What Clove is
Clove is an independent adult-wellness publication covering sex education, product buying guides, and relationship advice. We write position guides that account for real bodies rather than one idealized one, and publish advice that treats readers as capable adults who can handle a direct answer.
Who's behind it
Clove is run by Nick and his wife, who writes and reviews under the name Clove — she'd rather keep her name off the internet, so that's the byline you'll see on her work instead of a full name.
Nick started this site because he kept running into the same problem: sex content online is either so clinical it's useless, or written to sell you something before it actually teaches you anything. He wanted to build something different — practical, direct, and aimed specifically at helping couples stay connected to each other, not just at generating pageviews. Looking at how many marriages still end in divorce made that goal feel more urgent, not less. A couple that stays intimately and emotionally connected is a couple that's more likely to stay together, and strong, lasting marriages are good for more than just the two people in them — they're good for the kids and families built around them, and for the community those families are part of. Clove is sex positive and marriage positive, and we don't think those two things are in tension. We're not here to talk anyone into or out of a relationship; we're here as sex education advocates, for people already committed to each other who want to stay that way, and for people still looking who want to find someone worth building that with.
Clove — Nick's wife — brings the woman's perspective to the site: editorial input on advice content, and a second set of hands (and opinions) on anything marked "Tested by the Clove founders." She reviews and edits under that name specifically because she prefers to stay private. If you want a fuller sense of where our thinking on this comes from, see our favorite books about sex and marriage.
How our product guides are built
Most of our buying guides are research-based: we work from manufacturer specifications, publicly available material and safety information, and how products compare within their category — not hands-on, in-house testing. We say so plainly rather than implying otherwise. A growing number are genuinely hands-on, though, covering products personally owned and used — see our full list of what we actually own for exactly which ones, and our editorial and testing policy for how each type is labeled.
Every article's byline reflects which one you're reading: Tested by the Clove founders means real, hands-on use of that specific product; Researched by Clove means it's built from the sources above rather than personal use. Neither label is meant to outrank the other — they just tell you honestly what kind of article you're looking at.
How our advice and position guides are written
Advice and position content is written by Nick, with editorial input from Clove — particularly on anything where a woman's perspective changes the advice — drawing on established, publicly available sex-education and relationship-communication resources. Articles that touch on health or safety — pregnancy, menopause, anal sex, bondage — link out to our medical disclaimer and are written to complement a conversation with a doctor, not replace one.
How we make money
Some links on this site are or will be affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission if you buy something through them, at no extra cost to you. Affiliate relationships never determine what gets covered or what we recommend — see the full affiliate disclosure for details.
Questions or corrections
If something on Clove is inaccurate, outdated, or needs a second look, we want to know — see our contact page to reach us directly.