Just a month after revealing that he is in a polyamorous relationship, popular RnB musician Ne-Yo took to Instagram to introduce his partners.

Ne-Yo shared their names, photos and even their social media  handles further intriguing his fans and followers.

The four women are known as Cristina, Arielle, Moneii and Bri. They don’t share a home but they all live close to the singer and the women don’t a problem dating the same man.

Also while appearing in an interview, Ne-Yo shared how he manages the four women. He said that he occasionally goes out with all his girls at once. He added that he spends 7 days with each girl before their common hang out.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” he admitted. “The birthdays, the holidays, they all get along with each other, they have no problem with hanging out with each other but I think one of the most important thing about this is understanding that these are four individuals, and their needs.”

The women have different roles they play in the household.

“It’s family,” he said. “It’s community. That’s what it’s about.”

The father of 7 opted for a polyamorous relationship after his divorce with Crystal Renay, who accused him of cheating with multiple women.

“After my divorce, I decided I ain’t lyin’ to nobody no more. I hurt a lot of people with just being dishonest about things that I could’ve been honest about,” he said.

Polyamory is the practice of engaging in romantic relationships with multiple people but with consent of all the people involved.

The practice is becoming more common than expected with those practicing it coming out without fear of being judged by the public.

Here in Kenya, it could be going on among many individuals but I bet because of  the fear of being judged and trolled, most of them would keep their polyamorous relationship under wraps.

Renown actress niece Githinji however came out openly revealing that she is also practising polyamory.

She opted for the relationship after having a string of relationships which turned out to be useless, according to her.

Niece, in a 2023 interview with Mungai Eve, revealed that the men she was dating was before were not reciprocating the love she was giving them hence the decision to ditch monogamous relationships.

“I kept on being shown kept being shown repeatedly by the universe of the type of partners I should not have. It was one union into another,”she explained.

She went on to urged people to stop owning others.

“We do not belong to anyone even in relationship.You shouldn’t belong to each other and that is what makes me averse to commitment,” she said.

Singer Bien and his wife Chiki Kuruka also sparked allegations that they were in a n open marriage in the past. The rumours emanated from comments Bien made in June 2021on the Sol Family reality TV show.

“Me and Chiki have this thing where if I ever meet my celebrity crush somewhere and I’m in a situation where my celebrity crush wants to have coitus with me, so be it and vice versa. I don’t have a problem with it if that’s what she wants, she should have it. You can’t stop a person from doing that. But I can’t catch feelings either, I want her happiness,” he said then.

He later denied allegations that they were in an open marriage.

“I have never said anything like that. I have never said that I am in an open marriage. I am not. It’s the public’s prayers that it be so, I say thank you for the wishes, but I am in a very nice monogamous happy marriage,” he clarified.

Is Polyamory beneficial?

According to a study that was conducted by Anthony F. Bogaert et al, individuals in polyamory have strong communication skills compared to those in monogamous relationships.

Aside from that, researchers found that polyamory provided individuals with an opportunity to explore and express different aspects of their sexuality and identity.

Polyamory also provides room for flexibility and adaptability. Research reveals that peaple in polyamory often develop strong problem-solving skills.

Additionally,  polyamory provides emotional support and resilience. Individuals in these relationships have more sources for emotional support.

Finally, a study published by Journal of Sex Research shows  that people practising polyamory have greater relationship satisfaction as compared to monogamous relationship.

The negative side of polyamory

Polyamory might offer greater relationship satisfaction and emotional support but it can also be very complicated. Matters that arise from it include;

1.Social stigma and discrimination

2.Feelings of jealousy and insecurity.

3.Anxiety and mental health issues that may arise from the complexity of handling multiple partners and stigma.

4. Burn out because of managing time and energy demands  of multiple people.

5. Communication challenges. It is difficult to maintain honest and open communication between individuals involved.