of the negative comments, Katie added: "They jump in and they comment without thinking or doing research." Luckily, Katie and John do not let the hate get to them, and say they are happier and closer than ever since starting swinging. Today, their friends Peter and Naomi - who are also part of the swinger community - are coming over for a night of fun. How will things go?
Follow Katie at https://www.instagram.com/katielin_nextdoorls/ and https://www.instagram.com/onlyswing_katielin/
Follow Naomi at https://www.instagram.com/therealnaomifox/
Follow Peter at https://www.instagram.com/peter_fitzwell14/