Let's Talk: Polyamory
11 years ago
I was in a stream recently where I ended up discussing my living situation and I thought it might be fun to do a little bitty Q&A about my family (to an extent).
My family relationship is as follows:
Spouse (live with, married)
Partner (live with, mentally married)
Boyfriend (Long distance, my Dominant)
Spouse, Partner and I are a *triad*, which means that all three of us are together. We are a unit. Boyfriend has a wife (who I am *not* dating) and does not live with me. Partner has a boyfriend (who is monoamorous), who does not live with us. Basically, it is a triangle with feet.
Usually when people think of polyamory, they think of things like Mormonism. A man with many wives, all that jazz! But the majority of people who practice poly aren't religious in that sense, or at least they are not poly *because* they are religious. Polyamory just means "many loves" and is neither better nor worse than monoamory, and me being polyamorous doesn't mean that I believe anyone who isn't is 'bad'.
If you have any questions about what polyamory means to me, please ask! If you'd like clarification on how my relationship works, please ask! If you want to ask me out...well, I suppose you can ask, but I admit to being pretty full up on relationships. ;)
FA+

How did it start? You were together with one and you two decided to have another one or he came one day and you all fell in love for each other?
It's weird to ask because it's a really emotional thing right? That just happens, but man, i really want to know how that works between you three, do one of you get more attention? Sometimes there are a bit of jealousy?
So many things to ask hahah
Neither of us are really the type to *look* for dates, y'know? But we both had an okcupid account (free dating thingie, but you can use it to find friends too!) and we didn't really identify as monoamorous in the beginning. This is also something that we both discussed very carefully to see how the other person felt. If you're looking to get into a polyamorous arrangement, be aware that there is a lot of communication involved. You're going to have to be very upfront and clear about your feelings!
After a string of relationships, I eventually began speaking to someone on OKCupid who I quickly became very fond of. They didn't live too far away, so we met up. After a few weeks, it got to be a weekly thing. They would visit along with their partner at the time, we would all hang out, talk, play board games. There's a lot more backstory, but the short version is that eventually me, Spouse and Partner decided that we'd like to live together! We're actually in the process of moving again, so the new apartment will be the first place that all three of us have gotten together as a family.
It really is a pretty emotional thing. I tend to make friends first and eventually build up to a relationship, and I honestly don't get that jealous. I think it's cute when Partner or Spouse talk about people they like. I'm quite fond of Partner's boyfriend, he seems really nice! But I'm honestly more the exception to the rule, I think, because jealousy can and does happen!
It just falls back onto the communication thing. You have to be able to discuss what you're feeling (as well as acknowledge that you're feeling it!) if your relationships are going to survive! It seems to be working out for us though. Spouse and I have been together about six-ish years, while Partner has been in our lives for coming on two.
As for attention...well, it's not a zero sum game. We just are how we are. If someone is feeling more upset, or needs more attention, we focus on that until the person feels more comfortable. Anything you think of as a "couple" thing, we do too!
Communication sure is important, and i think that on a poly relationship it's even more important, things need to be clear all the time if not someone may be feeling a "bit less" than the other just because of a misunderstanding! Dating someone is quite some work but two lovers sure needs quite some attention hahaha I bet it's totally worth it c:
Jealousy and communication are the top problems in relationships but i think you are handling them pretty well! Do you think that if you all find someone cool like your partner you would add him to the family? How would that be, the whole process? I mean, one of the three get a huge crush on someone, then he shows that someone to the rest, and if the chemestry happens with everybody then he/she would be added? I say that because i kinda imagine it expanding sometime, who knows right? hahaha
What changed from your couple life to a poly life? I mean everything, hanging out with them, texting if you're going to be late, two gifts, sleeping, those kind of silly things c;
How would that be, the whole process? This one's a little harder to answer, because it really boils down to one answer: It depends! Depends on the person in question, and what they're looking for in a relationship! Hypothetically, if a potential person popped up that all of us liked (and liked us back) we'd probably spend some time talking about how to negotiate things. They might not want to move in with us, after all! I think we'd probably also try to let them visit for long periods of time to see how well we live together.
What changed from your couple life to a poly life? Not too much really. There's a bit more negotiation for sleep arrangements, because Spouse finds it difficult to sleep alone, but our bed isn't big enough to hold all three of us (for sleeping). So we have a bit of a sleep rotation going on at the moment. Partner's boyfriend and my boyfriend don't live with us, so that works out. If either visited, they would probably spend time with us in our secondary bedroom.
As for texting, gifting, all that good stuff, it just kind of depends on the situation. :)