Ep 279 - Ready for Polyamory (Laura)

Dani strongly identifies as polyamorous and feels that she was born this way. However, she's only been actively exploring and practicing polyamory for a couple of years. She's currently in a self-proclaimed "midlife crisis era" and has been reimagining and reinventing herself after coming out of a 16-year monogamous marriage. Spoiler alert! Figuring out what we want in life can be really hard! Dani's explored lots of different complex relationships and connections over the last few years and today she's in a place where she is longing to be in love again... At the same time, she has a real fear of enmeshment and getting swept away on the relationship escalator. Dani vulnerably takes us inside her emotional and challenging journey of navigating the discomfort of the unknown as she finds herself.  Dani is a writer, speaker, facilitator, storyteller, coach, business consultant, and the host of the "Another Way" podcast. She believes we all get to create the lives we want and that we don't have to settle or do what anyone else expects of us. And! We don't have to do it alone. To learn more about Dani and all of her work, please check out her website! Check out the full show notes here. Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

2 Apr 1h 6min

Eka is back! We first talked to her about two and a half years ago on episode 255 when she was just about to have her first child. She's in her mid-thirties and has been exploring non-monogamy in a variety of ways since about 2012. Since we last spoke, Eka and her partner Em had baby Elle and it's been an adventurous few years! Today Eka shares how having a newborn (and now a toddler) has impacted her life, her relationships, and her sexuality. She's been exploring her sexuality, demisexuality, kink, and multiple connections and partnerships all while figuring out how to be a new mom! There's never a dull moment and we absolutely love when we get to talk to Eka and hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did! Check out the full show notes here. Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

26 Mars 1h 12min

Cathy and Steve are both in their fifties and have been exploring various forms of non-monogamy since they got together about six years ago. They met through a recovery fellowship program and built a friendship over a few years before they started dating and dipping their toes into non-monogamy as a way for Cathy to explore her bisexuality. Cathy and Steve come from very different relational backgrounds... Steve was married to his ex-wife in a multi-decade "mostly successful relationship that ran its course" whereas Cathy had been suppressing her sexuality for decades only to have it bubble up through infidelities in multiple marriages before she met Steve. Their relationship is built on a foundation of open and honest communication and friendship where they both feel like they're able to be their authentic selves. Their non-monogamous adventures have had ups and downs and have spanned the spectrum of swinging, hotwifing, cuckolding, and polyamory. They do a bit of everything and they're figuring it out as they go! After you listen to this beautiful interview we encourage you to check out Cathy and Steve's writing on Medium and on their website under the pseudonyms Sam and Kate! Check out the full show notes here. Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

19 Mars 1h 6min

Hilly first joined us on Episode 225 and now she's back to catch us up on all the ways she's been kicking ass over the last three years! She's a 38 year old pansexual, polyamorous, neurodivergent, BDSM practitioner of more than 20 years. She's also an ageplay advocate and educator, and the winner of the title of "Florida Little 2024!" (Edit: In the intro we mention that Hilly is the first person to win this new title... She is the second person to win it, and first woman to win.) This interview is so beautiful, uplifting, and full of love! Hilly shares some updates on her partnerships and takes us deep into the world of kink and BDSM title competitions. She also shares her own powerful journey of running for, and winning her Florida Little 2024 title in December! Hilly has also spoken on several other podcasts over the years and enjoys sharing her experiences both in the BDSM lifestyle, as well as her polyamorous journey with her partner of over 5 years. Her greatest goal is to create more supportive spaces and to foster a deeper understanding and acceptance for ageplay and many of the more niche kinks that exist under the greater umbrella of the BDSM lifestyle. She is an LGBTQIA+ ally, and makes a point of advocating for the rights of all people to live their truest and most authentic selves. You can find out more about Hilly and her work over on her website, her Facebook page, and her YouTube channel! Check out the full show notes here. Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

12 Mars 1h 14min

James is an Australian living in the UK who has been practicing some form of non-monogamy since he met his partner at a kink club in London nearly 20 years ago. He currently describes his flavor of non-monogamy as sitting in the middle of the Venn diagram between kink, polyamory, and swinging... His relationships often blend these three together in some fashion. James is insatiably curious and passionate about relationships, connection, community, and life in general! He was also diagnosed with AUDHD (Autism and ADHD) a few years ago and shares with us how this has changed his whole understanding of how he's done relationships and life for over 50 years. We love this conversation and hope you enjoy it as well! If you're interested in more from James, you can find his writing on Medium as well. Check out the full show notes here. Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

5 Mars 1h 16min

Meshai and Fin team up together to answer amazing listener questions every fourth Friday of each month! Today we're answering questions from our virtual community! First, we talk about how to be the hinge partner in a dynamic where your two partners want nothing to do with one another. And then, we share some of our thoughts on how to maintain and deepen our connection with a partner when we have different libidos, sexual interests, and desires. Meshai is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and is certified in both Trauma Therapy and Sex Therapy, and she is trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Learn more about Meshai and all of her work over at expansiveconnection.com! You likely know me (Fin) from over 300 episodes of Normalizing Non-Monogamy. Just in case you don't, I cohost the podcast with my partner Emma and we have been in an open relationship together for over 15 years. I also completed a sex and relationship coaching program through the Somatica Institute in March 2024! Check out the full show notes here. Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

28 Feb 51min

JoEllen woke up one day in 2011 and knew she needed to make some changes in her life. Not long after that she divorced her husband and sadly, her father passed away. She took about a year to collect herself while she figured out what was next... Coming out of her marriage, she didn't know what she wanted out of life and relationships but she definitely knew what she didn't want. So! She decided to start learning about sex because it was something she never really knew much about... She started researching and learning as much as she could and early in her research she discovered non-monogamy. Since then, JoEllen has been busy exploring her own style of non-monogamy, figuring out what works best for her, sharing her journey online, and generally being a badass who loves talking about all of the things most people are afraid to. JoEllen Notte is a writer, speaker, and mental health advocate whose work explores the impact of depression on sex and relationships. Since 2012 she has written about sex, mental health, and how none of us are broken at www.redheadbedhead.com. She is also the author of The Monster Under the Bed: Sex, Depression, and the Conversations We Aren’t Having and In It Together: Navigating Depression with Partners, Friends, and Family. Please check out and support her incredible work on Patreon! Check out the full show notes here. Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

26 Feb 1h 3min

Ashley and Mark have such an incredible and inspirational approach to exploring non-monogamy and life in general! They've been together over six years and about two years ago Mark brought up the idea of non-monogamy. They spent a year researching and learning before diving in and going to their first swinging event. Today they take us through their beautiful story and how they've both been learning to support each other without abandoning or sacrificing themselves. They've also been figuring out how to explore non-monogamy at different paces that support their different comfort levels and interests. Plus! They're doing all of this while raising two kids in a blended family and while living with Mark's ex-wife and co-parent of his child. This conversation is so full of love and positivity and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Check out the full show notes here. Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

19 Feb 1h 12min