Relationship Playback 2025: Boundaries, Balance, and Better Choices

Today's couples are entering a relationship period like never before with regard to emotional flexibility, new types of technology distractions that take precedence over traditional forms of communicating (phone calls, mail, etc.), shifting priorities when it comes to work, families, and what makes them happy, etc. All these changes combined with finding deeper meaning in life has resulted in enormous growth in the way couples define and expect from each other.

The latest Gleeden x IPSOS survey, which surveyed 1,510 adults from Tier 1 cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata, along with adults from smaller tier 2 cities such as Jaipur, Ludhiana, Patna, Kochi, Guwahati, and Indore, provides an insightful overview of how relationships will be formed and function in 2025.

Below are the top 5 trends of 2025

Couples Will Redesign Their Relationships

While love and companionship remain important, couples today are open to developing new ways to bond and build memories. An overwhelming percentage of survey participants (52% in tier 1 cities & 54% in tier 2 cities) stated they are comfortable having sexual encounters with others besides their primary partner. Additionally, cities such as Mumbai (60%), Indore (62%), Kolkata (59%), New Delhi (56%) and Bangalore (40%) demonstrated varying degrees of openness to this possibility.

The transition of urban couples toward being more emotionally transparent is reflective of a new paradigm shift regarding monogamy. Rather than viewing monogamy as an expectation imposed on a couple, urban couples are starting to think of their relationships as something they choose and create together through negotiation. In other words, the exclusivity of a relationship can no longer simply be assumed; instead it must now be negotiated together by both partners.

Emotional Affairs go Mainstream

While couples are exploring physical boundaries within their relationships, they are now also exploring emotional boundaries. In fact, the results of a survey have shown that 37% of respondents from Tier 1 cities and 43% from Tier 2 cities have established emotional connections with individuals outside of their primary relationship. Some cities with the highest levels of emotional involvement include Guwahati (52%), Hyderabad (44%), and Kolkata (42%), while even metropolitan areas like Delhi (38%) and Mumbai (37%) indicate an increase in emotional involvement.

The fact that emotional relationships are now functioning as parallel support systems for couples to provide guidance, support, understanding, and validation is noteworthy. For example, in cities such as Bangalore and Mumbai, where there are very high rates of stress and extremely fast-paced lifestyles, many couples are finding ways to fill that gap through the companionship of other people emotionally. In most cases, these couples are not necessarily looking to end their existing relationships; instead, they are looking to fulfil their emotional needs in ways they do not typically define as “infidelity” or “cheating” but rather as “connecting with another person.”

A Space for Fantasies

If the secret sanctuary for relationships in 2025 is not to be found at home, then it is probably in the realm of fantasy. It appears that almost 40% of respondents in both Tier-1 and Tier-2 areas have admitted to thinking about someone they know while sexually intimate or during masturbation. The cities showing the strongest indication of this trend include (in order): Hyderabad (50%), Mumbai (46%), Indore (46%), and comparatively lower participants in Kochi (32%) and Delhi (40%).

Fantasy has moved away from being viewed as an act of infidelity, to being thought of as a way of playing out the individual’s mental landscape of excitement, novelty, or escapist fantasy. More and more couples de-stigmatise their fantasies and regard them as mental play and understand that the use of one’s imagination does not equate to being unfaithful, but that these imaginative experiences are usually regarded as psychological play.

Flirting as Emotional Air Conditioning

Flirting can now be defined as a way to relieve tension from the relationship and/or an emotional outlet; flirting has gone from a taboo to an emotional outlet from relationships. Survey responses indicate that 44% of respondents in Tier-2 and 39% in Tier-1 reported that they engaged in online flirting. Cities with high percentages of online flirting include Guwahati (54%), Bangalore (38%), Kolkata (38%), and Kochi (38%). Flirting in real life shows similar percentages with 42% of respondents in Tier-2 and 35% in Tier-1, with Indore, Jaipur, and Ludhiana being particularly high in participants.

Today, flirting may not have the same stigma as previously, as it is often a way of being acknowledged and seen by others. In metropolitan areas like Delhi and Mumbai, it is common for individuals to experience stress and burnout from their jobs, and with little time for their intimate relationships, they use flirting as a “refresher” or emotional release. More couples realise that flirting can be an uplifting experience, boosting their self-esteem and creating light-heartedness, not necessarily acting as infidelity.

One-Night Curiosity Goes Urban

40% of couples in Tier 1 cities and 40% in Tier 2 cities reported that they may consider having a "one-night stand". However, what does this mean? Based on the findings of this survey, there is clearly more acceptance surrounding the idea of a "one-night stand" than ever before. Some of the cities with the highest percentage of acceptance were: Indore (51%), Kolkata (47%) and Mumbai (42%). Even cities that have traditionally been viewed as conservative, like Jaipur (40%) and Kochi (34%), have a demonstrated increase in acceptance of these types of encounters.

What could the future of modern relationships be like?

In the opinion of Sybil Shiddell , Country Manager Gleeden India says “The modern couple will find ways to be truthful with each other about themselves, their desires and their relationships. The 2025 couple will rely on truth, communication and personal autonomy as their cornerstones. The results of the Gleeden x IPSOS survey indicate that as a society, India is prepared to openly discuss their emotional needs, desires, and realities of being in long-term, committed relationships. As a relationship evolves over time, it continues to be built on honesty and very often, it will include elements of openness and a willingness to try new things. What this tells us about the couples of today is that they don't want to be pressured to conform to how society thinks they should behave; rather, they want to be connected to what they really are.”