Two married couples divorced each other so they could form a polyamorous foursome.
Since the age of 14, Rachel Wright never understood monogamy, which is the custom of being married to only one person.
Despite feeling liberated after learning about non-monogamous relationships in graduate school for psychology, she suppressed her doubts and tied the knot with her partner, Kyle, in 2016.
However, after years of marriage, the pair decided to open up their union to another couple: Yair Lenchner and Ashley Giddens, both 36.
Rachel, the 34-year-old licensed marriage family therapist in New York, spoke about the world of polyamory in an interview with Business Insider, sharing that she and Kyle had spoken about their interests during their first date.
"But because our society is so mono-normative, I didn't really have the courage to say, 'Yes, this is what I want,' and neither did Kyle," Rachel, who is bisexual, told the outlet.
Instead, the pair decided to stay together as a married couple but began reading and listening to podcasts about the topic.
They then turned to the app Feeld, which is for people looking for different styles of dating, and started seeing other people in 2018 and 2019. It was during this time that Kyle also came out as bisexual.
"I found so much joy in watching Kyle blossom, and was feeling more and more like myself," she said. "It was just so fun."
Their plans to expand was paused due to the COVID-18 pandemic. However, they maintained online relationships, which led them to Yair and Ashley - a couple who was in an open relationship.
A few months later, the foursome were living together like a happy family and were even making a schedule for house tasks.
"You know those relationships where all of a sudden you're like, 'Do we live together? Are we engaged?' It's the kind of whirlwind where it's happening, you're aware and you're consenting, but it's happening without you really pushing it," Rachel said. "That's exactly how it was."
Despite being in a solid relationship, the couples realized it was time to call off their legal unions as it was not helping them. For instance, the Wrights were helping to pay Yair and Ashley's mortgage but weren't building equity.
So they sought the help of Diana Adams, the executive director of the Chosen Family Law Center, and the two respective couples were legally separated.
This is so they could all be documented individually on a cohabitation agreement, and work more equally toward home ownership.
"It also means that three of you could get into domestic partnerships with each other, or if I have a boyfriend and a girlfriend who are not in a relationship with each other, I could get into domestic partnership with each of them," Adams explained. "So it really allows for the flexibility and the variety of relationships that we're seeing now."
Perhaps more isn’t merrier as sadly, Kyle split from the foursome.
Rachel explained in an Instagram post that it was a mutual decision, sharing he "wants to do some work on himself and figure out who he is".
"Is this permanent? I don’t know. Maybe," she said. "But, for now, and for the foreseeable future, Kyle will be living in Brooklyn, and Yair, Ash, and I are going to stay at our house."
Speaking about divorcing their partners, Rachel said it "was worth it to live a life that legally represents our relationship, both logistically and emotionally. Anything is worth that: to be able to be yourself".
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