CHILDHOOD sweethearts Joshua and Katherine have been together for 20 years and are raising four children, Josslyn, 17, Helena, 12, JJ, 10 and Hannah, 7. The couple decided to get a divorce but continued to be in a relationship together. Katherine said: “The love has not been lost and there’s no adjustments there.” Katherine decided to open their relationship to another woman and they matched with Abby on a dating app and they all quickly developed a strong connection. Abby said: “To me it was going to be an experience, but it ended up being so much more than that.” The kids have fully embraced Abby into their lives and Katherine is now pregnant with her fifth child. The throuple are planning to raise the child together, giving the baby Abby’s middle name as a tribute. However, being in a throuple, they knew it would lead to negativity online with people saying they are teaching their children to be immoral adults. Abby said: “These people are so small-minded I feel sorry for them, maybe that’s what their parents taught them but that’s not what we’re teaching our kids.” Today Josslyn’s boyfriend, Isaac, comes over to understand more about the family dynamic for the very first time - how will it go?
00:00My ex-wife is dating my wife, and the three of us parent our four kids together.
00:04Mommy and Daddy have a girlfriend.
00:06Being in our throuffle, we get judged. We just do.
00:09Stop putting your weird crap on kids.
00:11They don't want it, and they don't deserve it.
00:13It teaches them to be immoral adults, but that's on these people.
00:17When my mom and dad told me they had a partner, I was shocked.
00:20I'm not gonna lie, I was a little skeptical.
00:22My boyfriend Isaac doesn't really understand my family setup.
00:25Would you guys encourage Jocelyn to try Polly Emery when she's older?
00:30Hey, yo, kids!
00:36Come on!
00:38That's how we do it.
00:39Of course, you're here.
00:41Josh and I have been together for 20 years, married for almost 17.
00:44We have four children and one on the way.
00:47Who's the best cook out of your parents?
00:50Jonathan.
00:54We have Joshua, JJ.
00:58He's 10.
00:59Hannah-Lynn is seven.
01:01Helena, we could call her Nana.
01:03She's 12.
01:04And then we have Jocelyn, who is 17.
01:06And so the two of you were previously married, and you've divorced, but you're still together.
01:14With her, like I love her, I still consider her my wife, but we did divorce.
01:19And then as luck would have it, we haven't left each other's side, and nor do I ever plan on leaving their side.
01:24The love has not been lost, and there's no adjustments there.
01:28It was my idea to open our relationship.
01:31I was the ringleader in everything.
01:33Your partner comes to you and tells you that she's open to like every guy's dream ever, right?
01:41The more she actually wanted a lifestyle instead of an event, then I was like, you know what?
01:46She's serious about this.
01:47I was on Tinder, and that's how I discovered them.
01:51I saw Abby's photo, and I was like, help me, please.
01:53I want this one, help me.
01:54I want her, help me.
01:56To me, it was like it was going to be an experience, but it ended up being so much more than that.
02:01Dad saying he loves mom, dad saying he loves mom, like I do feel that it will affect the children somehow, but I do not feel it has affected them negatively in any way.
02:12I think it's cool having Abby in the family.
02:14She kind of like reminds me of like a best friend more than a stepmom.
02:19She's so nice, even when she's stressed.
02:23I love Abby so much.
02:25She's my favorite person to like hang out with and be around.
02:29A close triad to me is we are polyamorous, but we are closed.
02:33Decisions are made together, intimacy and romantically, and all that is together.
02:41I have a very special bond with Abby that I hadn't had with anybody else, and to have two people love you so much is overwhelming sometimes.
02:55We're trying to have an emotional moment here!
02:57This is our family.
02:58We put the fun in dysfunctional.
03:02A lot of guys are like, dude, that is so cool.
03:05You have two girls.
03:06No, I have two birthdays.
03:07I got two anniversaries.
03:09I got two girls yelling at me.
03:10I have two sets of projects I didn't get done.
03:13It's two, two-edged sword, bud.
03:17Hannah, of course, had to make sure no boys allowed.
03:20Hannah has a rollout bed, and then Jocelyn, Helena, and then JJ has the top.
03:26Then, of course, we cram all of their stuff in the closet and drawer, but we make it work without being too hoardy.
03:32All right, so now let's move on to our bedroom.
03:35See where all the magic happens.
03:38Sleeping arrangements.
03:39Now, typically I'm in the middle.
03:42I'm like the biggest cuddler you will ever meet.
03:45I'll cuddle here, I'll cuddle here, I'll cuddle here, I'll sleep on my stomach and cuddle like that.
03:51The little Lego pieces that say our name, and then the date that we made it official.
03:55Mine and Abby's wedding in Vegas.
03:57It has a few more photos, as well as it has a couple parking tickets in there.
04:02It's kind of a keepsake for us.
04:04We are expecting another little girl.
04:07Her name is going to be Jolene Michelle, and we're choosing Michelle because it's Abby's middle name.
04:12Abby's middle name.
04:13Her little nose.
04:14Her nose.
04:15Her little pursed lips.
04:17So this one was the very first one I bought.
04:19It was the one we announced with, and this outfit's the one we're going to take her home in.
04:24She got the little hot dog one, too.
04:27I do hope to have some children of my own.
04:30I don't plan on having five.
04:31I would be fine with just one.
04:33That I feel would be like magical and special for them as well.
04:38Being in a throuple, like we get judged. We just do.
04:41By all means, give your child a running head start for confusion and relationship problems.
04:46Yes, I wouldn't like this if I were a child having to deal with being raised by these three idiots.
04:51It teaches them to be immoral adults, but that's on these people.
04:55Who decided that this was immoral?
04:56Yeah.
04:57These people are so, like, small minded.
05:00Like, I feel sorry for them, you know?
05:02Maybe that's just what their parents taught them.
05:04But that's not what we're teaching our kids.
05:07I love it.
05:08I love the hate.
05:09I'm like, you know what?
05:10You hate us because you ain't us.
05:12Yeah.
05:13Did you have any concerns about how your kids were going to react when Abby joined the family?
05:18I didn't have any concerns about our kids and how they were going to react because they're fairly open individuals.
05:25Mommy and Daddy have a girlfriend is how we introduce it to the kids.
05:28Come on.
05:29Watch out.
05:30Justin was the first to know that Mommy and Daddy had a girlfriend.
05:34I was a little, I guess, like nervous or worried because it was kind of sudden.
05:39I'm not going to lie.
05:40I was a little skeptical how the dynamics would work and how everything would work.
05:44Justin had known that we didn't want to introduce just anyone to the children.
05:47Like, they had to be exceptional or special, trustworthy.
05:51Abby, she's an amazing person.
05:53She's kind of like a friend, kind of like a built-in parent.
05:56It was a lot at first having three parents, but now it's a very big, helpful thing.
06:02Today, my boyfriend, Isaac, is going to come over.
06:06He doesn't quite understand the family dynamic, so he's going to sit down and talk to my parents about their relationship for the first time.
06:12And my dad especially does not hold back.
06:15Boy, quiet!
06:16So I'm kind of nervous to see how this plays out.
06:19Isaac is from more of a conventional family, traditional household, man and wife.
06:26People look at you and they're just, they give you looks.
06:29He knows not to look at me like that, but I get that side eye, you know?
06:33And I'm like...
06:34Do you believe that it's harder to be in a relationship with you and one other person or with you and two other people?
06:40Definitely two people because you're honestly, you're thinking about three people's emotions.
06:47This is hard.
06:48Like, it's hard.
06:49It's like your relationship on steroids.
06:51I wouldn't say I was shocked.
06:53It was just more like something I'm not used to.
06:55I've also seen people who want to be in a relationship with other people while still being in a relationship with their wife.
07:01By introducing Abby, it did weaken mine and Kat's relationship a little bit.
07:07However, we're stronger than we've ever been.
07:10When you came in, we got like closer and like, yeah, you've done that for like all of us.
07:16She's our unicorn.
07:19Would you guys encourage Jocelyn to try Polly Emery when she's older?
07:24F*** no.
07:26Everything in Jocelyn's life, I want to be 100% out of her doing, right?
07:31If she sought it out on her own, I would encourage, but I wouldn't push her to go.
07:36When we're out in public and we get looks, I know me and babe, we just smile.
07:41Kill them with kindness.
07:42Kill them with kindness.
07:43I wink.
07:44To people who question the way you do things as a family, what do you have to say to them?
07:51I think our setup is taboo to people because it's not the norm.
07:54It's not what society feeds you.
07:56It's not what religion feeds you.
07:58It's not what books, movies, TVs, stories, everything is man and woman.
08:05What's wrong with adding another adult to our family that's going to love everybody?
08:08Why is that a bad thing?
08:10Message I have for people like us is live your life.
08:15Everyone's going to judge you no matter what you do.
08:18I hope that our future holds marriage.
08:21I want them to be married to each other as well as to me at the same time.
08:26I want to die in a bed like the notebook with these two next to me.
08:31I am proud to have poly parents just because they're embracing who they are.
08:35They're living the life that they want to and they don't care what other people think.
08:39And I just, I think that's like the most important thing.
