2 Women Married to Same Man Agree to Split Time in Controversial Arrangement
Pandemic led to unusual pairings.
Two women in India who are married to the same man have agreed to a time-sharing arrangement to make their throuple work, NDTV reported this week. The man and two women, one of whom is his first wife, have agreed to live in two separate houses. The man will live with each of the women for three days of the week and spend the seventh day with a woman of his choice, a lawyer told Gwalior family court. Read on to find out more about the arrangement and how another triad relationship has translated into a huge audience on TikTok.
Pandemic Led To Unusual Pairings
The unusual situation began during the COVID-19 pandemic. The man, an engineer, married his first wife in 2018, and they lived together in Guguram for two years. When COVID hit, he sent her to live with her parents in Gwalior while he remained in Guguram. During that time, he married another woman, this one a colleague. When the man didn't visit his first wife, she became suspicious and went to his Guguram office. There, she learned of the second marriage, which had produced a daughter, lawyer Harish Diwan said.
Court Challenge Leads to Agreement
The woman approached a family court in Gwalior seeking justice. The husband appeared in court but refused to leave his second wife, said Diwan. So the three entered into an agreement: The man will spend three days a week with his first wife and another three with the second wife. On Sunday, he'll stay with the woman of his choice, the lawyer said.
Arrangement Went Ahead Despite Religious Disapproval
Also part of the agreement: The man will provide an apartment for each wife and share his salary with them equally. As for whether the arrangement has any legal standing, "This agreement was done between three of them with mutual consent. Neither the family court nor the councilor has any role in it," said Diwan.
He added: "In fact, the three were categorically told that they are Hindu and as per Hindu law, this agreement between them is illegal. As per the law, a Hindu man cannot marry another woman until he divorced his first wife in a legal manner, but they decided to go ahead with their pact."
American Throuple Finds Success on TikTok
The triad might want to take some advice from a happy throuple profiled by the New York Post earlier this month. Angel Bailey, 27, and Tyler Hays, 30, weren't looking to become a trio when they met on Tinder in 2018, but after they hooked up with Sam Vick, 24, the next year, the arrangement made sense. Today, they claim to be happy even though they've gotten backlash online and from family members. "When we became polyamorous, we had no idea what this was," said Hays. "We had to Google and figure out what kind of relationship we would have. Growing up, we didn't see these kinds of relationships, we only saw stereotypical male and female couples, that was it."
"We Know That What We Have Is Real"
The pair share the benefits and challenges of their relationship with 450,000 TikTok followers, including their decision to cut off family members who don't approve. "We know that what we have is real and even our family don't have the right to judge us," said Bailey. "All of us are quick to cut off ties when we feel it's necessary because we want to keep those who actually support us in our lives, not those who are out to hurt us."
The three are now approaching their second anniversary. "No matter what people do or say, they can't tear our love apart," said Hays. "In all honesty, their words only make us stronger and provide a constant reassurance that we each have two people who love us unconditionally."
