Member-only story
The 5 Types of Couples In Committed Relationships
Which one are you in?
What do you seek in a couple? After my own marriage dissolved, I started studying more closely the surrounding couples I knew to better understand what I wanted in a relationship in my future. Before my divorce, I would have classified couples as married, in a domestic partnership, in a long-term boy/girlfriend relationship, or more recently, polyamorous. Post-divorce, I discovered a whole different way of looking at love. Here are the different types of couples that can be defined as committed relationships and who may or may not say they love one another. Which type are you in or do you seek?
The Contract Couple
Conditions Apply (Read the Fine Print)
This type of relationship is an agreement. Each person has something the other wants, so the deal is to play a role. It is an arrangement, whether spoken or mutually understood. Each is fully aware of their end of the bargain, but usually, they will never admit it outside the relationship due to judgment. Often the deal is about financial inequality. A stereotype that sadly often is true is when a poor, attractive, young person agrees to be a romantic partner to someone in a better position than them who sees them as a prize and who, in exchange, offers them…
