Me, my girlfriend and her partner. Part 2

Besides me and her partner, men sometimes come into my girlfriend's life. The first one appeared about a year after we met.

I didn't know how I would feel or how things would go from there. At the same time, it was super interesting: I love to experiment and try different things. I helped them meet. Even now I love introducing her to great guys and helping them get closer. It's thrilling and fascinating.

It's funny when a guy doesn't yet fully understand how it all works and expects tension from me. Instead he gets warmth and support. It's nice to break stereotypes.

After every date she tells me in detail how she spent time with her new partner.

This fosters our emotional connection: I never felt as if she was drifting away and leaving for someone else. I felt her close to me, and that we were together. My confidence in myself and in the strength of our relationship grew with each of her experiences with someone else.

There were times when the three of us ended up in bed together: my girlfriend, her new partner and me. In general I'm all for variety in life, including in sex, so I feel positive about such situations. I find it genuinely interesting, exciting and arousing both to be present while they make love and to interact with my girlfriend and her partner.

Until recently I didn't date other women; I was only with her. Then I felt the desire to fall in love and experience all of that again. But somehow there was no opportunity. I even started to feel like an old man. And it's hard to imagine a woman who, after I say "I'm married, I have a son and a girlfriend I live with. Together with her partner," would reply "Great! That's just what I need!"

But recently I met up with an old friend, and we started having a great time together. And then I had a super incredible week-long romance. It ended when she left, and it left a bright, warm aftertaste. I still feel amazing, with lots of energy and a desire to live and enjoy life.

Most of the people around me know about my relationship, but only a few knew the details and the fact that it's open. Recently I've started talking more with friends about relationships and sharing personal stories on social media. Many people are surprised and inspired by it. I've had several interesting conversations with friends after posting my stories.

My parents know about the permanent part of our relationship. They've met my girlfriend. We decided not to tell them about other partners so there would be fewer questions. They also understand and accept our story with my wife and child. My mom is divorced herself, and her divorce happened later than would have been best for everyone. She understands how these things go and is glad that my wife and I keep up a good relationship, visit each other and try to give our child a happy childhood.

+ Freedom, the chance to experiment and gain new experiences.

+ Not suffering from suspecting each other of cheating: this frees up a lot of energy and strength and channels it "in a peaceful direction".

+ Each of us is good at something, but everyone has their "weak spots". It's great that someone else can give my girlfriend the things I'm not very interested in or don't find easy, and I don't have to make that effort.

+ A sense of being special: our life really is unusual and unfamiliar to most people. It's a joy that this experiment continues and the idea is viable. I love it when it's like that.

+ Being together isn't about old agreements; for us it's about an honest choice made regularly.

+ It's nice to inspire friends and share with them.

This one is harder.

You need to pay closer attention to safety and health.

Not all partners are ready to accept this format, and when they leave, it's upsetting.

Sometimes it's harder for three people to agree than for two. That said, it comes easily for us. Our needs rarely clash or compete. It feels harmonious and somehow even easy.

Agreements are important.

It's just as important to be able to change them.

For a long time it was hard for my girlfriend to imagine me with someone else. After conversations focused on her confidence in herself and in us, it got easier.

We agreed that for us, cheating is about deception. If you deceive the other person or hide something from them, that's cheating. We tell each other about our partners in detail and, when possible, let each other know in advance that we intend to get close to someone new.

I sincerely believe in our relationship. We're really good together; we're a family. A strange one, but a really great one.