ESSAY: OPEN RELATIONSHIPS
- Words Allyssia Alleyne
- Photography Aaron Tilley
- Set Design Sandy Suffield
What happens when private therapy becomes public entertainment?
- Words Allyssia Alleyne
- Photography Aaron Tilley
- Set Design Sandy Suffield
A contender for series villain emerges less than 10 minutes into the first episode of Showtime’s Couples Therapy. “I don’t have complicated needs. I am utterly transparent and completely communicative about what it is I want. I’m also totally consistent. I am the easiest person to deal with,” explains one handsome and confrontational husband, sitting next to his wife of 23 years. (“Says you,” she counters, weakly.)
“What I want is to have zero responsibility, to have all the sex I want, without any work on my part of any kind. Like, zero work, zero thinking about it—and it has to be both spectacular and enthusiastic and genuine.”
In moments like this, it’s clear why Couples Therapy has gripped viewers across America and beyond since 2019 and is set to expand into ...
