Really could use advice please

MikuHosage

New member
So recently I was in a V relationship with two men. Well call them G and R. G I have been together with for over a year and a half and I live with him. R I had only dated a few months. We had all been friends for 5 years though. We had decided to have a casual thing between the 3 of us. Me being a Pan woman, G being pan and R being Bi. G had made the finally decision to being R into the relationship though. Things where going great till me and R fell in love. We decided to wait to tell G do to me and G having had a big unrelated fight not long before we realized this. We wanted to give him space between so we didn't pile stress on him. Bad choice made with the best intentions. He figured it out next time we 3 were together. NRE sold us out. I trying to explain that I still loved him that i didn't love him less that it really doesn't have to change anything between me and him. He freaked out understandably I told him I understood why he was upset that it was OK. He tells me now we cant get married or have kids. Hes a firm believer that poly people shouldn't get married or have kids because its not fair to all the partners involves. I tell him poly people get married and have kids all the time. He says no. He then starts on how I broke his trust that we should of told him sooner that he didn't think he needed to make a "no falling in love rule". Our only rule was no kissing between any of us which me and R never broke. I tell him we hadn't planned it that it just happened. He tells me I should just be with R I tell him I want to be with him to. We go around in a circle like this for hours till finally he comes out that hes scared to loose both of us that hes scared R is going to take me from him. We tell him that wont happen we hug it out its all good. Till another fight happens. G takes the game i was playing from me and gets R to play with him. They keep playing my character I tell them to stop to give it back but they don't listen so I shut down and ride it out all the while being upset about not being listened to. They think they're just teasing me that its not upsetting. G can see my face during all this while R cant. R finally sees my upset face knows he messed up tells me sorry and hands his half of the switch controller back. G asks whats wrong. I tell him and i admit i was a bit snappy but i was upset. He gets mad and starts saying I'm playing favorites because I'm not angry at R. I tell him he said sorry and you started it. I go off by myself to cool down and G cools down before bed. Its R's last night with us and asks if I can sleep with him. G tells me its up to me. I tell him I want to sleep with R because its his last night. He says fiiiiiine and proceeds to make guilt tripping sounds while I go over to the futon to snuggle in with R. We both feel guilty R tells me to go that its OK. I tell him sorry. I go over to G and snuggle in with him and he tells me how he wants to be better for me because hes not that physically affectionate while me and R are. We have a OK night. Oral sex happens but after I don't feel happy like I normally do. The next morning I go into the house to get us breakfast, we live in a small trailer, and get a message not 5 minutes later than R is grilling him about what we where talking about last night that he knew we where talking but couldn't hear and if this was how it was going to be it wont work. I go back in and ask to talk to R alone. I ask him about it and he looks like a kicked puppy saying he just wanted to know if things were OK. I tell him that's what i figured. I ask him what we are going to do about it he says he doesn't want to cause issues between me and G and thinks we should break up. I nod I tell him I understand even if it hurts. I go and tell G our decision and G tells us that we should just take a break not break up. I say OK and R agrees. So R goes back home and we are on a break. We talk a lot like friends though wed tell each other I love you once in a while when we felt the other needed it. We didn't think its an issue. About a week later G starts complaining that R doesn't talk to him as much as me and wont play games with him. R says they're talking the same amount as ever and just doesn't have the time with his job to play games. I stay out of it. Then I come back from being in the house and G has read my messages to R and is upset that were still saying I love you to each other. I explain that I didn't know it was an issue since it was just a break. He says it is. He decides he can handle us sneaking around behind his back anymore and tells me he read my messages because he doesn't trust me anymore after keeping the fact me and R fell in love from him. He tells me i have to choose. I ask him what he thought polyamory meant and he tells me the definition but then says that he signed up for the sexual but not the romantic. I message R and explain whats going on and how I don't know how i can choose because on one hand i have someone I've built and planned a life with who i do love but is making me pick while one the other i have the new guy who i clicked hard and fast with but is telling me hell love me no matter what i choose. R decides to choose for me and breaks up fully with me. I tell G heartbroken and he says that it doesn't fix things that i have to win his trust back that if i wallow in self pity that we will break up. I ask him how can i win his trust back and he tells me to figure it out because hes to tired from all the drama to try anymore. Now I'm mixed up inside wondering if I made the wrong choice or if its just all the hurt. I don't want to loose G he means a lot to me but this has made him someone I don't know. He knew from the start of our relationship that I was poly. I was dating someone else when we started dating. That other relationship burned out on its own peacefully and mutually. I know I'm not innocent in this and that i could of handled some things better.
 
No marriage and no babies sounds like a great idea. Not because polyamorous people don't do that, they do, but it doesn't read like any of you are ready for that.

You have a lot to sort out here. Like if this is a teething issue, or something G can't deal with, period. Please don't ever agree to a "no falling in love" rule. They're stupid and a set up for failure since you can't "legislate" feelings.

G's behaviour has repeatedly been not okay. It's not okay to be passive aggressive. It's not okay to read your messages. It's not okay to play your character. It's not okay to continually attack your poly identity by placing multiple restrictions on you, spoken and especially unspoken.

Sure, you're invested in him, but sometimes you need to recognise when enough is enough.
 
Yes we are young. I'm 26 and both of the guys are 23. I know I'm not ready for kids and all that but i want to one day.

i don't know if its teething or what because one minute he says its ok then the next its not. Like he said me and R can snuggle but then got snappy that we where later so we had to stop for a while and that was before he found out about our feelings for each other. Ill never agree to a no love rule because i know that cant be helped.

I know its not OK but there's no talking to him about it because he always has a reason "I was only playing" and "Because i don't trust you any more" He admitted he was wrong for reading my messages but not for much else.

I just don't know what to do. I'm all mixed up and i don't know how to fix this.
 
I just don't know what to do. I'm all mixed up and i don't know how to fix this.

You can't fix this, you can only accept people as they are, communicate as best you can and stand by what is important to you. Fixing other people never, ever, ever works. Unless he's extraordinarily mature and experienced, a 23 year old is nowhere near ready for the emotional requirements of polyamory. That's my blatantly biased opinion. Many 23 year olds want multiple sex/love relationships, but conducting them successfully in the long term is much more challenging, once everyone finds themselves knee deep in them. There's just not enough life experience nor self-awareness to support the structure. Look at this as experience gathering rather than as a situation that needs to be fixed. Live and learn. Every day is a school day. You have many loves ahead of you. This is just one.
 
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This seems to be an overwhelming issue, and I'm sorry for you. I'm going to try to organize my thoughts in order.

G had made the finally decision to being R into the relationship though.
TO me this is a red flag about him going to be very controlling in this.

Hes a firm believer that poly people shouldn't get married or have kids because its not fair to all the partners involves. I tell him poly people get married and have kids all the time. He says no. He then starts on how I broke his trust that we should of told him sooner that he didn't think he needed to make a "no falling in love rule".
Did you know this before opening up this relationship? DID you tell him you disagree? Did you guys discuss keeping everything just sexual? What is the reason he feels this is something that would break trust? Putting up a rule about "no falling in love" is a rule that is doomed to fail with long term FWB.

He tells me I should just be with R I tell him I want to be with him to. We go around in a circle like this for hours till finally he comes out that hes scared to loose both of us that hes scared R is going to take me from him.
firstly it sounds like he's trying to be a bit controlling and manipulative in this situation.
At least he told you an insecurity he is having. Did he start trying to figure out what he needed to move forward and deal with his insecurity?

. G can see my face during all this while R cant.
If he's bad at reading faces, he may not have been able to tell. For sake of discussion, I'm assuming you were very visibly upset. If you were, then if he was watching you be upset and just continuing do the thing that upset you...that's a massive red flag. That's mean and harmful and like he is trying to punish you about falling in love.
For me, I would have recommended actually saying something instead of sitting there quietly.

He gets mad and starts saying I'm playing favorites because I'm not angry at R.
He sounds like he's trying to make up excuses to justify his anger.

I tell him I want to sleep with R because its his last night. He says fiiiiiine and proceeds to make guilt tripping sounds while I go over to the futon to snuggle in with R.
Again with the guilt tripping? Is he normally such a passive aggressive person?

There are a few ways this could have gone:
Way one, the only difference is you listen to his words not his voice. He said it was fine so it was, and go and stay with R until morning. If he wasn't willing to be honest, that's on him.
Way 2, you hear that he is upset and instead of going to sleep, you all sit down and try to hash it out first. Find a solution or come to a stalemate. Air all the feelings and such.
Way 3, sleep with neither that night.

. I go over to G and snuggle in with him and he tells me how he wants to be better for me because hes not that physically affectionate while me and R are.
Again airing an insecurity, but what was discussed after? What is being done on his side to help him deal with it? Does this now mean he has two insecurities but has done literally nothing to deal?

get a message not 5 minutes later than R is grilling him about what we where talking about last night
This should have been brought up with both of you at the same time, not am ambush. R did not handle this correctly. That is not your fault.

. I ask him what we are going to do about it he says he doesn't want to cause issues between me and G and thinks we should break up
Why does he think you should break up? Because he can't handle this drama?
Is he trying to make it so that you have no input on this choice?

G tells us that we should just take a break not break up.
Did you all discuss what a break meant for everyone involved?

tells me he read my messages because he doesn't trust me anymore after keeping the fact me and R fell in love from him.
gross gross gross. What an invasion of privacy that shows a clear lack of trust and major insecurities.
I won't lie, in times of major anxiety and insecurity, I have the gut urge to look. But I wouldn't. Unless they literally handed me the phone and said "read" I wouldn't even ask. To me, digital conversations are just as much allowed privacy as in person ones. If I was with a friend alone, and we had a private conversation, it wouldn't be acceptable for him to eavesdrop.

He tells me i have to choose.
If he doesn't want to be poly, then he has to choose. He can either leave and find a mono relationship, or stay and learn to do the poly mono thing, or actually be honest that all he wants is swinging.
You need to decide if you even should be with either of them, or if you'd be in a mono relationship for G, or ONLY do swinging.

You can choose neither.

how i can choose because on one hand i have someone I've built and planned a life with who i do love but is making me pick while one the other i have the new guy who i clicked hard and fast with but is telling me hell love me no matter what i choose.
I want to start by saying time investment is never a solid reason to stay with someone in the long term. If something is wrong, and you're thinking of leaving but stop due to "We've put in so much work" that is ususally a sign that you may want to consider leaving.
How do YOU feel about t his choice? How do YOU really feel about either? NRE is involved here too.

R decides to choose for me and breaks up fully with me.
Again, is this a "I don't want you to have to choose so I won't LET you choose" ?(Because this is legit taking away your voice in the matter) or a "I can't handle this so I'm leaving"

he says that it doesn't fix things that i have to win his trust back that if i wallow in self pity that we will break up.

He knew I was poly..

Maybe you two should break up. It looks as if you two aren't compatible anymore, and that's okay.
Personally he seems kinda like a bully and manipulative and like he's been trying to punish you.

What do you want to do, in your heart of hearts? Do you want to stay with G if you ca't be poly? Do you want to stay with him, after all of this drama, even if you could?
 
Be thankful it only took a year and a half to figure out your incompatibility. That's not a huge investment of time in the long run.

G is severely lacking in maturity. That is not going to change anytime soon. That level of immaturity will probably never change without something major happening.

It's not surprising that R ran from that kind of drama. You really can't blame him for that. The question is if you can see that this will probably always happen with G in the picture.
 
R didn't run from the the drama. His reasoning was he though he was the issue. I've told him that he's not that we've had issues before he even came into the picture. He believe that G needs me more than him since G was a very depressed person before we started dating.

G hasn't done anything to fix his insecurities from what I can tell. He barely talks to me now as well.

I want to be with G but R is a close friend to both of us even before this and I can't get him out of my head. We still talk but we're careful now on what we say but I know he's in pain. Sometimes I worry im making the wrong decision in staying with G but I'm scared to loose him becouse I do still love him.
 
Honestly? G doesn't sound like he wants to work on anything. Which sounds like a warning sign for any type of relationship structure; all relationships need work
 
Yeah I know it takes two to make things work. I'm going to try to talk to him about things and if he's not willing to help out in work to fix it that just says it doesn't it? Thank you all for helping me work through this.
 
Hi Miku,

I, too, think that this is a problem you can't fix unless G pitches in and helps. Right now it sounds like G is not doing his share; and, in fact, is taking action to make things worse/harder for you. If that continues, then, this will turn out to be a problem that you can't fix (on your own). This is a relationship problem, and as a relationship consists of multiple people, so the solution comes about through the efforts of multiple people. R is trying to do his part to help, but G is not trying.

I reckon that the fix/solution you are wanting is a V, where you are the hinge, and G and R are the legs of the V. That is, you are wanting to have G and R both as your romantic partners. This is a perfectly okay thing to want, and you almost have enough consent to bring it about. You and R both would like to be in this V as described. Unfortunately, G does not consent to that V. Nor will he consent to any kind of poly configuration in the future, in all likelihood. He will only accept configurations in which you do not fall in love.

You love G, and you love R. You do not want to lose either of them. I think the hard thing to realize here, is that you can love someone even if they are not a good match for you, and you are not a good match for them. You have to project ahead five, ten, twenty years. If you stay with G for that long, how will you be doing at the end of those years? Will you be happy? Will G be happy? Will you regret breaking up with R? Will you possibly even resent G for putting you in that position? Will G be a good father to your future children? These are questions only you can answer.

I'm sorry you find yourself in this predicament, I hope you can work things out.
Sincerely,
Kevin T.
 
Thank you. I know I have alot to consider and alot to think about what I want for my future. I'll be working through it all hopefully with the best outcome.
 
I know you have some difficult choices ahead of you, and I sympathize with you about that. Hopefully the posts in this thread will help you sort things out in your mind, so that, as you say, you can work through it with the best outcome.
 
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