Nope! We're Not Monogamous

Have you ever found yourself holding feelings about a relationship… that technically isn’t even yours?

Like your partner shares something about their other partner…and suddenly you f eel protective… or tense… or a little off around someone you didn’t have an issue with before?

Yeah… that’s usually a communication triangle.

In this episode, I’m breaking down how triangulation actually shows up in non-monogamy, why it’s so easy to fall ...

What if the thing you thought made you “too much”… was actually the doorway to deeper connection, more honest relationships, and a whole lot more pleasure?

In this episode of Nope! We’re Not Monogamous, I’m joined by writer and poet Kate Heskett, whose story appears in the new anthology Pillow Talk, a collection of real, raw, awkward, and hilarious experiences of sex, intimacy, and desire.

Kate shares what it was like to show up alon...

What are metamour relationships supposed to look like in non-monogamy?
Do you have to be instant best friends… or even chosen family… with your partner’s partner?

In this episode, relationship coach Ellecia Paine explores the real emotional pacing of metamour connections. From the pressure to create “kitchen table polyamory” right away, to the importance of chemistry, play, and nervous system safety, this conversation offers gr...

New Relationship Energy, or NRE, is one of the most talked-about dynamics in non-monogamy, and one of the most misunderstood.

In this episode, relationship coach Ellecia Paine breaks down what NRE actually is, what’s happening in your brain and body during those early stages of attraction, and why the dopamine-fueled excitement of a new connection can make people feel euphoric, obsessive, and sometimes a little reckless.

You’ll learn...

If you’ve been feeling resentful in your open relationship, this episode is for you.

In Episode 147 of Nope, We’re Not Monogamous, I break down why resentment in non-monogamy is rarely about jealousy or bad communication.

It’s usually about boundaries.

Specifically:

• The boundary you didn’t set
• The boundary you didn’t enforce
• Or the agreement your body never truly consented to

So many people in ethical non-monogamy confuse boundar...

Non-monogamy isn’t just more love. It’s more feelings, more conversations, and sometimes… a lot more processing.

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Candace Sogren, lawyer, former CEO, emotional intelligence facilitator, mom, and author of Poly Agony. She’s been ethically non-monogamous for over 20 years, raising a child in community, building non-traditional family structures, and living this life fully out loud.

And we’re not ta...

Struggling to tell the difference between needs vs wants in non-monogamy?

If you’ve learned to be “low maintenance” and tolerate a lot, you might be minimizing your emotional needs without realizing it.

In this episode, we explore how trauma, people-pleasing, and polyamory culture can teach us to need less, and why you’re allowed to want more.

There’s no prize for needing less.
You’re not needy. You’re human. 

What You’ll Learn

• Wh...

Opening a relationship can feel empowering… and activating.

A lot of people expect ethical non-monogamy or polyamory to feel freeing right away. Instead, it often brings up jealousy, comparison, attachment wounds, and questions about self-worth.

If you’ve ever thought:
 “Why am I confident everywhere else but spiraling in my relationship?”
 “Why does non-monogamy trigger my insecurities?”
 “How do I feel secure and desira...

What if non-monogamy wasn’t something you planned… but something you found your way into?

In this episode of Nope! We’re Not Monogamous, I’m joined by Natalie Davis, editor of Polyamory Today and author of the memoir Saying Yes: My Adventures in Non-monogamy.

Natalie shares her deeply human journey from a traditional, long-term monogamous marriage through infidelity, swinging, and polyamory, and how that path eventually led to buildi...

Jealousy isn’t a flaw. It’s not a failure.

And it’s almost never about your partner.

In this episode of Nope! We’re Not Monogamous, Ellecia unpacks a powerful realization sparked by reading Financial Feminist:

the way we experience jealousy is strikingly similar to the way we experience money shame.

Both are rooted in scarcity.

Both are tied to safety, worth, and fear of loss.

And both get way more painful when we shame ourselves for fee...

We talk a lot about honesty in open relationships and non-monogamy.
Tell the truth. Name the jealousy. Share your feelings.

But what happens when you open up and your partner tries to fix it, explain it away, or tells you you shouldn’t feel that way?

In this episode, Ellecia Paine breaks down why honesty alone doesn’t create emotional safety, how emotional invalidation quietly shuts people down in non-monogamous relationships, an...

Opening a relationship can feel exciting and urgent, especially once the idea of non-monogamy is on the table. A lot of couples hear advice like “date separately” and assume that’s the next step they’re supposed to take.

In this episode of Nope! We’re Not Monogamous, I slow that moment way down.

Dating separately can be incredibly powerful, but only when your relationship has the foundation to support it. When there’s unresolved hurt...

What do you do when your partner says they are open to non monogamy, but only under very specific rules?

Only dating women.

Only forming a triad.

Only dating together as a couple.

In this episode of Nope! We’re Not Monogamous, non monogamous relationship coach Ellecia Paine breaks down what’s really underneath rules like the One Penis Policy and forced triads, and how to talk about them without turning the conversation into a power str...

Dating separately is one of the most misunderstood and emotionally charged topics in non-monogamy.

For many couples, the idea of a partner dating someone without them involved brings up fear, jealousy, panic, and a deep sense of threat. So it makes sense that a lot of people try to avoid that discomfort by insisting on dating together, only pursuing triads, or creating rules that keep everything tightly controlled.

In this episode, I...

What if the desires you’re most afraid to admit are actually the key to your freedom? What if the parts of you you’ve labeled as “too much,” “too weird,” or “too taboo” are the exact places your healing has been waiting for you to look?

In this intimate conversation, I sit down with Sharon Marie Scott, Erotic Mystic, author of Forbidden Alchemy, and longtime educator in kink, conscious relating, and ethical non-monogamy. Sharon’s wo...

If you’ve ever wondered which relationship skills actually make non-monogamy easier, healthier, and less chaotic, this episode is your new favorite deep dive.

Today I’m talking with couples therapist Dr. Dan Sneider, who works with both monogamous and non-monogamous partners and brings a grounded, compassionate, very human approach to communication, trust, and emotional safety.

We get into the skills that truly make the biggest diffe...

Ever tried to think your way out of a feeling?

You read the books, have the talks, highlight every chapter on jealousy and self-regulation… and your nervous system just shrugs and says, “That’s cute, I’m still panicking.”

This week on Nope! We’re Not Monogamous, I’m getting real about the hilarious (and exhausting) ways we try to outsmart our emotions, and why logic doesn’t work when your body doesn’t feel safe.

In this solo episode, ...

Ever been told that a relationship only “counts” if you stay in it forever?

Yeah… hard pass.

In this episode of Nope! We’re Not Monogamous, I sit down with therapist, coach, and relationship anarchist Jessica Morgenthaler to talk about what it actually means to do relationships on purpose, not just by default.

Jessica’s been practicing and teaching ethical non-monogamy for over a decade, and the way she talks about relationship design...

What if the secret to better sex, stronger orgasms, and more confidence isn’t another relationship hack—but your pelvic floor?

This week, I’m joined by Jana Danielson, sensual health and pelvic floor wellness expert, Pilates master instructor, and creator of the Cooch Ball (yes, that’s really what it’s called). Jana and I met in a group for sex-positive professionals, and even though she’s delightfully monogamous—we don’t discrimina...