AFTER years of playing the field, Mark found his soulmate in stunning blonde Tannith – but he still struggled to tame his wandering eye.
Within a few weeks of getting together Mark, from Wakefield, Yorkshire had cheated – leaving Tannith with trust issues that continued as the relationship grew deeper.
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Incredibly, her solution was to invite another girl into their bed – and the couple signed up to join the luxury retreat on Channel 4’s Open House: The Great Sex experiment.
But the first night left her in floods of tears after Mark had an orgy with FOUR other women.
And it’s not for the reason you might think.
In an exclusive chat with The Sun, Mark, 40, said: “Tan was really upset because she felt left out. We’d never done anything separately.”
Viewers see the dog walker, 30, decide not to hook up with anyone at her mixer and head back to their room to wait for Mark.
On his return, she breaks down in tears as he reveals his escapades – even though he hadn’t breached any of the ground rules they’d set.
“You never know how you’ll feel in those kinds of situations,” Tannith explained.
“My insecurities flared up, which I didn’t expect. I just couldn’t control my emotions.
“When Mark came back and broke the news, It was a lot of feelings at once.”
Despite her emotional reaction, Tannith was determined not to quit the show.
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She continued: “I knew we could make non-monogamy work for us. I didn’t want to give up on the experiment.
“For us, going off and doing things separately doesn’t really fit with how we are. We’re a very close couple.
“We’ve come out stronger than ever because of what we went through.
It appealed to me because often relationships go stale or people are dishonest and go behind each other’s backs. This kind of lifestyle takes that away.
Mark, Open House guest
“Our communication and trust is better than any relationship I’ve ever been in.”
Mark admitted he didn’t expect such a tearful reaction from his partner and says it was the “worst part of my experience.”
He added: “It’s hard because in there you can’t communicate with your partner to check things are ok. The residents can, but we weren’t able to.”
For most people, their partner having an orgy would end a relationship, but the pair insists they never thought the show would cause a split.
“I don’t think it was every going to break us because we were seeing it as an experiment, we knew what we’d signed up for,” Tannith explained.
The couple have seen the previous two series after she suggested swinging to Mark, in a bid to make the romance work.
Shock invite
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Laughing, Mark added: “We never expected to hear anything back from it.
“It appealed to me because often relationships go stale or people are dishonest and go behind each other’s backs.
“This kind of lifestyle takes that away. We speak openly about everything and there’s no dishonesty. It’s been perfect for us.”
As part of the show, the couple spent a couple of hours with non-monogomy therapist Effy who counselled them through their difficult first night.
During the sessions, Tannith realised she spent a lot of time trying to please other people rather than focusing on herself.
As a result, the couple were challenged to let Tannith choose someone for them to have a threesome with on their final night.
She selected French stunner Marie after spending time building up courage and getting encouragement from her other half.
“I was proud to be making decisions for both of us, listening to what I wanted,” Tannith said.
“I’m quite shy normally, so it was making me very nervous going round and speaking to people.
“I picked Marie because she was really kind, plus I speak French from living there for nine years.
“We spent a lot of time getting to know her before going all the way.”
Lasting connection
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Since their threesome on the show, the couple have attended a few local swinger parties and Tannith adds: “We don’t always do something at the parties. We really enjoy the connections we make and the friendships that come from it.”
The one rule for each encounter is that they never “play” separately and the choice of partner is chosen together.
The couple have also continued to meet up with some of the residents of the house, mainly Chelle who lives nearby in Yorkshire.
Tannith said: “We’ve built a really good bond with her. You don’t have to do anything or everything each time you see someone.”
That bond has been intensified as the couple are expecting a baby, due in August, and single mum Chelle has been giving them plenty of advice.
It also means that for now, the couple have put swinging on ice until after the pregnancy.
Gazing at Tannith, Mark told me: “I couldn’t imagine a better person to bring our child into the world.”
- Open House: The Great Sex Experiment airs from Friday on Channel 4 at 10pm and available for streaming.
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