How To Talk To Your Partner If You Want Them To Initiate Sex More Often

In the beginning stages of a relationship, whether you or your partner initiated sex may not have mattered much because you were both so into each other, it was probably pretty mutual. But as the relationship begins to transition to a new normal where you and bae probably aren't having sex as often as you were before, you may find yourself initiating sex more often. So, if you're trying to figure out how you can talk to your partner if you want them to initiate sex as often as you do, worry not. I spoke to sex and relationship experts about the topic, and here's what they had to say.

"About these conversations, it’s really important to have them outside of the bedroom, not to have them when you want sex initiated or when you’re in the middle of it," sex and intimacy coach Irene Fehr tells Elite Daily. "It’s always important to have it in a calm, relaxed place, where you’re not already turned on, where you’re not already kind of into it. The one thing that I really emphasize around all topics around sex is to come from a place of curiosity, as opposed to, 'I don’t like this,' 'This is not working.' And so, curiosity in terms of asking your partner what works for them."

You can talk specifically about wanting bae to initiate sex more often or you can broaden the topic a bit and talk about what you like versus what your partner likes. Fehr recommends asking your partner, "How do you like to initiate?" or "How do you like to be initiated towards?" By making it a somewhat objective conversation, it can seem less like pointing fingers and more like just wanting to talk to your boo. "Get a sense of what works for them, and then, on the flip side, also share what works for [you]," she says. "We all know what works for us to some level. We know what feels good. We know what things we want more of, and we welcome it."

If you and your partner tend to be more hands-on, you can also make a game out of who initiates sex more. "Create coupons for your partner," Nikki Leigh, a love and relationships coach and host of Ready for Love Radio, tells Elite Daily. "One can let you redeem it for them to initiate sex, one could let them redeem it for a massage, and so on to subtly let them get the message." If you and bae gravitate toward even more subtle ways of communication, Leigh also recommends sharing an article or podcast with your partner about initiating sex. "Let them know that you would love for them to initiate sex more and why," she says. "We all love for our partner to show their desire for us, and initiating sex and intimacy is a great way to do that."

When approaching the topic, Leigh suggests bringing it up in a positive way. "Let them know you appreciate that they do [initiate sex], and you would love for them to do it more," she says. If you're satisfied with you and your partner's sex life, but you just wish they would initiate more, chances are you don't want them to feel like you're unhappy with sex in general. So, "don't discourage what they are currently doing, keep it positive, praise their current efforts and encourage more," Leigh advises.

Make sure that you and bae still feel connected to each other beyond your sex life. "It’s very hard to initiate sex if you don’t feel connected to your partner or if they’re not connected to you," Fehr says. "Connecting to your partner, whether it’s by asking them about their day or meeting them where they are, if they’re tired or cranky, or initiating something playful. Sex and intimacy work really well when partners are playful with each other." If you and your boo are as connected as you've ever been, then the sex build-up will happen on its own, she says. "When you initiate the touch or initiate a conversation, then you create the kind of context where sex can happen as a natural outcome of what you’re doing, and it’s going to be a lot more fulfilling."