Does Monogamy Even Exist Anymore? Not For Young People

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Are you young and in an exclusive relationship? Yes? Um, are you sure about that?

NewsFeed hates to be the bearer of bad news, but according to a new study 40 percent of young couples don’t agree on whether or not they are actually exclusive. So even if you think you and your partner are each other’s one and only, they might not be on the same page. Ouch.

(More on TIME.com: Who Needs Marriage?)

The study was conducted at Oregon State University, where researchers asked more than 400 couples between the ages of 18 and 25 about their love lives–and the answers weren’t heartening.

So maybe you should clear things up with your significant other by having “the talk” and make sure you guys see eye to eye on what monogamy means in your relationship, right? Not exactly.

(More on TIME.com: See the top 10 perpetual divorcés)

As it turns out, even couples who have agreed to not see other people could be in trouble–apparently, 30 percent of “exclusive” couples have had at least one instance of a straying partner.

So the basic equation for being young and in a couple seems likely to equal a bleak–or at least confusing–relationship. Awesome. Single people, take heart. (via Gawker)