This Dominatrix Will Whip Your Relationship Into Shape

Lia Holmgren is using everything she’s learned in the world of BDSM to dominate in a new career: as a couples counselor.

Photos by Laura Thompson

In a glamorous living room overlooking Manhattan’s Financial District, a straight couple in their late 20s holds hands and discloses that they “definitely want to have more sex.” The pair has been dating for a year and a half, and they plan to move in together soon. But their unforgiving schedules often clash: David Piccolomini, a comedian and podcaster, works nights, while his girlfriend, who we’ll call “Melissa” because she does not want to publish her real name, has a 9-to-5 in tech. Still, there have been other reasons for their recent sexual discord.

“Since the beginning of our relationship, I’ve been like, ‘Oh, it’d be really fun to watch porn together,’” Melissa says. “But Dave has these weird hang-ups about it.”

“I don’t know what it is,” David interjects, confused because he’s been watching porn since the age of 13. Eventually, he comes around to: “I think it might be, like, latent Christianity stuff.”

David and Melissa were both raised in very religious …