Polyamory in the News: Mary Crumpton followup, post-marriage: "What's life like for the woman with two husbands?"

Remember Mary Crumpton and her MFM triad in Manchester, England? Early this year they offered the Manchester Evening News a chance to write about them and their wish to multi-marry, "to help increase the visibility of polyamory" as she posted on Facebook.

Mary with John (left) and Tim. (Manchester Evening News)

They succeeded way beyond expectations. In April the paper printed a very nice writeup. Then the tabloids spotted it and plastered the story, and photos like the one above, all over the UK, again treating them very well. And those stories got syndicated to papers in Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Taiwan and probably elsewhere. Meanwhile the trio were invited onto BBC and ITV television.

In May, Mary and their live-in partner John exchanged vows in a full-up commitment ceremony in their local Unitarian Church with husband Tim performing a blessing, again to much press attention. Wrote the Daily Mail:

Said Mary, ‘It was a lovely day. Tim said a few words to bless mine and John’s commitment to one another. Then John said a few words of respect for mine and Tim’s marriage. Then John and I made vows of lifelong commitment to one another.’

The three went public, they said, "in the hopes that others in similar situations will feel less like they have to hide it. And also in the hopes that people in polyamorous relationships might one day get the same rights as people in monogamous relationships."

Now, Mary writes, the Manchester newspaper "checked in on me to see how I have been doing since the ceremony with John in May. And they decided to do a little followup piece. Well. Actually a long piece so make a cuppa before you read it!"

Here you go with some starter bits:

What's life like for the woman who has two husbands?

By Helen Johnson

Mary and John

...When Mary Crumpton made a lifetime commitment to John Hulls earlier this year, no one was more supportive than her husband Tim Crumpton.

Not only did Mary have his blessing to 'marry' another man, he even walked Mary down the aisle of the special blessing ceremony.
It's all part and parcel of polyamory — the practise of openly being in a romantic relationship with more than one person at a time, with the consent of everyone involved.

Mary lives with Tim and John under the same roof in Chorlton, and is in equally committed and loving relationships with both of them.

Tim and Mary

She also has two boyfriends who live nearby.

And if any of Mary's four partners wanted to start seeing another woman at the same time, she'd be happy for them.

...Now she is taking it one step further, and getting ready to lobby for a change in the law, to allow people in the UK to be legally married to more than one person at a time.

...Mary and John's ceremony took place at Chorlton Unitarian Church. ... "The church is very forward thinking, they were the first to do homosexual marriages and civil partnerships so they are very inclusive and respectful of diversity," says Mary. ...

"Tim and John get on great, they'll go off on bicycle rides together - they joke that I'm a bit of a wild one and it takes two of them to keep me in line!" ...