Polyamorous. Now, that’s a word if there ever was one. Ne-Yo is speaking candidly about his personal life and the unconventional relationship structure he says emerged from hard lessons learned. During an appearance on Sherri, the Grammy Award winning singer discussed being romantically involved with three women at the same time, framing it as a single relationship built on transparency.
Here’s the official definition of Polyamorous:
Characterized by or involved in the practice of engaging in multiple romantic (and typically sexual) relationships, with the consent of all the people involved.
Host Sherri Shepherd admitted she struggled to understand how the arrangement works, responding bluntly, “None of it!” Ne-Yo said his outlook shifted after the end of his marriage. “I’ll keep this brief,” he explained. “So after my very public, very ugly divorce, I made the decision that I was never going to tell another lie to a woman ever again in life.”
He acknowledged responsibility for his past actions, telling Shepherd, “I own the thing that I did in that marriage to mess it up. I own it completely.” He added, “And I decided I didn’t want to be the reason that anybody ever felt like that ever again.”
Ne-Yo shared that one of the women had been with him the longest and was the first person he approached about redefining their relationship. “I basically went to her and said, ‘Listen, you know I rock with you. You know I love you, but I have to be honest with you. It’s not just you,” he said. “And I would love for you to meet these other women. If we can figure out a way to do something together, cool. If not, that’s cool, too.”
According to Ne-Yo, the arrangement continued because “Everybody chose to stick around.” He clarified, “The main understanding is I’m not in three relationships. I’m in one relationship with three people.”
He said balance is key. “We figure out ways to make everything work,” noting that each partner receives individual attention while shared time also matters.
Shepherd joked that managing gifts and schedules “seems like more work.” Ne-Yo smiled and replied, “I’ve never been afraid of hard work. Never ever.”