Polyamory, the act of engaging in romantic or sexual relationships with multiple partners, all of whom consent, is often shunned for being unorthodox or taboo.

It is sometimes mistaken for polygamy, which is the act of having multiple simultaneous marriages. Polyamory is just as beautiful, romantic and loving as a traditional monogamous relationship.

I thoroughly enjoy my current open-concept, polyamorous relationship with my boyfriend of three and half years. We share an apartment and consider ourselves to be very much in love. We come home to each other every night and maintain a very healthy sex life. We also enjoy the sex we have with persons outside of the relationship.

My boyfriend and I first discussed opening our relationship when we realized that our libidos varied greatly. I tried, unsuccessfully, to communicate my needs to my partner over the course of a couple of years.

Eventually, my needs led me to infidelity, while my boyfriend’s own feelings of being unappreciated also led to him cheating. When it became obvious to us that we were both seeing other people, my boyfriend and I sat down and discussed our options.

We could separate, but we were still very much in love and enjoyed each other’s company. We could continue attempting monogamy, but reasoned that we would likely fail again.

Then, to my complete disbelief, he suggested we see other people and stay together. I initially resisted. I thought my boyfriend was suggesting we become swingers. Instead, we customized polyamory to fit our needs.

Being able to “branch out” on occasion reignited the passion in our primary relationship. We discussed the importance of using protection with outside partners, being honest about what we did and with whom as wekk as continuing to come home to each other every night.

Polyamory has been my reality for the past six months and it is truly liberating and exciting.

Sure, there were initially some feelings of jealously that my boyfriend and I had to hash out, but in doing so, we grew stronger and watched our relationship mature.

Cheating is nonexistent because everything is approved beforehand by my partner.

I’ve seen many traditional relationships fail because one or both partners either grew bored with their significant other, felt tempted by or strongly attracted to a third party or simply had needs that were not being addressed.

I believe that polyamory supports experimentation, as well as romantic and sexual fulfillment that is simply unattainable in other kinds of relationships.