Serial monogamy is a form of monogamy in which participants have only one sexual partner at any one time, but have more than one sexual partner in their lifetime. Partners can be married or unmarried, but there are never more than one at a time. Within Western culture, this form of monogamy is more prevalent than 'true' monogamy, which is having only one partner in an entire life.
The term "serial monogamy" is more often descriptive than prescriptive: relatively few people expect or want their relationships to end. It has a signifcant pejorative connotation, as it is rarely, if ever, used by proponants of this type of lifestyle. Technically, any animals (including humans) who do not mate with one partner for life can be considered "serially monogamous", this includes those who mate with another only upon the death of a spouse. In more common usage, serial monogamy tends to refer to a long string of generally monogamous relationships which can often include more than one marriage.
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