Perfect triad soiled by jealousy, trying to change. Can it be repaired?

Shana

New member
This is kinda my polyamory story. I am seeking advice and understanding. Sorry its so long. I have a lot to say.

In Introductions I explained a little of my situation. I have been with the first boyfriend for not that long. But I've known him for a long time and patiently waited out his marriage. I could go on and on about how the universe brought him and me closer over the years, but I wont. Don't worry.

I introduced him to a friend of mine who I met at my job. After a month of the 3 of us hanging out all the time, Boyfriend #2 and I were having a text-talk late at night, where I had started to admit my confusing feelings and desires for him and that I want them to go away because it was not worth risking the man I love, and in return I got a whole-hearted confession of his feelings for my boyfriend and me, and his desire to try and do everything together. At the time, he was a virgin. I explained this to my boyfriend, who I knew was into men, and was attracted to him. We constantly talked about him, so I knew he'd be into it. We were already throwing him a birthday party later that week and that was the night the most amazing 3some of my life happened. Everything was perfect.

Boyfriend #2 came to us about starting a relationship. Blindly, we all jumped right in.

For a month it was amazing.. At some points, I made comments that upset them both. Boyfriend #2 just seemed more into Boyfriend #1 than me. It was hard to get over. Rarely did BF#2 and I have sex unless it was the 3 of us, except once. I mean, how does that not make a girl wonder? I constantly brought it up, mainly to reassured otherwise.

BF#1 and I are moving out of state. BF#2 is going to come a couple months after, if it all is going well at the time. He'd already planned to come with us as friend back in December. We planned a mini-trip to go look for a house, and a job for me, and all BF#2 and I did was FIGHT! Brutally.

We came home early and he basically said BYE BITCH! And even though I KNOW I was to blame, I guess I still felt like punishing them both. The whole bad time could've been avoided if I knew honestly how to not let the effects of PMS get the best of me. It's pathetic, but some months I am so damn emotional and vicious and I can't get a grip on it.

After the breakup, I felt BF#1 resented me for ruining it and I couldn't even get BF#2 to talk to me. I spent days in bed so depressed. Not only did I lose my best friend, I lost one boyfriend and almost the other. Of,course the day I finally come to terms, and stopped begging, we come to terms with what happened and ultimately planned out how this was going to work.. Rebuild our friendship, our relationship and take a step back..Work on this 3way in pairs. We didn't always have to always go out together, sleep together, etc.

Naturally, nothing changes. I sit and watch BF#2 get crazy wrapped up in BF#1, all while I sit there feeling used and forgotten. Jealousy got the best of me, which just made us all fight and cry.

Friday morning, after a freakout by BF#2 over BF#1 and me having sex at 5am, I came downstairs to talk, to ask ONE LAST TIME if he was in this for all of us or for BF#1. He finally admitted that since the trip and breaking up, he was only willing to "work this out" to be with BF#1. So I was right. I was being used. That's why he never had sex with me alone after the trip, stopped taking me out on dates, never stayed up late to watch a movie with me anymore, no longer slept with his arms around me at night, because he didn't want me. It killed me. I've never felt so betrayed by a friend, a lover. a boyfriend. So at that point I ended it, and told him what a piece of shit he was.

Over the past 2 days he told me he loved BF#1 and admitted that he was trying to split us up. Admitted that after the trip he didn't think it would ever work between us, but didn't want to be without BF#1 and knew the only way he could have him was to fake it with me. But he also pleaded and begged and cried for forgiveness, constantly told me his regrets, begged and begged and begged. I love him, but it hurts. I know my boyfriend wanted to try it again, because he cares so much for him. But how am I supposed to get past the deceit and the hurt and believe NOW that he wants us both? I was so consumed with it before I knew for sure. Now that I know I was right, it's going to be even harder to not continue thinking that way..

He swore up and down that he cares so much for me and was so close to falling in love with me before the trip, but that the trip ruined us. He asked me to forgive him and to love him and to remember who he used to be, and give that BF#2 a chance, not the one he's been since the trip. After hours of him begging and remembering all the amazing times and not the bad, I caved and gave him another chance. Last night and today was amazing. It seemed like old times.

I made a promise to myself I'd get a grip on my jealousy. I know BF#1 is in love with me.. I know he wants babies and a future. What we have is incredible and all I ever dreamed of. Its so amazing for each other to have someone who feeds their desires. I've never been capable of only loving and wanting one man, and he has allowed me to have him, my older, more mature, stable, beautiful business man, and my young tattooed and pierced crazy wild beautiful boy. And I've allowed BF#1 to visit and fulfill the part of him he hid for years and grew up believing was wrong and not welcome.

Part of me still really thinks BF#2 is really only in this for BF#1. He swears that's not the case and he will spend every day he has to prove it to me. It's things that BF#2 does for BF#1 that make me jealous like paying $2k to get his Porsche out of the shop, constantly picking him up and taking him out, always talking about scheduling date nights for all of us... Yet somehow, something always comes up and I don't get to spend time with BF#2. He'll come up with ideas that should benefit us all, yet BF#1 always gets to go "first." He says and does things that super make me think he prefers his company over mine. And when BF#1 can't go or attend or whatnot, then he asks me. I am a back up, the second choice, the other option. Just once, I'd like to be asked first, not because it's what I want, but what he wants.

I can't let what happened, happen again. But how the hell do I cope? I should be FINE with them taking off and doing their own thing (god I'm having deja vu right now), but I feel lonely, unwanted, pushed aside. I trusted him at first, then I started to lose trust and I doubted him. Now, more than ever, it's important to believe him. But right now I don't really trust him 100%.

I want this to work. Oh. So. Bad. But all I can think of doing is bottling up my jealousy to avoid fights. I don't feel I can go to BF#2 about how I feel, because I dont want him to change for me. I want him to desire me and want my time because he truly wants it and misses me. And when I talk to BF#1 about my feelings or problems he gets slightly mad, takes the other boyfriend's side and tries to convince me it's all in my head. BF#1 says that he doesn't love BF#2 like he loves him or like I love him. He swears he's not gonna take off and run away with him..

How do I get past the past? How do I overcome this struggle within myself? How do I get this back to where it use to be, when it was always amazing and fun and sweet? How do I go about getting my point across without making you guys read a novel?

Thanks for reading.. I left a lot out, but figured no one was gonna read something this long, or longer.
 
Well, I think one of the important things to remember is that each relationship will develop in its own fashion, for better or worse. We are always best served by letting them find their own equilibrium, whether they end up as close attachments or not. It's when we try to force them into a mold that they are most likely to explode.

It appears from here that you're trying to force your relationship with #2 into a mold. "He should be doing ..." this, that, or the other thing. You want him to be as attracted to you as to #1 and are upset that he doesn't appear to be. That, however, is how it works out at this time. You can't force him to be more attracted to you. You can't reasonably expect him to even act like it.

What you can do is figure out exactly what you need in your relationship with #1 and discuss with him how to get that. You can discuss with #2 what you perceive and what you feel about it and then work out with him how the two of you will interact.

Keep in mind that the current state of affairs will change. As the NRE between #1 and #2 wanes, their relationship will change, and your relationship with each will also change. Ties can strengthen or weaken in any direction.

I suspect changing your expectations would be of benefit. It's not an easy thing to add a third person to a couple in any configuration. Expecting the ties to be equal all the way around is a dangerous expectation to have, as the odds of each person being equally attractive and compatible with two different people are quite small.

Indeed, you may find that merely having a friendship with #2 would prove more rewarding for both of you. That allows you to enjoy your relationship with #1 without complications from dealing with #2 at the same time. It would also allow them to build a foundation for the long-term with fewer complications. And then, maybe, after the foundations are solid, you and #2 may find that you're both on the same page and the two of you can then build a foundation.

Or you may find somebody else to complement your relationship with #1.

Relationships of any sort aren't built in an instant. They take time to develop and for those involved to decide if it will work on a long-term basis. I was involved with a GF for over a year before we parted ways, as it took that long to figure out if there was a long term future there (I love her, but no long-term compatibility).
 
I think triads are the hardest configuration to make work because a change in 1 person needs to have a change in the other two to stay in the exact same configuration. Maybe this relationship is somewhere between a triad and a vee. But that is not a bad thing. I think SeventhCrow is completely right about letting each relationship finds it own equilibrium.

It sounds like BF#2 is still mostly in this to be with BF#1. However, that does not have to be a bad thing unless he is trying to break you two up.

Who knows, maybe in time you will find BF#3 or GF#1 and things will change again. :)
 
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