Navigating Polyamory in India: A Guide to Ethical Non-Monogamy
In countries like India, due to society’s unacceptance, people sometimes feel confused between personal truths and cultural expectations when it comes to love and relationships.
Single-partner relationships and marriages are considered ‘fair’ and are the only socially acceptable path when it comes to celebrating love. This idea relies on the belief of spending one’s life with a single partner, or at least one partner at a time. Anything outside of this is viewed as taboo.
Polyamory in India is often labelled as ‘cheating’ or ‘Western.’ Many couples and singles who want to explore ethical non-monogamy are either isolated or confused about where to begin. But what is polyamory?
Polyamory simply means loving more than one person in a consensual relationship, at the same time. These are people who want to go beyond traditional myths and deepen connection by exploring their inner emotional reality.
Some cultural trends are witnessing a shift, questioning whether a single partner can meet every emotional, physical, or social need. Traditional marriage rates continue to decline in 2025, and a 2023 Bumble study revealed that 60% of Indian singles are open to consensual non-monogamy.
In this blog, you’ll understand polyamory, clear common myths, learn practical tips, and see how The Intimacy Curator (TIC) supports those on this journey through expert polyamory coaching.
Understanding Polyamory and Ethical Non-Monogamy
To understand polyamory better, it’s important to define the differences between this relationship style, polygamy and open relationships. Polyamory is having more than one relationship at a time. But does that mean no honesty or secrecy between partners? No, it doesn’t. Yes, it involves more than one relationship, but all are emotional and romantic, with full honesty and consent. These relationships differ from open relationships, which primarily emphasise physical intimacy. Polyamory is also different from polygamy, where a person is with more than one partner at a time, but, in marriage, is tied to a religion and law.
Polyamory in India does not necessarily involve marriage; it is all about relationships that are based on love. In India, it is now gaining more awareness and is slowly beginning to grow. Thanks to growing communities in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore, and a shift in acceptance towards traditional mindsets. This has allowed a person to connect with deeper relationships freely.
To understand and explore polyamory in your relationships better, it is necessary to set healthy boundaries and build a trusted relationship over time. In this row, TIC plays an important role by guiding partners through their expert polyamory coaching.
Debunking Myths About Polyamory in India
The beauty of polyamory cannot be understood clearly until all the cultural baggage, myths, and misunderstandings are addressed. Let’s clear some common myths:
| Myth | Reality |
|---|---|
| Polyamory is all about sexual relationships. | It’s about emotional bonds and honest love (Esther Perel’s research). |
| It is cheating with a partner. | It’s a transparent relationship built on consent. |
| It has no scope in India and can’t survive. | Bumble study shows rising acceptance. |
| It causes jealousy. | Jealousy exists but can be managed with honest communication. |
Arundhati Ghosh in “All Our Loves” highlights the cultural aspects of polyamory. It challenged the taboo that it is a Western idea. Being in a relationship with multiple partners, morality is not a challenge. But the challenge is to manage emotions with honest and open communication. TIC offers such support so that your beautiful journey with polyamory can be managed in the best way possible.
Challenges of Polyamory in India
Studies say that awareness and acceptance of polyamory have been rising, but living with ethical non-monogamy in India is not easy at all, with so much societal pressure and emotional struggles.
Societal Pressures: Families are rarely in support and disapprove of the idea of polyamory. Women face more judgment than men, so they are mostly seen suppressing these feelings inside and never expressing them.
Emotional Struggles: Jealousy, insecurity, and fear of rejection can also surface. But because it involves honesty and open communication, these can be managed over time with expert coaching from TIC.
Practical Hurdles: Dating apps are not designed for multi-partner relationships, and privacy there is not fully guaranteed. So, one can feel unsafe about issues like harassment, unsafe encounters, or someone from family, work, or the community spotting them.
These hurdles make it difficult to live freely with multiple-partner relationships. This is why relationship coaching in India is the need of the hour. TIC provides such safe networking and good guidance that one can feel free and open to these hurdles.
Practical Tips for Navigating Polyamory
- Communicate Honestly: When there are no ifs and buts in honesty, it’s like a burden is lifted from your head. Free, open, and honest communication builds pure relationships over time where there are no fears at all.
- Set Boundaries: Be clear about what you want. Making relationship agreements with guidance from a coach can help in many ways.
- Foster Compersion: There is no better feeling than when your partner celebrates your happiness with others and feels as happy as you are. This helps in making emotional bonds stronger.
- Stay Safe: We cannot move away from the fact that getting intimate with multiple partners unprotected can give an invitation to STIs. It is important to test for regular STIs every 3 months.
- Build Support Networks: Join communities with the support of TIC to build strong and safe networks.
- Use Somatic Coaching: Touch-based and body-awareness practices help in making a deeper connection with your partner. This can be best done with somatic coaching polyamory.
- Plan for Festivals: Be transparent and honest during Diwali, Valentine’s, or birthdays so that no one feels left out. Celebrate it together and happily.
If you follow these practical tips and guidance with polyamory coaching from “The Intimacy Curator” (TIC), you can feel and live with confidence, without any fear or any guilt.
The Intimacy Curator: Your Guide to Polyamory
The Intimacy Curator offers orientation to polyamory workshops that help people draft poly agreements. Aili Seghetti is the founder of “The Intimacy Curator” is also a relationship reinventionist who specializes in individual coaching sessions that help people discover what kind of non monogamy works for them based on personality traits and values systems. Couples, throuples and polycules can benefit from curated experiences on how to open up their relationships. These sessions give a safe space where love is explored above societal rules without any judgements.
Conclusion: Embrace Polyamory with Confidence
Polyamory isn’t new—it’s just often hidden. With the right support, you can build deeply fulfilling relationships that honor your emotional truths.
Say no to guilt. Say yes to honest, consensual love. Explore who you are, with confidence.
Ready to explore polyamory? Book a session with The Intimacy Curator and start building intentional, open-hearted relationships today.
