Before the bridal thong

Honeymoons weren't always such sexy affairs. They began as a trip with friends to lessen the “trauma” of marriage

Published April 20, 2014 12:00AM (EDT)

      (<a href='http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-1643366p1.html'>Iryna Prokofieva</a> via <a href='http://www.shutterstock.com/'>Shutterstock</a>)
(Iryna Prokofieva via Shutterstock)

We were in a bar in Kyoto when the bartender pointed at us and matter-of-factly said, "You are honeymoon." By way of explaining his insight, he explained that his fiancée had just broken off their engagement. Then pulled a ring box from behind a bottle of whiskey.

Despite the cruel love-detecting powers of heartbreak, I was surprised he could tell that we were honeymooners. After all, we barely could.

Sure, we had been conspicuously cuddling in a corner, but it had been five months since the wedding. We had already adjusted to calling each other "husband" and "wife" (as much as two modern feminist-minded liberals can). My wedding dress had been retired to the back of the closet, the messily scrawled thank-yous had been sent out and the staged photos of us awkwardly pressing our faces together had been developed. Not only that, but as is true for an increasing number of couples these days, neither of us were virgins. We already lived together. We had spent many years as single, i...

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By Tracy Clark-Flory

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