Survey: the sex lives of married folks

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© Fabrice Lerouge/Onoky/Corbis

A new survey asks the question that many people quietly wonder: just how much sex do you have once you’re married? According the poll of more than 2,000 married women between the ages of 18 to 49, well, it depends.

Nearly one quarter (23%) of women included in the survey, conducted by iVillage Pregnancy & Parenting, have sex 1 to 3 times per month, while 21% said they have sex more than 10 times each month. Younger married women said they have sex most frequently — some 30% of 18- to 29-year-old married ladies said they took their spouses to bed at least 11 times each month, while more mature marrieds, women ages 30 to 49, were most likely to report having sex 1 to 3 times each month.

The vast majority of married women (81%) surveyed said they found their sex lives predictable — but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Nearly half of the women polled said their spouse was their best-ever sexual partner, and roughly the same proportion said they were at least mostly happy with their sex lives. One third of married women said they were very happy with their sex lives.

Still, contentment didn’t necessarily predict overall sexual drive. While many women said they regularly felt “in the mood” for hanky panky, many admitted that when it came to free time, sex wasn’t always top priority. In fact, many married women said they’d often prefer an hour of sleep (41%), reading a book (16%) or watching a movie (21%) over a roll in the hay with their other half. But even if some women opted for baths (12%) over the boudoir, there were many ladies (37%) who said their favorite pastime was having sex with their spouse.

Read the full survey results here.