Is a married couple obligated to have sex?

No one should ever be obligated to have sex, married or otherwise, for any reason. Period.

My first reaction is, "What the hell? How can they be married and not do it? At least once in awhile?!" While this is weird to me, the question is are they obligated? No, I don't believe anyone is obligated to do anything they don't want to do. That would be like rape, in this situation. I can't imagine why she would marry the guy and not want to have sex with him, but it's her business not mine. But as others have said, if the husband is unhappy with the arrangement he has every right to seek an annulment. Just as she has no obligation to have sex if she doesn't want to, he has no obligation to STAY in the marriage, seeing as most people's conception of marriage includes sexual activity.

I think she absolutely shouldn't 'have' to, but I do hope she let the guy know before they were married. They should definitely get some outside help.

Just throwing this out there -- my husband and I have been together as a couple for coming up on 15 years. We have been married for nearly 5 years of that. For about 5 years (from 2004 - 2009) I was on medication that caused my already spotty sex drive to nearly disappear. Yes, we got married in the middle of that period. Yes, my husband knew what he was getting into.

The longest period of time we've gone without sex (while married) was over a year. Yes, it did put some strain on our relationship, but we talked it through, and our emotional bond is stronger than that. I no longer take the same medication I was on, and my sex drive has majorly improved. Although, I still have periods where I am not interested in sex whatsoever. My husband is very understanding, possibly more than he needs to be, and tries not to put too much pressure on me. I have offered up "duty booty" upon occasion, but he has no interest in having sex with me unless I'm having a good time.

On the other hand, I have a very close friend who had her marriage fall apart for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that her husband felt it was her duty to keep him sexually pleased. If they weren't having sex at least a few times a week (whether she wanted to or not), there'd be hell to pay. Their mismatched senses of duty and obligation regarding their sex life played a big part in driving them apart.

My point is, we don't know the whole story. We don't know her reasons, and we don't know at all how he feels about it. I honestly believe from experience that marriage without sex is workable, and there are a lot of other driving factors in a good marriage beyond sex. Everyone has different issues and expectations, and they'll work out what's best for them eventually.

WTH??????? WHY??? Is she crazy???

I'm a little alarmed by how quickly a lot of people seem to be judging this woman. The mere fact that she, for some reason that none of us knows anything about, doesn't want to have sex with her husband isn't necessarily a sign that there is something psychologically wrong with her.

For one thing, we have no idea what kind of relationship the couple had before they were married, and whether they ever discussed the issue of sex. If she made it clear before the marriage that she was uncomfortable with it--for whatever reason--and still feels she isn't ready for it, I don't think her husband has any right to complain (and certainly not to cheat!). Yes, a lack of sex could put a strain on a relationship, but if he loves her, presumably he would wait until she's ready.

As for why she would have gotten married if she didn't want to have sex...well, I can think of plenty of reasons. Aside from any financial motivations, it is possible that she's asexual but genuinely loves her husband and wants to be in a committed relationship with him. Or, again, it could be that she knows she will be ready for sex at some point but didn't want to wait that long to make the relationship official.

To be clear, I'm not saying that this is what's going on. I'm just saying that there are crucial pieces of information missing here, and it isn't really fair to jump to conclusions about her motivations, and certainly not to say that she should just give it up already. The bottom line is, while I personally think that sex is part of love (for sexual people, at least), there aren't any circumstances where she should be "obligated" to have sex with her husband. That is the kind of thinking that once made it possible to justify men raping their wives.

I don't think there are enough details here to make a decision. I don't think she should give it if she isn't ready, but I wonder why she chose to get married at the same time. Not in a judgmental way. Simply curious.

It's her body and she can do or not do what she wants with it. Period.

I think that this is really unfair to the husband and selfish of the bride.
What is marriage but legalized Sex?
If she has no intention of preforming her "matrimonial duties" then they really didn't need the ceremony. Marriage is a partnership and it involves give and take on both sides. If she had no intention of sleeping with her husband then there really isn't any need to be married they could just as easily be roommates. At least then he could see other people and get a little release.

nope!

Sex is important in a relationship you should want your partner if not there is something wrong that needs to be fixed

its the duty of both to please each other weather one likes it or not. if i dont like eating ass hole and she wants it i will do it. if i want oral and she doesnt like it she need to do it!

Rape still exists, even in marriage.

That's insane

Technically, in a lot of eyes, you're not really married until after you've had sex (consumated the marriage).

I feel like there has to be some fairly large underlying issues here for you to be able to get your family together, pledge you will spend the rest of your life with this person, and then be unwilling to have sex with them

Yea I think it is important.

sex is part or marriage sometimes i feel like i have to have sex but i still decide to have sex with my husband

Your body is always your own. You are not anyone's property. You ultimately decide if you want to have sex or not. Regardless if you're married or not.

Anyone has the right to refuse sex with anyone, anytime. Whatever the underlying issue(s), it's up to them to work out. Not enough information to properly judge.