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Will I Ever Return to Polyamory?
After taking a break, all I hear are unhappy poly stories
It’s been over two years now since either my partner or I have dated anyone else. I’m not feeling a strong desire to get back out there, and the polyamorous relationships I’ve witnessed from my friends only serve to increase my reticence.
One of my poly friends is raising a baby with her second partner, in addition to the two kids she has with her husband. The pregnancy was accidental, but she ended up keeping the baby. Now she is a mom in both of her relationships, and her second partner stays over at her home with her husband and other kids multiple nights a week so he can be with his baby.
The combined family is working, and there’s been immense personal growth on all sides, but polyamory has ceased to be the fun vacation from being a mom it once was for my friend. Her husband (also my friend) hasn’t been enjoying dating these days either because, although she encourages him to go out and have fun, he can tell it hurts her, so dating only causes him to feel heavy and sad.
Another poly couple I know is taking a two month break. Each person has a different approach to non-monogamy — one partner is and has always practiced polyamory through maintaining multiple relationships of different levels of closeness. The other…
