I first saw the term “nesting partner” — a term used for a live-in partner in poly relationships — in early 2020, when the world was unknowingly teetering on the brink of disaster and rebirth. Jim’s dating profile said he was polyamorous, genderfluid, and pansexual, with a “non-romantic nesting partner” as well as “satellite partners.”
That was a lot of poly jargon for me to process. I’d dated my live-in boyfriend, Thomas, for seven years. We’d been nonmonogamous for two of them. I gathered Jim had a lot of relationships to sustain — he sounded close to being what the books called “polysaturated” — but I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I just wanted someone, outside of my relationship with Thomas, to peg once a week or so.
