Any time I have relationship questions, I always ask my inner Dan Savage, and he never leads me astray!
My boyfriend and I have had a wonderful relationship for six years. We have had "girlfriends" in the past who were involved with both of us simultaneously. But he recently met a girl and they instantly clicked. They have been on a few dates since — nothing physical yet — and she seems completely infatuated with him. She is aware that he lives with me/we are together, but I've yet to meet her. I am fine with them dating, but I have a few questions:
1. My guy and I share everything. He's shown me her texts and told me about her life. We both feel slightly uncomfortable with me knowing such personal things about her without meeting her, but we don't want to limit the intensely open communication we have earned with each other. How much am I entitled to know about her/them, and how can he tell me about her without being disrespectful?
2. Can I meet her? Under what circumstances?
3. Can this end well for her? Every girl we've dated has ended up hurt because our relationship with each other is always more important than she is. I worry this girl will be devastated when he doesn't leave me for her. Should he squelch all the romance now? She's had a rough few years, and he doesn't want to add to her problems. On the other hand, he's the first person she has been able to connect with in a long time. And should he even consider bringing her into our relationship? Things always end badly for the other girl, and I don't want to hurt her.
Curious And Respectful
Your outer Dan Savage won't lead you astray either, CAR, but he will smack you around:
1. Your guy needs to tell this girl that he shares absofuckinlutely everything with you. He needs to tell her that he's in a successful open relationship — successful for you two, anyway — and that he has no intention of limiting the "intensely open communication" that has made your relationship work. She needs to know that you're hearing about their dates and the details of her life, reading every text, etc.
2. Sure, you can meet her — you absofuckinlutely should meet her, CAR, as soon as possible. How about under coffee circumstances? Or drinks circumstances? Or dinner circumstances?
3. Um … gee. If every girl you two have ever "dated" has wound up hurt, CAR, then a reasonable person might conclude that YOU'RE DOING THIS OPEN-RELATIONSHIP SHIT ALL WRONG. Your "wonderful" open relationship may be working for you and it may be working for him, but if it's not working for them, CAR, then it's not working.
So your outer Dan Savage is ordering you to refrain from inviting anyone else into your "wonderful" relationship until you get a handle on what's so un-fucking-wonderful about it for your thirds. If you can't come up with anything — if it's really not anything you're doing wrong — then you should have a few laminated cards made that read, "He'll never leave me for you, his relationship with me will ALWAYS be more important than his relationship with you, and this will most likely end in tears for you. Enjoy the ride."
Finally, CAR, if this woman is reeling from a rough few years and she can't handle more heartache right now and everyone you've ever messed around with has gotten hurt and you elect to "bring her into your relationship" despite my advice, then at least have the decency to stop pretending that you give a shit about the people you mess around with. Fuck her, fuck her over, move on — but don't stand there wringing your hands, pretending that you're just heartsick about the damage you two are doing to people.
This article appears in Jan 13-19, 2011.