Man in five-person relationship shares the golden rule they all stick to

Five gay men who formed a polyamorous relationship have revealed the one key rule they all stick to.

James Lee (JJ) and Jonathan Chien (JC), now both 37, met in college in the South Bay area of California, and went on to marry each other in October 2022.

The couple then met Eric Wong, 33, in 2018, Hamilton Du, 35, in 2021 and Michael Li, 31, in 2022, before they formed a friends with benefits-type relationship and created a group chat together.

They quickly became good friends, and by January 2023, the group - who now run the The Cule Kids podcast - formalised their relationship as a five-person polycule.

While sharing their love of video games, cruises and holidays, the polycule happens to keep a 'cule log' for transparency around sexual experiences outside of the five-person relationship.

A group of men are to be in a five-person polyamorous relationship (PA Real Life)

So if a polycule member has a date with someone outside of the relationship, they need to record it in the log, also if there is a need for contact tracing for sexually transmitted infections.

Michael told PA Real Life: “Luckily, the sexual health part hasn’t been the most necessary.”

JJ explained that they will regularly have a 'group play session together', which makes up around 70 percent of the time they 'all hang out'.

They run The Cule Kids podcast together (PA Real Life)

Both JJ and JC live together, while Michael, Eric, and Milty all live separately, but less than 30 minutes away.

JC added: “Seeing each other almost all day, and having a view into our habits and how compatible we are in our daily lives, I think is really important to explore.”

Hamilton, better known as Milty, said he feels 'so lucky that we have all met each other and that we’re all open to being in a relationship like this'.

“It’s such a wonderfully rare thing and so unique that it just so happens to work out this way. I feel very grateful,” he said.

The group say they are 'lucky' to have met each other (PA Real Life)

After JJ and JC started to explore polyamory in 2022, the group got closer and closer and started getting invited to group parties.

By the end of the year, a mutual friend noticed they all hung out together 'a lot' and jokingly remarked they were in a polycule.

JJ admitted: “It began as a joke, and then it became less of a joke the longer things kept going on.”

Michael added: “I was trying to keep hold of these new, interesting people that I met, so I would invite myself over to watch a movie or TV show.”

“Through organically trying to hang out, the bonds grew deeper,” he added.

While Milty says they are all 'very grateful', Eric questioned: “What are the chances that this could happen?

“Having two people in a relationship is hard enough, but we have five people all lined up with each other.”