Normalizing Non-Monogamy - Personal Stories of Polyamory, Swinging, and Beyond

If you were thinking of skipping this one, consider rethinking that... Derek first learned about polyamory from one of the original writings on the subject in Green Egg Magazine back in 1990 (see link in show notes below)... He was in his early twenties and showed it to his college girlfriend and they sort of jumped right in! They explored non-monogamy together for a few years before parting ways...

Marla has been exploring and practicing non-monogamy for about 20 years after learning about it during their first year of college. After getting out of their last monogamous relationship early in their college experience, Marla fell in love with their best friend and never really looked back. Like many of us, they were kind of making it up as they went and figuring it out along the way. Today we...

Sarah is an elder Gen Z in her mid to late twenties who feels like she's always been polyamorous but didn't have the words for it. Like many, her initial dating experiences followed the model of serial monogamy, but for her it always felt terrible to "have to" end a decent relationship just because she met someone else she had feelings for. Not anymore! A few years ago she met her primary partner...

Cooper and his wife are in their forties with three kids and have been married for over 17 years. While they only "officially" opened their relationship about three years ago it wasn't a completely foreign concept to them when they got together and they always had a mindset and understanding that there was more out there. Cooper's wife initially brought up the idea of opening their relationship wh...

Dossie realized in her early twenties that sexuality was her path and that sexuality and feminism would be hand-in-hand in creating the changes she wanted to see in the world, and in herself. In 1969, when she was about 25, Dossie declared she'd never be monogamous again... And she never looked back! Dossie's story is full of love, laughter, joy, heartbreak, healing, determination, grit, and inspi...

Danielle and her husband have been married for over thirty years and have been exploring non-monogamy together for more than twenty of them. Danielle's husband initially brought up the idea but the concept felt intuitive for both of them so they started tiptoeing into it together. And of course, just because it felt intuitive doesn't mean that there weren't challenges and surprises along the way. ...

Jacob and his spouse have been in some form of an open relationship since they got together over 18 years ago. In fact, their relationship actually began as a triad. Today, Jacob takes us along his relationship journey as he and his partner traveled the country living all over and exploring connections and partnerships in their own unique ways. Jacob is an infant care specialist and an Internation...

Kels first began experimenting with non-monogamy in her mid-twenties when she and her partner agreed that they could both experiment and play with others while traveling. Since then, Kels has explored a variety of different relationship styles and dynamics as she continues to figure out what's best for her. One of the things we absolutely love about Kels' story is how she approaches life and relat...

Johnny started exploring non-monogamy about a decade ago when he and his partner first got together. Their partnership was non-monogamous from the beginning and they moved slowly and intentionally as they figured out what works best for them. They currently define their partnership as "open" and for them that means that everything is on the table for discussion. Join us for this beautiful conversa...

Jenna and Wendi are back! It's been three and a half years since we last talked to these two lovely humans and we're definitely not waiting that long until the next time! You don't need to go back and listen to Episode 209 to enjoy this conversation but we're pretty sure today's episode will leave you wanting more! Lots has changed but one thing definitely hasn't... These two are so full of love,...

Lola has been exploring non-monogamy since about 2009 and like many of us, their motivation has shifted and evolved along the way. In this powerful interview Lola takes us through their beautiful journey of self-discovery, healing, and untangling the web of misconceptions we're taught about sex, love, and relationships. Lola Phoenix is an American-born writer living in Sweden, working within digit...

Megan and Brett are back! We last talked to these two just over a year ago on Episode 337  and it's been a busy year! Lots has changed... They still swing together and go to clubs together but they've also started exploring more solo dating, dabbling a bit more in kink, and they even talked about their open relationship style and choices on the pulpit in their congregation! Join us today as Megan...

Princess is back! She was first on the show with her partner DD back on episode 322 and today she's here to go a bit deeper on her own individual journey. Princess is a 30-something mother of a college-aged kid and has been practicing some form of non-monogamy for almost 15 years. Like most of us, she started exploring swinging after responding to an ad on Craigslist to be a nude receptionist at a...

As Celeste describes it, she's had a long and illustrious journey of exploring different relationships and relationship styles as she continues learning who she is and what works best for her. For so long she tried to fit herself into what she calls "primary possessive partnerships" and unfortunately spent much of her time being triggered. Today, Celeste identifies as "solo open" and has filled he...

Genevieve a.k.a. Chill Polyamory makes polyamory education and entertainment on Instagram, TikTok and Patreon. She’s also on YouTube where she reviews polyamory in pop culture @chillpolyamory, and she hosts a non-monogamy storytime podcast called “I could never…” Check out the full show notes here. Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Click here to order your very...

Jet is a 40 year old mother of two girls who has been married for over 20 years, and up until about two years ago she assumed she was monogamous. A few years ago she started to develop a deep friendship with a co-worker and ultimately realized she had fallen in love with him just as he was moving away. She decided to be honest with her husband about her feelings and as they were doing research abo...

Holly grew up in a super religious and closed-minded environment and started rebelling in her late teens after moving out on her own. She fell in love, married her girlfriend, and a few years later they quit their jobs and bought one-way plane tickets out of the country to learn and explore other ways of living. While out exploring the world Holly was introduced to non-monogamy and has since been...

Dani strongly identifies as polyamorous and feels that she was born this way. However, she's only been actively exploring and practicing polyamory for a couple of years. She's currently in a self-proclaimed "midlife crisis era" and has been reimagining and reinventing herself after coming out of a 16-year monogamous marriage. Spoiler alert! Figuring out what we want in life can be really hard! Dan...

Eka is back! We first talked to her about two and a half years ago on episode 255 when she was just about to have her first child. She's in her mid-thirties and has been exploring non-monogamy in a variety of ways since about 2012. Since we last spoke, Eka and her partner Em had baby Elle and it's been an adventurous few years! Today Eka shares how having a newborn (and now a toddler) has impacted...

Cathy and Steve are both in their fifties and have been exploring various forms of non-monogamy since they got together about six years ago. They met through a recovery fellowship program and built a friendship over a few years before they started dating and dipping their toes into non-monogamy as a way for Cathy to explore her bisexuality. Cathy and Steve come from very different relational backg...

Hilly first joined us on Episode 225 and now she's back to catch us up on all the ways she's been kicking ass over the last three years! She's a 38 year old pansexual, polyamorous, neurodivergent, BDSM practitioner of more than 20 years. She's also an ageplay advocate and educator, and the winner of the title of "Florida Little 2024!" (Edit: In the intro we mention that Hilly is the first person t...

James is an Australian living in the UK who has been practicing some form of non-monogamy since he met his partner at a kink club in London nearly 20 years ago. He currently describes his flavor of non-monogamy as sitting in the middle of the Venn diagram between kink, polyamory, and swinging... His relationships often blend these three together in some fashion. James is insatiably curious and pas...

Meshai and Fin team up together to answer amazing listener questions every fourth Friday of each month! Today we're answering questions from our virtual community ! First, we talk about how to be the hinge partner in a dynamic where your two partners want nothing to do with one another. And then, we share some of our thoughts on how to maintain and deepen our connection with a partner when we have...

JoEllen woke up one day in 2011 and knew she needed to make some changes in her life. Not long after that she divorced her husband and sadly, her father passed away. She took about a year to collect herself while she figured out what was next... Coming out of her marriage, she didn't know what she wanted out of life and relationships but she definitely knew what she didn't want. So! She decided to...

Ashley and Mark have such an incredible and inspirational approach to exploring non-monogamy and life in general! They've been together over six years and about two years ago Mark brought up the idea of non-monogamy. They spent a year researching and learning before diving in and going to their first swinging event. Today they take us through their beautiful story and how they've both been learnin...