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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Pamela Stephenson Connolly

I recently got sober – and have stopped enjoying sex with my husband

Photographic illustration of a woman lying on her side in bed, covering her face with her arm
‘I try to tell him: “That hurts,” or: “Do this,” but he gets upset easily’ Composite: Getty (posed by model)/Guardian Design Team

I got married nearly a year ago to a man who is supportive and kind. I have also been sober for the past four months and realised in that time that I don’t actually enjoy my husband’s moves in bed. We used to have sex while drunk or hungover, so I didn’t notice as much, but I don’t really enjoy his foreplay, as he is quite rough and doesn’t have good rhythm. I try to tell him: “That hurts,” or: “Do this,” but he gets upset easily and we get frustrated and annoyed. I asked him to pay for the website OMGYes to learn some new moves, which he did, but he hasn’t looked at it. Now I find myself avoiding sex with him, or playing with my vibrator as foreplay instead of allowing him to touch my clitoris. He is fine about me using my vibrator, but it feels difficult to connect emotionally when that happens. I love sex and want to connect, emotionally and physically, but I don’t want to pretend that things feel good when they don’t.

“New moves” aren’t necessarily your moves. It is important to gently and patiently help him to understand what you need without making him feel inadequate.

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