How to Reveal a Polyamorous Lifestyle

When you have a non-traditional family, talking about it to other people can be quite the challenge, especially if their opinions matter to you. How you broach the subject depends entirely on your comfort levels, and how you think that another person might best handle the news.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Judge how best to approach the person you are planning to tell. Some people would do best if you are sitting over coffee talking, while others would prefer doing an activity to keep their hands and eyes busy. Also consider whether your friend or loved one would best take the news in a more or less public setting.
2. Take a deep breath. This is not going to be easy.
3. Engage in small talk for a little while, then mention that there is something that you want to talk about.
4. Bring the subject up gently. If your friend or relative knows both of your partners but only knows that you are with person A, you can say something along the lines of "You know person B? Well, we've been dating. Person A knows, and they're okay with it."
5. Answer any questions that you are asked, but don't go into too much detail unless you are asked. The other person is going to need time to process things.

Tips & Warnings

• Top priority goes to the comfort of the other person.
• There may be some people who would be better off just not knowing, no matter how much you want to share.
• Let the other person know that you trust and respect them, and this is why you wanted them to know.
• Tell the other person if there are people that still don't know or that you don't want to know so that they don't spill by mistake.
• Do not "come out" in the other person's home. Then if they want to be alone, they cannot just leave, but will have to ask you to go.