A mum who gave her husband a free pass to date other women when she was pregnant has revealed why she decided to make the unusual move.
Danielle, who uses the handle @openlycommitted on TikTok, says having a non-monogamous approach to marriage with her husband Rich has given the pair’s relationship a new lease of life.
The mother of two has raked in more than 317 million views by documenting the trials and tribulations of an open relationship since adopting the lifestyle more than a decade ago.
Speaking to Newsweek, Danielle, from North Carolina, said: “One day, he mentioned he is keen to date casually and I said that’s fine but on two conditions
“At the time, I had just taken on a new job in a leadership position so I was super busy and focused on work. Rich had a flexible corporate job so he could take our son to daycare, cook dinner every night and maintain our house.
“So without him, it wouldn’t have been possible for me to focus as much on my new job so I was extremely grateful.”
A video by Danielle went viral as she shared the reasons why she allowed her husband to “casually” see others, even during her pregnancy.
Danielle and Rich have been married since 2013 (Image: Openlycommitted / TikTok)
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Danielle and Rich’s open relationship kicked off with a dozen of rules, one being that he was not to see anyone she knows, including friends of friends. The second condition was that her husband Rich leaves town to see other people.
“Our lives are so intertwined that whenever my husband and I are on dates, it is hard to daydream,” Danielle said. “It isn’t a bad thing but when we see other people, we are able to take a break from the logistics of our everyday life.”
Danielle and Rich got married in 2013, five years before the birth of their second child affected Danielle’s relationship with her body, causing postpartum depression.
The content creator explained that a C-section left her feeling embarrassed about her physique, but this changed after she unexpectedly met someone who became her boyfriend for nine months.
Detailing the affair in a TikTok clip that racked up more than 3,000 likes, Danielle said that seeing another man helped her feel “attractive again”.
But, despite becoming an advocate for open relationships, the mother-of-two has admitted in past videos that she was not always keen on the idea of sharing her husband with other women.
“I will confess, I did feel hurt when Rich initially asked if I wanted to be in a non-monogamous relationship,” she said in one clip.
“I had never even heard of it. But he wanted to ensure we would be together for a long time as we had an instant connection.
“Jealousy isn’t something to be proud of. When I feel jealous now, it’s often an indication that I need to work on myself or my husband and I need to work on something in our marriage.”
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
