My boyfriend has built a relationship with a woman he went to school with and has known for years. I am very comfortable with her and understand their dynamic. His friend, who knows of our lifestyle as I mentioned, and I would like to pursue something and are very close. The problem is my boyfriend is NOT comfortable with us being that close or perhaps becoming closer.
How do you know he is uncomfortable with it if you have not yet talked to him about it?
BTW, being uncomfortable isn't going to kill him. It's just something he will have to work on and through. Do you really need his permission? He may be your boyfriend, but he's not the boss of you. Would you have vetoed his other relationship for any reason?
So yes, I believe it is a jealousy thing and a fear of abandonment on his part.
Would he feel this with anyone or only this friend? It doesn't make sense if he wouldn't be jealous with other peeps but only with this one guy. That would mean he feels possessive of his friendship with him, and only wants to see it be a certain way. Have you had other relationships since you two chose to live polyamorously, or is he the only one who has an additional partner? Is he very possessive of you?
I know where my feelings lie and I believe I am going to get a stark "no, not him" from my boyfriend. & if that is the case, how is that fair?
No it wouldn't be fair, but he might not react that way, either.
Perhaps the two of you (you and his friend) should sit down with him together and in the most kind and loving way, tell him how happy you both are to have him (your partner) in your lives and that you both cannot deny the feelings you have for each other any longer. Tell him that you want his blessing, but you're not asking for permission. Any difficulty that comes up within him are his own issues -- he will have to sort out on an emotional level and with communication, but he doesn't have a right to tell you, "No, not this one." You're not picking a puppy out at the pet store, you two already feel closeness and a mutual attraction. But you two would then need to be extra sensitive to his fears and make a concerted effort to reassure him that you both love him and aren't going to abandon him.
I want to approach this but from what I have seen so far, my boyfriend doesn't seem comfortable with the idea and would prefer me not to have relations with this man.
Again, does he really have the right to forbid you? Especially if you are honest and straightforward with him about everything? How can he tell you whom to love or not?
At least, the words you're using are "uncomfortable" and "prefer" -- which are hopeful in that there may be some room in his eyes for things to happen. People know that some things will make us uncomfortable and that not all our preferences will be met. Maybe you are making more out of it than he would???
I of course do not want to make him uncomfortable but these feelings are very real and I dont think it right to just put them aside.
The sand in an oyster is uncomfortable and irritating to the oyster, but winds up becoming a pearl. This may be just the issue he needs to face right now in order to grow as a person. There are no accidents in life, I believe, and perhaps the universe put you and his friend together for a reason.
I suppose the other part of the puzzle is this friends ex is one of my friends. So that is an even bigger issue because she has no idea what is happening.
Well, exes don't have any claim or right to bar people from dating their exes. She will just have to get over it.
My partner and I don't have trust issues and we have full disclosure of most, I am just deciding how to bring this situation out into the open without causing a rift in their friendship or our entire dynamic. I dont want to muddle things. I suppose that IS what might happen and one has to be prepared for things not to go their way but that is still my biggest fear.
Rifts happen. Shit happens. People feel pain. Life goes on. We can't always protect everyone we love from difficult feelings, especially when we do so at cost to our own happiness and well-being.