If your ex (whether spouse if divorced or boyfriend/girlfriend if never married) and you were no longer dating, you were both not seeing anyone else, and were not looking for anyone at the time and he or she suggested you could be "friends with benefits" (i.e., friends who could have no-strings sex together), would you say yes or no?

Personally, I wouldn't do this. I'm no prude nor do I not like sex, but Leighdu once said that "an ex is an ex for a reason," and frankly, while it would be nice on a purely physical level, I'm not wired to be "just physical." All the old feelings would resurface for one partner or the other, and that's not too good.

If I were to have a friends with benefits arrangement, it would NOT be with an ex-girlfriend. I don't think I have too many candidates for such a thing; most of my female friends are in relationships, but if I were to have a FWB thing, it'd be with someone I hadn't been involved with romantically.

As you said, many people are not wired to be just "physical" and I would that would be even more true with people that were once in a relationship. Some people would be able to do this just fine, but you run the risk of the other person not being able to handle a purely friends with benefits relationship. It's a definite no for me.

What often sounds good in theory often is disastrous in practice. I haven't had too many ex-girlfriends as it is, but I seriously doubt that any of them are wired to have a purely physical relationship with no emotional strings attached. In the case of my last ex, I wouldn't have wanted a "friends with benefits" relationship with, but even if I had wanted it and she'd gone along with the loony notion, we'd have been in the same routine of sturm und drang over the issues that led me to break up with her in the first place.

For me, sex is more than just physical. If I slept with some one, there had to be tonnes of feelings involved and an ex is the last person I want it to be.

i would have to say no. i do not think that i can do this without emotional attachment. sex for some people is just for fun and pleasure but for me, i will just do it with the person i really love.