Heard Of Polyamory? Meet This Polyamorous Family

This trio, pictured at their wedding in 2014 below, are a polyamorous family, which means that they all believe in having more than one partner.

One of the partners, Melinda, says, ‘…sex is great as if one person is not feeling up for it, then there are two other people to choose from…We are even open to taking in even more lovers if it feels right in the future, as more hands make for an easier life.’

Until Dani met Melinda in 2008, Melinda had only been in monogamous relationships with men, while Dani had enjoyed relationships with both men and women.

But after meeting at a music festival, the pair knew they were destined to spend the rest of their lives together. Despite gay marriages not being legal in California then, the pair exchanged vows on the beach in a commitment ceremony on June 26, 2010, in front of friends and family.

A year later, Melinda confided to Dani that she didn’t just want a wife – she wanted a husband too.

‘When Melinda first told me she was missing a man in her life I thought “Why aren’t I enough?”‘ Dani confessed. ‘But the more we spoke about it, the more I realized there could be huge advantages to having three of us in our marriage.

‘The hard part was finding a man we could both fall in love with.’

Just a few months after their initial discussion, Dani and Melinda met Jonathan, after all three enrolled on the same building class.

Jonathan recalls, ‘When I met the girls I was just coming out of a long term relationship with my childhood sweetheart. I knew they were married and I didn’t know they were interested in me. But one day they wrote me a letter and revealed what they wanted and I’ll be honest I didn’t know what to do…Polyamory is an unusual concept for sure, and one I had never heard of, but the more I spent time with them, the more I fell in love with them both. We all just complimented each other so well.’

Melinda adds, ‘My mom didn’t come to the wedding as she doesn’t approve of our life. But Jonathan’s mom, Sandy gave us away and as we both stood with our blossoming bellies, it was the perfect day, full of love and laughter.’

The trio and their two children, whom they welcomed 35 days apart, live under the same roof, with all three parents sharing every aspect of parenthood, from nighttime feeds to diaper changes.

‘It might seem strange to a lot of people, but to us it makes perfect sense,’ Melinda, 28, who runs her own healing company, East-West Collaborative Health, told Daily Mail Online. ‘We all love each other and it was our dream to fall pregnant at the same time. Unlike conventional couples who are sleep deprived when a newborn comes along, there are three of us to take it in turns on the night shift. We breastfeed each others babies, split the finances three ways and the housework too.’

Dani adds: ‘We compliment each other perfectly as our parenting styles are so different. Whereas I’m a bit paranoid and constantly worrying about germs and if the babies are breathing, Melinda is the opposite. We just need a bigger bed, as we are all co-sleeping with the babies as well and at the moment the only way Jonathan fits is if he lays horizontally at the bottom of the bed.’

As for raising their children within an unconventional family unit, they are not concerned about what anyone else thinks.

‘People sometimes ask us: “Are you not worried about the kids getting bullied at school?”‘ Melinda admitted. ‘But in all honesty it is not something that concerns us. We had agreed that when they become old enough we will explain our situation and are committed to instill them with tools to face any hurdle they may encounter. Thankfully we live in community that is pretty liberal and over time we hope families like ours will not be in a minority. Because in all honesty we think having two moms and one dad is the perfect way to raise a child, in a home full of love.’

Source: DailyMail