Busting Myths About “Make-up Sex”

Popular culture often promotes the idea that sex after a fight with one’s partner – i.e., “make-up sex” – is more exciting, but social psychology research suggests that this is a myth.

We asked 107 newlywed couples to complete a survey every day for 14 days that asked about their relationship conflict, sexual frequency and sexual satisfaction. We found that when couples experienced conflict, they were less likely to have sex the following day, not more likely. When they did have sex after conflict, both partners reported that the sex was less satisfying. However, the effects were short-lived: they were not associated with partners’ marital satisfaction six months later.