A woman who ‘slept’ with both her bridesmaid and her husband on her wedding day is now in a polyamorous relationship with them both – but admits she is asexual.
Karalyn Henry, 22, from Ohio, was 17-years-old when she confided in her boyfriend Justin that she was attracted to the opposite sex.
After he encouraged her to date women as well, she quickly fell for girlfriend Lana Douglas, 19, from Northern Ireland after chatting online for months.
The couple asked Lana to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in October 2018 – which was the first time they both met her in person – and before long Justin was head over heels, too.
‘On the wedding day, seeing Lana in the dress with her makeup done, my heart skipped a beat,’ said Karalyn. ‘She was gorgeous and amazing in every way. At the reception, we all linked arms and just danced and sang for hours. It was a day I will never ever forget.’
‘We all slept on the bed together, but Lana and I are asexual. We are repulsed by sex or anything of the sort.’
Karalyn Henry, 22, is in a relationship with her husband Justin (right) and their girlfriend Lana (inset). The married couple met her for the first time on their wedding day in October 2018 – after they asked her to be their bridesmaid
Describing the moment she saw Lana (right) for the first time, Karalyn (left) said: ‘Seeing her in the dress with her makeup done, my heart skipped a beat.’ Above, on Karalyn and Justin’s wedding day
Karalyn met her husband Justin (pictured) when she was at high school as they played in a band together. Aged 17, she confided in him that she was polyamorous
She continued: ‘Justin is not asexual, but he’s very understanding that that’s not something we want. He basically has the mind set of “if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”’
Karalyn, 22, met her husband, Justin, 23, at high school where they played in a band together.
‘He played the trumpet and I played the clarinet,’ she explained. ‘He actually had a crush on me for about two years before I gave him a shot – and I’m so glad I did. We started dating on May 20th, 2013.’
But Karalyn turned 17, having been in a relationship with Justin for around a year, she realised she was attracted to women as well as men.
While Lana became Karalyn’s girlfriend initially, it wasn’t long before Justin became attracted to her, too. Pictured, Lana, Karalyn and Justin (left-right)
Karalyn (right) met her girlfriend Lana (left) on Tumblr. While she had been following her on social media for a while, she claims she was so popular that she thought her message would get ignored
‘I was scared to see how family and friends would see me knowing that I was LGBT, but I couldn’t hide it any longer,’ she explained. ‘I wanted to feel what it was like to be with a girl, but I didn’t want to leave my boyfriend since we’d been together a while.’
Discussing her partner’s reaction to the news, she explained: ‘I brought it up with him and he very calmly just told me to date a girl, and we would try being polyamorous. We did, and it worked amazingly, so it just stuck.
‘Before I talked to him about it, there would be times where I would get crushes on people when dating him, and I felt guilty. Now I see that that was just how I was wired.’
To her delight, Karalyn met Lana on Tumblr shortly after and the pair hit it off immediately.
‘As we got talking, I found out Lana had cancer – stage 4 lymphoma,’ explained Karalyn. ‘We talked daily after that and I began falling in love with her. It was scary; falling for someone who might get worse and die at any time. I remember Face Timing timing her while she was going through chemotherapy.’
Lana (right) lives in Northern Ireland which makes it tricky for the three to get together frequently – but they are happy with their long distance relationship
Discussing how Justin (right) reacted when she first announced she was polyamorous, Karalyn revealed: ‘I brought it up with him and he very calmly just told me to date a girl, and we would try out being polyamorous’
The smitten pair embarked on a long-distance relationship on New Year’s Eve, December 31st, 2016 and Lana was declared to be in remission from her cancer the following February.
So when Karalyn and Justin got engaged and set a wedding date for October 2018, they were keen to have her there – and even asked her to be bridesmaid, despite never meeting in person.
‘She agreed to be a bridesmaid and fly over to see us,’ said Karalyn. ‘She was super excited to meet us, and also travel to the US. At this time we were in a poly V Triad, meaning I was dating both of them, but they were not dating each other.’
But the story took a shock turn when after getting to know Lana, Justin found he was attracted to her, too.
‘Once Lana and Justin were face-to-face, they both ended up falling for each other, and we then became a poly triad, meaning we were all dating each other with no exclusions,’ she explained.
The happy trio all go on dates together and Karalyn and Justin have even taken Lana to Newport Aquarium where she got to pet her favourite animal – penguins (above)
Karalyn is relieved that Justin accepted she was attracted to women as well as him. ‘Before I talked to him about it, there would be times where I would get crushes on people when dating him, and I felt guilty. Now I see that that was just how I was wired,’ she said. Above, the couple’s girlfriend, Lana
‘Friends and family took it amazingly. When I first told my parents about having a girlfriend alongside my boyfriend, they were understandably confused.’
The centrepiece of any polyamorous relationship is communication and I was reassured through that that I was welcome Lana Douglas
‘But as they saw us all together at the wedding, laughing, drinking, singing, they realized how much we all loved each other.
And while some women may be jealous if their husband was to develop a crush on another woman, Karalyn was delighted – and the three now share a bed.
‘When Justin and Lana started dating, I was overjoyed,’ said Karalyn. ‘It was something I had wanted from the start, but knew that I couldn’t push as it was up to them to make it happen – and it did. I couldn’t be happier.’
‘I sleep in the middle as it’s the best spot in a poly triad. The bed’s a little snug though – three adults, my Siberian Husky, and both of my fat cats make us packed like sardines.’
Justin (above) fell for Lana after he met her for the first time at his wedding to Karalyn – and he hasn’t looked back since
‘We all go on dates dates together, too. We’ve taken Lana to Newport Aquarium where she got to pet her favourite animal – penguins! And we also rented a cabin and went hiking. When she comes back, though, we are going to go on separate dates with her too, as well as all exclusive ones.’
And Karalyn, who documents the trio’s adventures on their YouTube channel, has revealed that being in a polyamorous relationship has it’s setbacks.
‘First of all, we can’t all marry each other,’ she explained. ‘It’s illegal to marry more than one partner where we live.’
‘Another is the way some people view us – saying that I’m cheating on my husband, or that it’s not morally right, or that it’s disgusting.
‘To those people, I would just like to ask if they’re as happy in their relationship as I am in mine. I’ve never been happier in a relationship until now. I have two amazing partners that I love and cherish with all of my heart.’