Polyamory is the practice of having more than one consensual romantic relationship at a time. Sex may be part of those bonds. The distinctive claim is that love is not rationed to a single person. Calendars, metamours, and a lot of talking come with the claim.

Hierarchy shows up even when people say it will not: who is on the lease, who gets the holiday, who is told first. Honesty about that hierarchy prevents a secondary partner from doing unpaid emotional internships.

It is not a personality upgrade over monogamy. It is a workload. People who cannot keep one agreement rarely keep four. Jealousy still exists. So does ordinary kindness, which is the resource that actually runs out first.

Do not recruit a second partner to punish the first. That project is visible from space.