BOSTON, Oct. 27, 2026 — Seven in 10 people in relationships (71%) say their intimate moments get interrupted, and for more than 1 in 4 of those who have been interrupted (27%), the last time it happened, the moment didn’t pick back up that night. Hunny Labs calls these interruptions “the pause,” and that 27% the pause rate.
The After Hours Report, a survey of 1,000 Americans ages 25 to 54 in relationships, commissioned by Hunny Labs and conducted by Talker Research, followed an intimate moment from the hour before it starts to the hour after it ends: how couples set the scene, what interrupts them and what happens once the moment is over. Hunny Labs calls that whole stretch after hours. It plans to ask the same core questions every year, so the pause rate can be tracked over time.
The pause lingers. More than half (54%) of those who have been interrupted say it leaves them feeling less close to their partner afterward. And the most common interruption isn’t the phone. It’s children or someone else in the home (49%), rising to 68% among interrupted parents with kids under 18 at home. As one respondent put it: “Children. It’s always children.”
“Couples aren’t losing desire — they’re losing the hour,” said Becky Robinson, who co-founded Hunny Labs and commissioned the study. “Half want more than they get, but everyday life keeps getting in the way: a child at the door, a phone on the nightstand, a partner who’s exhausted.”
“We were sold a story that if it’s right, it just happens,” Robinson said. “The data says otherwise. The couples who set the scene were less likely to lose an interrupted moment than the couples who wait for it to just happen. The best couples don’t wait for the mood. They design the conditions for it.”
“Desire is often responsive and requires attention rather than desire appearing spontaneously,” said Lori Brotto, PhD, professor at the University of British Columbia and author of Better Sex Through Mindfulness. “In this survey sponsored by Hunny Labs, couples who did something to set the scene were less likely to lose an interrupted moment for the night than couples who waited for it to just happen, which suggests that what couples do beforehand matters to their sexual desire.”
Key findings
The Pause
- 7 in 10 (71%) say their intimate moments get interrupted, about 18 times a year on average, and nearly half (47%) have at least one interrupted in a typical month.
- The pause rate: 27% of those who have been interrupted say the last time, the moment didn’t pick back up that night.
- 54% of those who have been interrupted say it leaves them feeling less close to their partner afterward.
- 38% of those who have been interrupted think it happens to them more often than to other couples.
The Hour Before
- 77% have signals to set the scene, most often closing or locking the door (38%), putting phones away (31%), music (29%) and adjusting the lighting (27%).
- Among those who have been interrupted, 25% of people who do something to set the scene didn’t pick the moment back up that night, compared with 35% of those who say it usually just happens.
- 60% of couples who live together disagree about how warm or cool the bedroom should be.
The Moment
- The most common interruption is children or someone else in the home (49%), rising to 68% among interrupted parents with kids under 18 at home. Next: one partner being too tired (39%) and a phone ringing or buzzing (35%).
- Among people who have been interrupted, half (50%) of those whose pet sleeps in the bedroom have had a pet interrupt, compared with 11% of those without a pet in the bedroom.
- 66% keep their phone within reach during intimate moments. Half (50%) have tried keeping phones out of the room, yet only 7% typically leave it in another room.
The Hour After
- 79% say the time right after an intimate moment matters as much as the moment itself.
- Yet for fewer than half (48%), staying close is what usually happens first, and 27% check their phone within five minutes.
- 53% would like to have intimate moments more often than they do.
What couples can do tonight
- Put the phones away together. 66% keep a phone within reach during intimate moments; only 7% leave it in another room.
- Give it a signal. Most couples already have one: closing the door, music, the lights.
- Stay close after. 79% say the time right after matters as much as the moment itself, but fewer than half stay close first.
Find your Pause Score
Couples can take the Pause Score, a short quiz built from the study’s own questions, at hunnylabs.com/pages/thepausescore. It takes about a minute, names the kind of pause that shows up most in their answers and shows how they compare with the survey’s results.
What Hunny Labs makes
Most bedding is made for sleeping. Hunny Labs designs objects for after hours. Its first, The Hunny Blanket, is a queen-size blanket with a built-in opening, designed by co-founder Becky Robinson to keep couples warm and covered so no one has to come up for air. The line also includes the After Hours Vol. I candle, in the scent Closer, and a full after hours set, adding socks and an eye mask, follows in November.
“The Hunny blanket is a sexy solution to a frustrating but common sexual problem,” said Ian Kerner, PhD, LMFT, sex therapist and author of She Comes First.
Methodology
Talker Research surveyed 1,000 Americans aged 25 to 54 in cohabiting or regular-partner relationships (gender balanced) who have access to the internet; the survey was commissioned by Hunny Labs and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between October 7, 2026 - October 9, 2026. To view the complete methodology as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, please visit the Talker Research Process and Methodology page at talkerresearch.com/methodology. The full report is at hunnylabs.com/pages/the-after-hours-report. The 71%, the 47% and the 18-a-year average are among the 970 respondents who have intimate moments; the other figures about interruptions, including the pause rate, are among the 689 who have had one interrupted.
© 2026 Harborline Holdings LLC (Hunny Labs). Cite as: The After Hours Report, Hunny Labs and Talker Research, 2026.
About Hunny Labs
Hunny Labs designs objects for after hours: the hour before an intimate moment, the moment itself and the hour after. Becky Robinson, who designed The Hunny Blanket, co-founded the company with her husband, and it launched in March 2026. The After Hours Report, first fielded in October 2026, is its study of what interrupts that time, which Hunny Labs plans to repeat every year.
About Talker Research
Talker Research is a research partner providing insights and data to brands, agencies and the media, and a member of the AAPOR Transparency Initiative. Read Talker Research’s story on the study: This interrupts couples’ intimacy 18 times a year.