A couple who have a ‘fluid’ relationship insist that having other partners makes their love for each other stronger than ever.
YouTubers Brittany Taylor, 29, from Rhode Island, and Conor McMillen, 33, from California, prefer not to label themselves as being polyamorous, but say they share intimate relationships with other people.
Although admitting they have both felt jealous during their three-year relationship, they say they have learned to turn their feelings into a positive experience.
The couple now promote ‘unconfined love’ on their YouTube channel, where they have amassed 20,000 subscribers, as well as providing relationship coaching services.
YouTubers Brittany Taylor, 29, and Conor McMillen, 33 (pictured together) insist their ‘fluid’ relationship makes their love for each other stronger
Describing their open relationship, the pair explained: ‘Our relationships are so fluid that a lot of people in our lives that could be considered friends, we have shared sexual intimacy or romantic relationships with.
‘We have had relationships that range from short term to long term, we have partners we enjoy moving our bodies with while dancing or practicing acrobatics, but do not share other intimacy with.
‘We have shared lovers simultaneously with one another, we have had three-person relationships, and the list goes on.’
Brittany and Conor, who met at a health festival in New York four years ago, say their relationships with others only serves to make their love for each other stronger.
The couple prefer not to label themselves as being polyamorous, but say they share intimate relationships with other people
The pair now promote ‘unconfined love’ on their YouTube channel, where they have amassed 20,000 subscribers
‘We follow our hearts, always feeling out our truest desires, we check in with one another regularly, we are constantly growing and evolving, and falling more in love with each other and ourselves every day,’ they insisted.
‘We find that all of the relationships in our lives enhance one another, and we feel they are doing the same for the lives of the other people we connect with.
‘Our relationships outside of ours are similar, in that they are unstructured, fluid, and constantly evolving. Each relationship is unique unto itself. We feel surrounded by a loving community who supports, and is also interested in having authentic, growing relationships.’
Despite their fluid relationship, the couple – who say they would like to have a child one day – say they prefer to not describe themselves as polyamorous.
Brittany and Conor say they have shared lovers ‘simultaneously with one another’, as well as having three-person relationships
The couple say they have had sexual or romantic relationships with a lot of people in their lives that they consider to be friends
‘We tend not to use labels as they often feel limited,’ they explained. ‘However, as search terms, we’ve very much appreciated them, and we also know how taking on a word to represent a role we are embodying can be an empowering tool.
‘Polyamory is defined as the practice of or desire for intimate relationships with more than one partner, with the knowledge of all partners.
‘It has been described as “consensual, ethical, and responsible non-monogamy” and we feel like this definition conveys elements of our relationship structure well.’
The couple continued: ‘Unconfined love is a term we created that describes the life we aim to live. We choose to share our love openly with the world, in ways that feel right for us.
The pair – who have been together for over three years – say their other relationships are similar to their own, describing them as ‘constantly evolving’
Brittany and Connor, who often show off their acrobatic skills on their Instagram pages, met at a health festival in New York four years ago
‘We feel passionate about sharing this freedom, which feels like it goes beyond defining a certain type of relationship, and hits on the larger aim, which is to love without limit or restriction.
‘We are two individuals, who love each other very much, and have no rules or template, which we are following for how we will relate with one another or how we will relate with others.’
However, both Brittany and Conor admitted to feeling jealous in the past – although they insist they have moved beyond this.
‘We have both experienced quite a bit of jealousy, both before we began relating with one another, and since,’ they said.
Despite insisting their fluid relationship has made them stronger, both confess they have felt jealous at times
However, the couple say that they have learned to move beyond this and turn their feelings into a positive experience
Brittany and Conor say they are passionate about the freedom you get from striving towards ‘unconfined love’
‘We like to think of jealousy as something to understand, and to gain more data from, as opposed to something to deal with,’ they said.
‘Often when we are feeling jealous, we like to dive deeper into understanding the feelings that are coming up for us. Jealousy is just a word. What are the feelings underneath it? Usually it is some mixture of emotions and parts of us surfacing, such as fear, unworthiness, sadness, excitement, and so on.’
They explained: ‘Often times we recognise the feeling of lack that may be coming up for us while thinking about the abundance we perceive the other person is having, is a desire to be experiencing our own abundance.
‘Once we realise this, and as we uncover other deeper truths, we find that the initial “jealousy” discomfort subsides, and more peace, presence, and understanding takes its place.’
The couple say they have received a lot of support from others for the way they choose to live their lives
They say that their fans can see the ‘genuine love’ they have for each other through their social media pages
Brittany and Conor say they would like to have children together one day
The couple say their relationship has been helped by a great deal of support from other people.
‘Our world is so full of people, who are reaching out to us to thank us for what we share through our videos. There isn’t much room for scepticism,’ they said.
‘We imagine that us being so excited and passionate about our relationship, and that people can see and feel the genuine love we share with one another probably is a big part of it. People often ask if we get jealous. Some wonder if we have rules.
‘Some ask us fun, intimate questions about our sex lives. Those are our favourite. A lot of people say they would like to try, but feel fearful about some element of it.’