MY BOYFRIEND WATCHED ME MARRY ANOTHER MAN

Tiffany Banks, 39, wanted freedom as well as commitment, but could she really have both?

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Feeling like a film star in my long champagne rose and ivory gown, I looked up at my new husband, Joe, then 35, and beamed. In that moment, despite being surrounded by family and friends, it was just the two of us. It was October 2023, we'd been dating for two years and now we were getting married in a beautiful veteran's museum near our home in Columbus, Ohio. After being pronounced husband and wife, I scanned the crowd, anxiously - eager to spot someone as equally special as Joe. Someone I loved just as much as him, and fancied just as much too. My boyfriend, Allen, then 32.

Allen and I had been dating for just over a year after meeting on Tinder. But far from being a secret from Joe, they knew all about each other and were quite happy to share me. In fact, Joe also had other partners, and Allen had come to our wedding with his long-term partner Morgan. When I spied them in the crowd I grinned and headed straight for them, giving Allen a quick kiss on the lips while Morgan looked on. 'You look amazing,' Allen grinned, squeezing my hand. As I looked deeply into his eyes, there was no doubt in my mind that I was in love with him, just as much as I was in love with Joe.

OPEN RELATIONSHIP

I kept my interaction with Allen short, though, because before the wedding Joe and I had agreed that today would be about us – just me and him.

Most of our family and friends knew about our unique relationship - that despite being together, we also dated other people. We enjoyed being polyamorous - exploring an open relationship - and while most people were very accepting of it, the older generations in our families weren’t so open-minded so we kept it from them. They never would have understood how I could marry Joe with my boyfriend watching on.