“Why I’m raising my kids with two husbands”
One woman shares her unusual family life
When it comes to relationships, it’s often said that three’s a crowd, but not so for Alexia Shrout, who lives with her two husbands, Doug Shrout, and Jacob Shrout-Mchaffie and their three children in Maumee, Ohio.
Alexia was in an open relationship for 15 years with her husband Doug when she met Jacob.
The couple then opened up their relationship to include Jake eight years ago; and in July 2016 the trio had a ceremony to mark their commitment to one another.
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The family have three children together; Skyler, 14, Donovan, 11 and one-year-old baby girl Teegan.
The two boys are biologically Doug’s, however, to avoid favouritism the trio have not disclosed the biological father of their daughter.
“When Jake decided to join our family we had a family meeting and discussed with the kids our situation,” Alexia told Barcroft TV.
“The only thing that has not been discussed with our kids is our intimacy behind closed doors.”
When it comes to sleeping arrangements, Alexia explains that while the trio share a bed, her two husbands are both straight and are not intimate with one another.
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"Our kids were older when Jake came into our lives. So they just call Jake by his first name. Doug is their biological father so obviously he is called Dad,” Alexia says.
“Tegan will be calling both of them Dad. They were both there in the delivery room while I was giving birth.”
Alexia, Doug and Jacob’s family and friends support them but this hasn’t always been the case, Alexia says.
"It was a little tough; some family members obviously were not on board. They are just so old-school you know.”
They are aware that their somewhat unusual family arrangement may cause problems for their child, and are concerned about unkind comments or teasing.
“When you have the people that are with you as long as we have been together, I mean honestly we always ask where that person’s at,” Doug says.
“So is three a crowd? It’s not a crowd for us, it’s comfortable.”
Nicola Conville has worked as a journalist and editor for more than 20 years across a wide range of print and online publications. Her areas of expertise are parenting, health and travel. She has two children; Lucy, age eight, and Nathan, age five.
