"Open relationships"? Not so much. To me, they almost always involve one person who wants to be unfaithful and another who is so desperate to keep that person that they're willing to go along even though it's not what they want.
Now that's different from being "friends with benefits" or just dating around.
I once dated a guy who was very up front with me about the fact that he didn't "do" relationships. (He was a Love Avoidant - look it up). I always respected the fact that he told me up front and therefore I never expected more from him than he was willing to offer. We always had a lovely time when I would visit him. We had a lot in common intellectually and the (safe) sex was great. But I also understood that he saw other women and he wasn't ever going to be my "boyfriend" in a traditional sense. That was fine with me at the time as I was between boyfriends, and once I started dating a new boyfriend we just became friends (without benefits). Several years later when that relationship was over I dated my Love Avoidant friend again for a while - he was glad to see me and I was glad to have a no-pressure healing place.
I'm in another relationship now but frankly, if this one ends (or if he dies- he has stage 3 lung cancer) I could see myself becoming more like my Love Avoidant friend. I enjoy the company of men but at this stage in my life I don't really need to live with someone.
