This is what it's like to be in an open relationship

Being in an open relationship can present just as many challenges as its benefits and freedoms.

Of course, you have the chance to enjoy new experiences and 'play away' from time-to-time, but so does your partner. Can your trust in each other survive?

People took to anonymous confessions website Whisper to share their own experiences of being in an open relationship.

There are probably many more upsides to the negative experiences people have been detailing below - it's not often that these types of confessions celebrate the positive aspects of a situtaion.

But anyway, here are some of the challenges open-relationshippers face.

They have their own sets of problems

Why do I need a girlfriend? Because I’m tired of being the third wheel in my wife and her boyfriend’s relationship.

You might think jealousy would be the challenge in an open relationship. It’s more of a problem listening to how someone mistreated your significant other.

Really feel bad for my boyfriend. Our open relationship is easy for me and so difficult for him. I cancel lots of dates because he’s home alone.

And some people find it difficult to get back in the game

I am in an open relationship and I just realised that I have completely forgot how to flirt with guys. I just get super awkward and start talking about my cats.

I am in an open relationship with my girlfriend. She wants me to hook up with another girl, but I’m too awkward to pick anyone up.

My husband and I are in an open relationship. But we’re so social awkward alone we end up just having loads of group fun with our friends instead of hooking up apart.

And other people outside the relationship can be a problem

I find my open relationship very difficult to explain to my married friends. They are constantly pressuring me to “settle down” like them. I love him very much, and I’m happy with the way things are.

My mother doesn’t know my fiancé and I are in an open relationship. It’s becoming difficult not to tell her because she keeps asking if we’re having affairs.

I’m in an open relationship and I just had the most awkward conversation with a friend that saw my boyfriend on Tinder.

And there can be tensions

That awkward moment when you talk to your friends with benefits more than your own boyfriend. Thanks open relationship for showing me where all the issues lie.

I just accidentally sent my man a Snapchat definitely meant to send to a different person. We’re in an open relationship, but I still feel super awkward, and he hasn’t text me back yet.

I’m in an open relationship and I’m pretty sure my boyfriend knows that I sleep with the guy in the apartment above him. It’s awkward.

It’s difficult being in an open relationship with a man and finding a woman who’s interested. It’s not a threesome, it’s just me.

But then some of the issues don't sound too bad

I love that my wife and I have an open relationship but I’m tired of hook-ups. I want a girlfriend to go along with my wife. First world problems.

More: Everything you know about monogamy might be wrong