Becca Monaghan
Feb 07, 2023
content.jwplatform.com
Four parents who fell in love and formed a polyamorous family have admitted to not knowing who fathered their two younger children.
Polyamory is defined as a type of open or non-monogamous relationship, meaning that they can have multiple romantic relationships at the same time. It differs from an open relationship, which can entail having multiple sexual partners on a more casual basis.
Alysia Rodgers, 34, and her husband, Tyler, were initially in a relationship together and share two children. They admitted to not knowing much about polyamory – until they fell in love with Sean Hartless, 46, and his wife, Taya.
They then welcomed two more children under the same roof, telling Today that they "did not regulate the biology."
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In other words, they are unsure whether Sean or Tyler are the biological parents of each child.
Alysia stated that "all equal parents to all of the children and it's not up for debate or discussion."
"It's not something that we're trying to hide from the children either," she continued. "If they want to know where their DNA comes from, we will absolutely go down that path with them. But at this point in their lives, it doesn't matter."
Tyler told the show that it was "really easy" to get the first two children to adjust, saying: "We told them: 'You know mom has a boyfriend and dad had a girlfriend and we're going to move in together, and we're all going to be a big family and they're going to help parent you, so we're going to need you to treat them like you treat us — like parents'."
He concluded that parenthood is "so much more than just biology, and that's what we're about."
The four parents, who boast 30,000 followers on Instagram @polyfamory, use their platform to share their experiences and to destigmatise their relationship.
In one of the foursome's viral clips, they differentiated cheating to the type of relationship they're in. "Cheating by definition is to act dishonestly and without consent," the post read, adding: "Polyamory requires a high level of communication, honesty, and consent."
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