In an interview with Angie Martinez, singer-songwriter Ne-Yo spoke about his polyamorous relationship with his four girlfriends and doubled down on his stance that they're not allowed to date other men.
"I ain't selling no dreams and I'm not forcing anybody to be here," he explained to Martinez about the arrangement at the 14-minute point of the interview, seen above. "If for whatever reason you decide this ain't for you no more, the door is never locked. You have permission to go about your business. I don't want anybody to think that I'm manipulating these women into doing something they don't want to do. Everyone that is here is here by choice."
He said that the question he gets asked about his polyamory the most is whether they can date outside of the arrangement they're in.
"That's the question I get all the damn time and I'm going to answer it right now," he said. "No. And I'mma tell you why. Here's the thing, when I got with these women, I did not ask for their exclusivity, I did not demand their exclusivity. They offered it. They came to me and said, 'I want to be exclusive to you and just you.' I said, 'You understand that your exclusivity to me does not mean my exclusivity to you? You understand this?'"
He said he made it clear to them all up-front, and they said they were cool with it. "Since you are offering your exclusivity and I'm taking it, now there are rules that I need you to follow," he continued. "But at the same time, I don't do ownership. [I'd] be a fool to feel like I'm the only person that anybody will ever be attracted to, anybody will ever want to see, I know that. So, should that situation ever come up, nothing is above a conversation. However, in that I'm the head of this household, what I say goes. So if I say no it's a no. And you just got to let that be a no. Or, the door is over there."
He also stressed that there are no "random hookups," and he will always discuss everything with them. "I've always felt like a woman will submit when you give her something worthy of submission," he said. "You cannot force a woman to submit, it has to be her choice." Asked if he thinks he'll be living the polyamorous lifestyle for the rest of his life or if this is a phase, he said he doesn't know. "I'mma rock this as long as I'm allowed to rock this," he said.
Last month, Ne-Yo shared a video in which he introduced his four girlfriends, whom he referred to as his "pyramid." He has pursued this lifestyle since his divorce in 2022 and has been greeted with criticism and ridicule from some. He spoke about the criticism in February and simply replied, "I don't care."
