Personalized romantic experiences help couples facing intimacy barriers —like sexual anxiety, trust issues, and body confidence—explore connection with more confidence and satisfaction.

The majority of couples have two different Erotic Personas, highlighting a need for tailored ways to communicate and experience desires between partners.

Sensory play and bondage are the most requested new erotic play styles, signaling a shift toward more adventurous, non-traditional expressions of intimacy.

75% of users report feeling closer to their partner after guided exploration with Arya’s mix of expert knowledge and AI-enhanced curtation.

Sexual satisfaction strongly correlates with relationship closeness —90% of those unsatisfied in their sex lives feel less connected to their partner.

“The Erotic Personas framework was created to help individuals uncover the intricate dynamics of what ignites and inhibits their desire. By bringing these insights into the shared space of a relationship, it offers couples a practical yet profound way to bridge their differences and foster intimacy through a deeper understanding of each other’s erotic worlds.”

Nicholas Velotta, Head of Relationship Research at Arya

1/3 of people say they want more frequent sex.

If you could change one thing about your sex life…

1/3 of people say they want more sensuality and romance, but not necessarily more sex

"There is no age cut-off for exploring new sexual fantasies and experiences. Part of staying youthful is staying creative and exploratory about sexual play."

Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Sociologist, Author, Television Personality

“It was a great way for us to dedicate time and space to exploring each other and I, as the one in the relationship with lower sex drive and a lot of insecurity around bedroom stuff, was able to focus on the learnings and the guided parts of the experience to help me feel more comfortable trying new things and taking my time in doing so. My partner loved that. Arya helped me feel bold in bed for the first time in a really long time.”

Arya User, K. 31

Our Sample

This report is based on insights from over 100,000 respondents, making it one of the largest studies on couples' sexual and emotional wellness in history. Our diverse sample includes individuals across the gender spectrum, with 7% of respondents identifying as LGBTQIA+, ensuring a broader range of relationship and sexual experiences. Participants span from newly formed couples to those celebrating decades together, giving us a rich understanding of intimacy at various stages of life.

Data Collection Methods

Our data was collected through a combination of detailed questionnaires about sexual preferences and communication, ongoing feedback from users as they explored Arya’s tools, and one-on-one interviews with some participants to better understand their personal stories and challenges.

Commitment to Privacy and Ethics

At Arya, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of privacy and ethical data collection. All data in this report has been anonymized to protect individual identities, ensuring confidentiality. Participants provided informed consent, understanding the scope and purpose of the data collection. We’ve taken extensive measures to safeguard user information, maintaining strict data security protocols to prevent breaches.

Author and Contact Information

This report was authored by Nicholas Velotta, Head of Relationship Research at Arya, in collaboration with Jacqueline Wilf, Head of Partnerships at Arya. For questions regarding our data or findings, please contact Jacky@arya.fyi.

"The Couples and Intimacy Trends study confirms what we all knew but maybe were afraid to admit: sex matters to most couples and even the happiest couples admit that keeping the sexual spark alive is challenging. This is a truth that thousands of Arya couples, myself included, have already embraced because we know the challenge of finding something new in our known is not one we have to tackle alone. Arya empowers couples by taking care of the labor (the research, education, and commerce) so that couples can focus on making passionate, exciting and intimate love at least once a month."

Shan Boodram, Arya Chief Intimacy Officer

“When it comes to having more fulfilling sexual connections, always proceed with the Platinum Rule-treat the other the way they want to be treated rather than the Golden Rule -treating them the way you want to be treated. To do that you need to safely and consensually explore different things to know what you each like, dislike and are neutral about”. From the book Love by Design: 6 Ingredients to Build a lifetime of Love

Sara Nasserzadeh, PhD

“It may be that curated erotic play is the bridge that women need between empowerment and communication of their needs. We know that women’s pleasure is important to most men but, given the longstanding “orgasm gap” and higher rates of sexual dissatisfaction among women, it’s clear that men have been misguided by societal assumptions about what ‘good sex’ looks like for women. The truth is that men want directions and information on how to be better lovers. And curated erotic play may relieve some of the pressure on women to be the ones teaching men how to become skilled lovers.”

Dr. Laurie Mintz Author of Becoming Cliterate

I feel very close to my partner

I feel fairly close to my partner

I don't feel close to my partner