BOYFRIEND I have a husband , a fiance & two boyfriends... it feels the most natural thing in world

‘Polyamorous’ therapist on her lovers

FROM a conventional upbringing dating one boyfriend at a time, Mary Crumpton’s love life grew more and more unusual – and crowded.

The 44-year-old therapist practices polyamory and has four partners: a husband, a fiance and two boyfriends.

Mary is married to Tim Crumpton, 43, engaged to John Hulls, 53, and is going out with Michael, 63, and James, 73.

She shares a home with Tim and John, while the other two men live nearby.

Mary explains: “I was brought up in quite a traditional home. I had boyfriends and was monogamous.

“Having more than one partner never crossed my mind. In my 20s, I got married and settled down, fully intending to be with my husband for life.”

But that marriage broke up and Mary, from Chorlton, Manchester, began exploring polyamory at the age of 29.

She said: “The idea that loving more than one person might not make me a terrible human being only dawned on me when, at a pub, I bumped into a person who had more than one partner.

“I had never come across it before, or the term polyamory, which means morethan-one love. I was quite shocked, and curious about how it all worked.

“My partner was with me when I met the polyamorous person and he was curious about it too. A couple of years later, I suggested to him that perhaps we might try an open relationship.

“I was interested to explore the possibility of allowing myself to love more than one person. I think for him it was more about the thought of more than one sexual partner,” she said.

“I took to it immediately. I had a friend that I was close to and that drifted very naturally into something more.

“I quickly realised that I had been wired up this way probably all my life.

“Loving more than one person now seems like the most natural thing in the world. For me, it is all about love.

“Of course, some of my relationships have been sexual but sex is not the driving force for me.”

Mary went on to marry Tim, one of the first people she dated polyamorously. The couple have lived with John since 2015. Mary plans to have a commitment ceremony with John next month, as the pair cannot legally marry.

She has been seeing Michael, 63, since 2016, and is also dating James, 73. Mary bonded with James over football, and with Michael over darts and karaoke.

She and Tim are both interested in environmental issues and she chats with John about science-fiction films and involvement in the church.

Mary said: “One of the lovely things about a life with more than one partner is that there is no pressure on one person to supply all my needs.

“I don’t have children and have no desire to have children. The only negative for me really is dealing with other people being judgmental sometimes.”