A woman in a polyamorous relationship with four men is having one of their babies but they will all raise the child together as a family.
Tory Ojeda, 20, from Florida, met one of her partners Marc, 18, in high school and then got into a relationship with Travis, 23, two months later.
In July this year, the Jacksonville native got engaged to Travis. Tory then entered a relationship with their long-term mutual friend Ethan, 22, and then Chris, 22.
Tory got pregnant when she and Chris went away on holiday, making him the biological dad but all four men will be equal parents.
Despite being in an open relationship, Tory is currently the only one who has multiple romantic partners.
They all live together, with each of the men in their own bedrooms, but they take turns sleeping in Tory’s room.
She says her partners are ‘welcome’ to pursue other people if they want to and even encourages the idea.
‘I would love it if somebody found a second partner,’ she said.
‘Dividing time and figuring out schedules between all five people and making sure everyone feels included, it’s kind of difficult.
‘I’d like to not be the only woman in the relationship. That would definitely be nice.’
Though she jokes about the child being stuck in an endless cycle of ‘go ask your dad,’ Tory is confident the set-up will work.
‘We’re all raising the baby together, so everyone’s dad. We’re all very, very excited to be raising a baby together,’ she said.
Dad Chris is also excited about the baby but his family was somewhat hesitant.
He said: ‘My family is slowly coming around to the idea. The pregnancy has helped with that. But at the very beginning, I know my mother and father were hesitant about it.
‘Her main concern was that she didn’t like the idea of me having a partner who was not fulfilled with me alone.’
On the issue of jealousy, Ethan said: ‘There are a couple of healthy ways to deal with it. Primarily just talking to each other.’
Travis added: ‘There’s always going to be like little moments of jealousy, it does take a certain amount of restraint and just getting relaxed. I will say it helps if you know the person.’
Reflecting on his own experiences in his current relationship, he said: ‘Seeing [Tory] with Ethan was a lot easier because I was friends with him.
‘Her and Chris was a bit dicier at first. There was a lot more jealousy and I’ll openly admit that. The same goes for Marc because I’d never interacted with them.’
Though they sometimes get rude comments or looks, Tory hopes it won’t be so unconventional in the future.
‘Maybe in our future, we might see it become a common thing where people don’t bat an eye on it anymore at all. One can hope.’
But for now, they are focused on their relationship and their future as a five.
She added: ‘We would definitely like to have more kids down the line. With there being five adults in the household, we should probably have more than one kid.’
They are set to welcome the baby girl in February 2020.
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