I am amazed at how well you have navigated a very complicated lifestyle, and it appears for the most part, successfully. You seem to never take the easy way out in your life. Just look at you and your partner and all the complications involved there. It would make the average heteronormative cis person ‘s head spin, if not explode. 🤯I have been involved in certain relationships that could be described as polyamorous in the past. I agree that they are very different than the FWB situation. They are at times a challenge and always involve a paradox. The difficulty as I see it is that a truly meaningful polyamorous relationship by nature is the result of a deep emotional and spiritual connection with another. The intimacy which naturally results and which deepens the connection, creates a level of attachment which requires a spirit of altruism and generosity to be successfully maintained when others also have a claim on the beloved. It is hard not to be become jealous and envious. A feeling of possessiveness of someone who was never completely yours to begin with is hard to avoid. The deeper the connection, the stronger the feeling and the less likely it is to be able to successfully maintain a friendship with metamours and paramours when the relationship comes to an end. That is the paradox. The stronger the intimacy, the greater the likelihood that no relationship can be maintained when it ends, but would any of us really have it any other way given the choice?

We have a mutual friend in discord who lost the love of her life almost 3 years ago. She still grieves for him, often to the point where she finds it hard to go on. Great love always points to the great loss which will inevitably occur at some point in our lives. Too many are fearful of that possibility and so emotionally withdraw when someone gets too close. They cannot face the possibility of that pain. But in doing so, they fail to completely live and that is a greater tragedy. Kudos to you for what you have found and what you and your partner share. I wish both of you joy and happiness, but above all I wish you abundant love. 💕