AceShowbiz - "Silicon Valley" actor Thomas Middleditch has credited swinging for saving his marriage to his wife, Mollie Gates.

The 37-year-old actor opened up about his sex life during an interview with Playboy magazine and admitted that swinging - where couples swap partners for sex - has revamped his relationship with Mollie.

"Only after I got married was I like, 'Mollie, I'm sorry, but we have to get nontraditional here.' To her credit, instead of saying, 'F**k you, I'm out,' she was like, 'Let's figure this out.' To be honest, swinging has saved our marriage," Thomas said. "We have different speeds, and we argue over it constantly, but it's better than feeling unheard and alone and that you have to scurry in the shadows. By the way, it's now called being 'part of the lifestyle.' The term swinging is old."

Asked if he ever thought he'd be "part of the lifestyle", Thomas replied "Absolutely not", and added: "I'm sexual. I'd always thought I was a romantic and that when I fall in love, that stuff fades away. It does for some years - enough to be like, 'I should get married, and I'll be different.' But it's part of me. If that's part of your being and it feels important to you, find a way to explore it, because repression sucks."

So he and Mollie "created their own rules", and make sure that each other is happy during everything they do. One thing that Thomas has struggled with, however, is fans approaching him for sex.

Addressing the issue, the screen star mused: "Personally, that's one of the trickier elements of it all, because Mollie doesn't get that and yet she has to witness it. I'm like, 'Come on, what about this chick who's obviously really into me?' And Mollie will say, 'Yeah, she's into you. Where do I fit in?' That question comes up. There's a lot of negotiation, and adding fame sometimes makes it easier and sometimes complicates things."