A husband-and-wife have credited swinging for their 25-year marriage claiming that group sex has bought them closer together.

Angie, 41, and Jonch Burtrum, 42, from Texas, discovered their unusual hobby after getting drunk with their married friends twenty years ago and started playing strip poker.

The parents-of-two now regularly engage in sex with other people (both men and women), go to swingers events and even do full wife swaps.

Angie and Jonch Burtrum say that they have swinging to thank for 25 years of happy marriage

Angie and Jonch say that swinging has strengthened their twenty-five-year long marriage and is one of the reasons for their happiness as a couple.

Angie, 41, who works in auditing, says: 'When we began on this journey two decades ago, we were new parents and we were so monogamous. We didn't even know that swinging was a possibility.

'But as soon as we joined 'the lifestyle', it helped J and I to communicate more openly than we ever had before and it got us out of the house too. We started meeting new people and making great friends.

The couple first took part in the activity 20 years ago when they got drunk with a fellow married couple during a game of strip poker

The husband and wife say that opening up their relationship helped bring excitement back into their marriage. Pictured: Angie and Jonch with swinging friends (from left) Kristal, Holli and Mike

'It's improved our lives, personally, socially as well as sexually.

'If we hadn't started swinging, Jonch and I might still have been together twenty five years later - but I don't think we would have been as happy as we are now as a couple.'

Jonch, who works in a factory, adds: 'Swinging makes you realize that your sex life is so important as a couple.

'Before we opened up our relationship, we were just focused on getting the bills paid, taking care of our kids and the everyday minutiae of life.

The couple are open about their lifestyle with their daughter (pictured), whom they say is supportive them

Angie says that when she first tried swinging she felt 'ashamed' but quickly caught the bug

'But now, Angie and I put each other first and make time for one another. Amazing doesn't even begin to describe our experiences we've shared together since we started swinging.'

The couple host a podcast called 'The Average Swingers' in which they discussed the struggles they faced whilst opening their marriage and 'coming out' as a couple.

In the fascinating podcast series, Angie and Jonch even recorded the conversation where they told their teenage daughter that they were swingers.

Jonch - who has a 25- year-old son and a 20-year-old daughter with Angie - explains: 'For the most part, we are your normal average married couple. Two kids, two full time jobs, nice house in the suburbs. No one would ever suspect our 'alternative lifestyle' activities.

'But our daughter can see how much happier we are than most husband and wives. She chats to us about the lifestyle and helps us with our outfits for swingers events.

'Angie and I started our podcast because we were recording our own conversations in which we worked through our emotions about swinging.

In 2014, they began hosting lifestyle events in Texas - which regularly pull in over 100 guests each time. Pictured with swinging friends

'It was very cathartic for us but we thought it would help other couples who were addressing the same issues too.'

Angie and Jonch met when they were teenagers in Ohio. The pair married after a year of dating and had kids shortly after.

But it wasn't until they were 21-years-old that they had their first sexual encounter with another married couple called Amy* and Phil*.

During alcohol-fuelled night, Angie and Jonch began playing strip poker with them and that soon led to them 'playing' with Amy and Phil.

Angie says: 'We were very young with children and couldn't go out as much. So we started hanging out with another married couple, Amy and Phil who were parents too.

'One evening, we had a babysitter for all our kids and we got drunk with Amy and Phil. We didn't think too much about it but soon we started playing strip poker and one thing led to another.

'We all got naked and starting daring each other to do sexual things with the other couple. Before we knew it, the four of us were in the bedroom together'

But the incident became overwhelming for Angie who began crying and J decided to stop things going any further with Amy and Phil. However the pair couldn't deny that they had been turned on by their experience with another couple.

Jonch explains: 'We were all messing around in the bedroom and Amy moaned my name. Angie freaked out and ran out of the room in tears.

'I immediately chased after Angie and found her weeping in the shower - she was ashamed about what had happened. I made sure she was ok before asking Amy and Phil to leave.'

Angie continues: 'But after they left, Jonch and I ended up having amazing sex all night. Although, I had initially felt guilty about our encounter with Phil and Amy - I was turned on by it and I wanted it to happen again.'

A year later, Angie and Jonch decided they were ready to play with Amy and Phil again - and they did a wife swap in the same room. For the next five years, Angie and Jonch had a sexual relationship with them - until the pair decided to divorce after it emerged that Amy had been unfaithful to Phil.

Angie says that although she felt 'guilty and ashamed' about her desires for a long time she is no longer scared of her fantasies

Jonch explains: 'We talked to Phil and Amy about getting together again and went for it. There was some nervousness because you don't know how you're going to feel about seeing another man have sex with your wife.

'But once I saw Angie straddle Phil, it really turned me on and I knew I felt great about it. For the next five years, we continued to have sex with Phil and Amy every few months until their marriage broke down.'

Angie continued to struggle with her emotions and guilt about swinging. But over time, she learned more about the lifestyle and the wider community.

By 2005, Angie and J were ready to give the swinging lifestyle another shot. They embarked on a sexual relationship with another couple for seven months and then started going to swingers clubs together.

Angie says: 'I did feel guilty and ashamed of myself and my desires for a long time. I thought I was being unfaithful to Jonch and that I wasn't being a 'good woman'. It's hard to get over the mentality that women are taught to have when they're growing up.'

'But going to lifestyle clubs made me realize that swingers were just like us. There's so many out there.

'Jonch and I had been happily married for years now and I didn't feel like I was cheating anymore. I wasn't scared to live out my fantasies anymore and be myself.'

In 2010, Angie and Jonch came out officially as swingers. In 2014, they told their daughter and began hosting lifestyle events in Texas - which regularly pull in over 100 guests each time.

Jonch says: 'One of our daughter's friends started asking us why Angie and I were more affectionate and why we went out to parties more than other married couples.

'We realized we had to tell our daughter about our lifestyle and we recorded the conversation for our podcast. She immediately accepted and supported it.

'Our daughter said she could see how much swinging had enhanced our relationship - she saw how much we loved the lifestyle and the great friends we had made through it.'

*Names have been changed.