When to Walk Away From a Sexless Marriage

Dissatisfaction with a sex life is one of the common issues couples experience that affects their overall relationship satisfaction. Differences in sexual needs and desires could lead to struggles and conflict.

Consequently, if people in no sex marriages don’t manage the incompatibility between them, they might start to wonder when to walk away from a sexless marriage.

Causes of a sexless marriage

If your sex life has decreased, and your partner used to have a high sex drive, there are several causes for a sexless marriage to consider:

• Increased stress and expectations
• Recent loss or emotional suffering
• Loss of desire or aging
• Low or decreased self-confidence
• Pregnancy or childbirth
• Potency problems
• Communications issues and conflict
• Criticism and lack of support
• Early traumas

Ideally, you would be able to address the potential reasons to know what solution to strive for in your unique situation. Approach it with an open mind and heart, as many problems can be solved when both spouses are motivated.

Effects of a sexless marriage

For some, a no sex marriage is a nightmare, while for others, it is the desired way to live. To answer what are the effects of a sexless relationship on spouses, we need to have in mind how compatible their sexual needs are.

When both partners have a low sex drive, they might not consider it an issue. If you are wondering if it is reasonable to be in a no sex marriage, you ask the wrong question. Ask yourself, is my marriage a happy or unhappy one? Can a marriage with no intimacy work? Yes, if both partners are at peace with the amount of sex they have.

When one or both partners desire more sexual intimacy, any number of effects can happen. They might feel angry, disappointed, lonely, ashamed, and experience a lack of self-confidence. If sex is an integral part of the relationship for spouse(es), then they can feel deprived and dissatisfied with the relationship overall.

It is not uncommon for partners to wonder when to walk away from a sexless relationship in such situations.

Related Reading: 7 Damaging Emotional Effects of Sexless Marriage on a Relationship

When to walk away from a sexless marriage?

Life has no easy answers or guarantees, so how to know when to walk away from a sexless marriage?

If you are pondering how to end a sexless relationship, there are 3 most likely scenarios to keep in mind.

1. Your partner is not willing to work on the issues

Problems can be solved when people are willing to work on them. Talk to your partner, have an open and honest conversation about your needs and desires. Hear their perspective and have a true curiosity about how sex could be better for them.

If you have done all of this and more, and they still refuse to collaborate on improving sex life, it might be time for leaving a sexless relationship.

2. You have tried, but your efforts are futile

It could be that you are your partner working on improving sex life for a while now without any success. Although both of you are committed to making it work, you find you are sexually incompatible.

What turns you on, could be a turn off for them, and vise versa. To have a fulfilling sex life, there needs to be an overlap in sexual desires (think of Venn diagram), and sometimes there is none.

If this is true for you, it might mean that both of you could find happiness with someone more compatible.

If you haven’t tried so far, try consulting a professional to help you along. They have trained to assist couples in uncovering, cultivate sexual desire, and work out the incompatibilities.

3. Sex issues are the tip of the iceberg

Often, this kind of marriage is a sign of overall relationship dissatisfaction.

Other significant issues may be causing you to consider divorce, like disagreements about money, parenting, power struggles, constant fighting, physical, emotional, or substance abuse. If so, unless addressed and dealt with, these issues can lead you to divorce.

Sexless marriage and divorce rates

According to some data, the divorce rate is around 50%. Although many might ponder divorce due to a lack of intimacy and wonder when to walk away from a sexless marriage, we are unsure if a lack of sex is a valid reason for divorce.

An unhappy sexless marriage can be a consequence of deeper relationship issues. Hence, even if we did a study on marriage divorce rate that lack sex, we might not know if such a marriage is the reason. Albeit, many couples wonder when to walk away from a sexless marriage and can a marriage with no intimacy survive.

Is divorce the answer – can a sexless marriage survive?

Sexual intimacy is not all that simple. There is no “normal” or “healthy”, only what works for you. For some, no intimacy marriage and futile efforts to make it work will be ground for divorce while for others it won’t as they might be totally fine with having sex rarely or never.

Research backs this up by showing that for marital satisfaction a satisfying sex life and a warm interpersonal climate are more important than a great frequency of sexual intercourse. Hence, such marriages can survive and thrive if it is something both partners are content with.

Furthermore, sexual intimacy can be rehabilitated, if one or both partners are not pleased with the no sex marriage situation. Improving sex life is a process and can be accomplished. Understanding why it is happening is important, as you will approach the issue differently depending on the cause.

In the video below, Dr. Laurie Betito says sexual intimacy is a shared pleasure. There’s a big difference between something to share and something to give. That’s where everything goes wrong for some people. Listen more below:

Abandon norms, focus on satisfaction

For some, such a marriage is a desired state, while for others, it is a nightmare. The most important question is how you and your partner feel about your sex life and how compatible are your needs.

Many long-term relationships experience decreases in libidos in busy, stressful, or child-rearing times. Talk to your partner and try to work it out. Before you start to figure out when to leave a sexless relationship, invest in making it work.

Passion can be reignited in a no sex marriage if both commit to the process. Having a sex professional assist can make this journey smoother.

Related Reading: Is it True That Sexless Marriage is a Reason to Divorce?