It’s not your stereotypical “happily ever after” but a polyamorous throuple certainly works for Kevin Wesley and his ex-wife, Jamie Te’nee.
Now the threesome says that the throupling is “magical” but Kevin admits spending time with the two of them together can be difficult.
Kevin, 39, of North Carolina, realised 13 years into his marriage with artist Jamie, 39, that the relationship wasn’t going to work.
The pair met at the church they attended as teenagers and were married at 20 after two years of dating.
However, they went their separate ways in 2015, and they thought that was that – at least until Kevin met fellow motivational speaker Lacee Le Beau, also 39, in 2020.
After he opened up to her, Lacee was intrigued by Kevin’s desire to be in a throuple with her and his ex-wife.
She had been approached to form a throuple previously and had declined, but was open to Kevin’s proposal.
Meanwhile, Jamie was also keen to give the potential new relationship a chance, as Kevin had discussed it with her after their own relationship ended.
“Me and Jamie met through our church aged fifteen and started dating at about eighteen,” Kevin said.
“We were married by the time we were twenty and were then married for thirteen years.
“But I was always telling her how unhappy I was and I think we had very different ideas of what an ideal marriage looked like.
“I told Jamie that I wanted to bring an end to our relationship and she gave me her permission, so we parted ways.
“When Lacee and I met I was already talking to Jamie about a poly lifestyle because even back then I wanted to pursue this lifestyle and Jamie had been thinking the same for a while before.
“Lacee told me that if she was going to be in a triad relationship she would only really want to do this with Jamie.
“I had dated women after me and Jamie separated that were happy with the idea of being poly, but refused to do it with Jamie because, in their mind, Jamie has a history with me.
“They thought that they would be coming in lacking power or feeling like they don’t have something Jamie does.
“So it was amazing to have someone who was completely on the same page as me and wanted the same thing.
“It felt like it was meant to be. They arranged to meet together without me because I didn’t want me to be there to shape how they saw each other.
“They are both heterosexual, so their relationship is purely platonic but they hit it off right away and it was magical.”
Jamie and Lacee, who are both heterosexual, immediately felt a strong bond and knew they wanted to join the throuple.
The trio began their relationship together in April 2020 and have a strict schedule to prevent jealousy and misunderstandings.
Kevin and Jamie spend all day and night together on Monday and Tuesday, whilst Lacee pursues her life coaching.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the setup is reversed with Kevin and Lacee spending two days alone together.
The rest of the week, the trio spend time together as a three.
Kevin says the setup works well, as it means one member of the throuple is working to provide for the family, meaning the other pair can enjoy quality time together.
But he has to be careful when the trio is all together to not hurt the feelings of his two ‘queens’ and refrains from showing too much affection.
In public, the trio has experienced people pointing and staring at them, with some parents even covering their children’s eyes when they decide to hold hands.
Not all members of their respective families agree, but the throuple believe that these negative reactions are more of a reflection of society and its unwillingness to accept polyamorous relationships.
Kevin added: “We all immediately knew that we wanted to work to make this thing happen.
“We have found a system that works for us, in which myself and Jamie spend Monday and Tuesday together alone whilst Laccee works on manifesting her career as a motivational speaker and then on Wednesday and Thursday, me and Lacee are together whilst Jamie focuses on her business.
“We all then spend the rest of the week together, but I have to work and travel at the weekend as a motivational speaker.
“In this way, we are always constantly providing for one another and building the lives we want to live, without having to rely on working for anybody else.
“The responses we get from people when they see that we are in a poly relationship are mixed.
“When we’re out, we’ll hold hands together but we don’t go too crazy as we do understand that some people might not think the same way as us or be so accepting.
“We’ve had parents shield their kids’ eyes or whisper about us, but you just have to understand that people are viewing our relationship through a different lens.
“Some of the nicest comments are from those who say we’ve given them strength to live their lives unapologetically even if they’re ridiculed.
“The worst are those that say I’m manipulating my queens into being with me which is so far from the truth.
“Being in the presence of both Jamie and Lacee at the same time can be difficult at times.
“I don’t want to show too much affection in case it causes jealousy, so I have become a friend to both of them when we’re all together.
“I think it might just be teething problems and maybe we’ll grow out of that in the future.”
Kevin, Jamie and Lacee say they are eager to show the world that the love of three committed partners is just as special as a traditional couple.
“Because polygamy is illegal in the United States, people think it is wrong. But they’re viewing it through that specific lens,” said Kevin.
“In reality, we are just three people who love each other and have chosen to forge our lives together.
“We want to show people how to love and push past the preconceptions they might have about what love is.
“We hope that by sharing our story, we can encourage people to be the change you want to be.”