He Demanded an Open Relationship. Then It Backfired on Him.

This story first made the rounds on Reddit's r/relationships back in 2014 — the original thread has since been deleted, but it survives in snapshots, and it remains one of the internet's cleanest examples of be-careful-what-you-wish-for.

The poster, a 27-year-old man, wanted an open relationship because he no longer found his girlfriend physically attractive and wanted to date other women. She was reluctant — she cried, she didn't want this — but she agreed anyway because she was afraid of losing him.

Two months later, the scoreboard told a different story: she was going on dates regularly and having no shortage of attention. He had not found a single woman willing to date him. He returned to Reddit to vent — baffled and miserable that other men seemed eager for his girlfriend while no woman wanted him.

The uncomfortable part is the asymmetry of intent. By his own framing, had the situation been reversed — him collecting dates while she sat home — he would happily have carried on until he was ready to say goodbye. He wanted optionality for himself and loyalty from her. He got neither.

Open relationships can work when both people genuinely want them and agree on the terms. But one demanded as a one-way exit strategy, with the hope that the other person quietly waits? That version has a predictable ending — and he learned it in public.