After ‘Challengers,’ is this the ‘summer of the threesome’? ‘My ultimate fantasy’
Good things come in threes — at least according to these naughty New Yorkers.
Aroused by warmer weather and emboldened by the new ménage à trois movie “Challengers,” many Manhattanites are setting their sights on a threesome this summer.
“I wonder if it’s drilling threesomes into our subconscious,” Upper East Side resident Ruby Archbold, 27, told The Post of the steamy sports drama that has already grossed $80 million at the global box office.
“Challengers,” starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, details a love triangle between a trio of tennis players, with the frisky flick’s most iconic — and erotic — scene showing the lead actress sharing a three-way kiss with her two male co-stars on the edge of a bed.
The risqué movie has inspired thousands of social media memes and even prompted one pundit to declare the upcoming season as “The Summer of the Threesome.”
Threesomes on tap — and on apps
Indeed, with the weather already heating up in New York, many brazen Big Apple dwellers are getting a jump start on their dreams of a threesome-fueled summer, swiping sex apps in search of lusty, like-minded locals.
“I’m new to threesomes; my first one was about a month and a half ago,” Greenpoint resident Emily Kelly*, 27, told The Post.
The executive assistant — who has seen “Challengers” twice in theaters and describes it as one of her “favorite movies of the year” — arranged her first ménage à trois through Feeld, a dating app for those “interested in ethical non-monogamy, polyamory, casual sex, swinging and other alternative relationship models and sexual preferences.”
Among the various kinks and fetishes, Feeld says the search for threesomes has surged 119% in the past two years — and praised “Challengers” for making the sexual scenario mainstream.
“Mainstream culture is finally comfortable enough to give visibility of some of people’s innermost desires, and respect and celebrate different choices,” Feeld CEO Ana Kirova told The Post.
Meanwhile, Archbold — who is single — is seeking summer shenanigans that are more spontaneous.
The student says her male dates frequently ask her whether she’d be open to letting a gal pal join them in the boudoir after a wild night of drinking.
“You’re making out at a club with your hookup and then he turns to your [female] friend, you’re all drunk and it just happens — you go home together,” Archbold explained, saying the sizzling scenarios make “for the best stories.”
“I think there’s something sexy about seeing your friend and your hookup in that way,” she continued. “I’m not usually a jealous person, and I think sex can just be sex, so it’s a fun thing to do together.”
‘Devil’s threesome’
While threesomes involving one man and two women are not exactly groundbreaking in Hollywood (think: “Wild Things,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Spring Breakers”), the “Challengers” love triangle involves two men — and plenty of homoerotic tension.
Such trios are still taboo — both on the big screen and in real life — but many women are willing to be shared by two men at the same time.
“I’m equally open to threesomes with men and women,” Archbold declared, adding that she believes two straight men would be willing participants “in the heat of the moment.”
Meanwhile, Kelly confessed that having a threesome with two men was “one of her biggest fantasies.”
She told The Post that she found the sexual tension between the two male characters the most captivating part of “Challengers.”
“I see sexual tension a lot more with two ‘straight’ females in film, and I think there is definitely a spot in cinema for more ‘straight’ men sexual tension,” she explained. “I’m very much about ‘straight men’ being just as open and fluid with their sexuality as everyone else.”
And this summer, Kelly just might be in luck.
Will Blake*, 35, told The Post he’s hoping to have a “devil’s threesome” — a slang term for an MMF ménage à trois.
The corporate lawyer, who lives on the Lower East Side and is straight, has already been to bed with two women at the same time.
Now, in light of “Challengers,” the legal eagle wants to expand his sexual horizons and join a man and a woman for some frisky fun.
When asked if he was worried about any stigma surrounding a threesome with another man, Blake told The Post: “Who cares? It’s New York. Anything goes.”
“It gets slutty in summer,” he said of the city’s sexual energy, saying horny, hedonistic locals buck convention and defy labels when the weather gets warm.
“I think men are finally getting to a point where ‘fragile masculinity’ is deteriorating,” Kelly added, saying she hopes to find two men open to have a threesome with her.
“I really do hope that people will be more accepting of it, because they deserve to experiment and try things without labels, just like women are a lot of the time,” she added. “Girls kiss their friends and people will think nothing of it, and I think men should be able to do the same. It [a threesome with two men] is something that a lot of women would love to try.”
While “Challengers” is still in cinemas and streaming on platforms, including Prime Video and Apple TV+, more people will be watching — and wondering whether they, too, should have a threesome.
And for those who are adding a ménage à trois to their summer bucket list, Kelly has some advice.
“Don’t worry about what other people think,” she declared. “Forget about labels; people will always have something to say, but as long as you and the involved parties are all on the same page and having fun, that is ultimately all that matters.”
* Names were changed for privacy reasons.
