It’s been 10 years since Michael and I decided to embark on the wild adventure of inviting our lovers at the time, Jen and Tahl (another married couple) to live with us and our 5-year-old son, by the beach in San Diego. And what’s even crazier than opening our marriage to another couple was inviting the camera crew into our bedrooms to film the process. This was how Showtime’s docu-series reality TV show ‘Polyamory: Married & Dating’ all started. The director, Natalia Garcia wanted to capture and portray the real daily life of polyamorous families like ours to shed a light on the still unknown lifestyle of polyamory.
Although most people know about Polyamory or ENM Ethical Non-monogamy, today, the word Polyamory was nearly unheard of back then and this piece of mainstream media was considered radical, controversial, and groundbreaking, back then.
Most of the controversy was from within the polyamory community, with the rallying cry that Polyamory is not about sex, “the show was too sexual.” More Mainstream reviews like Gawker printed: “Showtime’s current series Polyamory: Married & Dating. It’s alternately hilarious, shocking, poignant, titillating, and cringe-inducing. But it’s also important.”Showtime’s Polyamory Is Trashy, Profound, and the Best Reality Show on TV
The show succeeded in capturing some of the most intimate and vulnerable moments all four of our lives. It not only followed us into the bedroom and showed some threesomes and foursomes, but it also caught us in the poly process on topics from jealousy, to new relationship energy to relationship transitions.
To celebrate our big anniversary, we decided to have a cast reunion with the San Diego Family and re-watch the first couple of episodes together. Afterward we’re going to discuss how this show changed our personal love lives as well as the collective culture around us. We will be posting a livestream video of our intimate candid discussion on Thursday, July 14th on my Facebook page, where you can also find more updates about everything poly, kinky, queer, and tantric.
Join us in watching (or rewatching) the first episode on Prime here and share your thoughts and comments.
Meet the Polyamory: Married & Dating Cast
Soon we will be posting an update about how the cast has changed–then and now. Yes, we are still intimately involved in each other’s lives and though the nature of our relationships has all evolved, we are still family, friends, and sometimes lovers.
This photo is from our first season finale party was held at the Victory Theater Downtown with nearly 150 people including the director, Natalia Garcia. After live performance art from Tantra Theater, we’ve answered some juicy questions from the audience.
If you’ve watched the first and second seasons of Polyamory: Married & Dating, you’re probably hungry for more. Unfortunately, Showtime didn’t record the third season, and the reasons for it can be found here.
Poly Books & Resources
I cannot offer you a third season of ‘Polyamory: Married & Dating’ but I can offer you books on polyamory and open relationships.
For those who are new to poly, I recommend reading my free e-book Polyamory Roadmap (instant download).
Those who would like to enjoy some witty humor intertwined with wisdom on love, relationships, and sex, can order my Polyamory Pearls book on Amazon here.
Ready to re-watch the first episode of Polyamory: Married & Dating? The entire first season is waiting for you on Prime.