A Couple Started Dating Another Woman Together. Months Later, Their Entire Relationship Changed 

For many people in Alana Underwood’s situation, exploring a new part of their identity can feel like it requires an impossible trade-off: learn more about yourself, or protect the relationship you already have.

Back in 2020, Underwood had been dating Kevin Jankay for a little over three years. For most of her life, she had “operated as straight,” only dating men — even as a quiet question lingered in the background about whether she might also be romantically interested in women. Eventually, she felt ready to explore what being bisexual could mean for her — and she wanted to do it with Jankay, not apart from him.

When she shared what she was feeling, he didn’t shut it down. Instead, they talked it through and agreed to explore together. At the time, Underwood believed it would be an “experimental, one-off, sexual experience” with another woman. Neither of them expected that decision would reshape their lives.

Six years later, Underwood and Jankay are still together — but now with a third partner, Megan Smith, in a committed relationship with them both. In some ways, their relationship looks familiar: they live together, they bicker sometimes, they share a dog. In other ways, it doesn’t resemble monogamy at all.

The trio shares parts of their lives on TikTok as “Camp Throuple,” where they’ve built an audience of nearly 300,000 followers. They talk about how their relationship began, answer questions they say they’re tired of repeating (yes, they share a bed), and describe what it’s been like to make their love story public.

How It Started

Underwood and Jankay first met Smith through a dating app. At the time, Smith was married to a woman. The four talked online for about a month before deciding to meet in person — a moment they say came with plenty of nerves.

“I was freaking out internally, trying to hold it together,” Underwood said, laughing — not only because it was her first experience in a throuple, but also her first romantic experience with a woman. She credits Smith’s confidence with helping her feel grounded.

Early on, Jankay says, the dynamic was “purely sexual.” But as they kept meeting, something shifted. On the two-hour drives back from Smith’s house, Underwood and Jankay began admitting what they were both feeling: what began as sexual exploration was turning into something emotional, too.

About four months into their connection, Smith and her wife separated — a decision Smith says was “unrelated” to Underwood and Jankay. The group paused for a while, then reconnected months later. By January 2021, the three decided to commit as a throuple.

Living Together, Learning Fast

Moving in together brought a whole new layer of reality. They started in a 600-square-foot apartment with one bathroom and one bedroom. Their sleeping setup was a queen bed pushed up against an air mattress — and to keep things fair, they agreed to rotate who slept in the middle each night.

“The middle spot — it has its pros and cons,” Underwood said. “It’s nice because you get to snuggle with both partners, but it gets really, really hot. So we rotate to keep it equal.”

Because Underwood and Jankay were already living together before Smith joined, they also made a deliberate effort to ensure Smith didn’t feel like the outsider.

“We were very aware of how she could feel, and we tried to put ourselves in her shoes,” Underwood said. “I think there could be the opportunity to feel jealous or left out, but we’ve just been very aware about that.”

They also say they had to let go of the idea that everything could be perfectly equal all the time. Instead, they learned to respect how each bond within the trio has its own shape.

“The way you love each individual person is different,” Smith said. “That doesn’t mean it’s more or less — it’s just a different type of relationship. Like, mine and Alana’s relationship is very different from mine and Kevin’s. But that doesn’t mean it’s more or less. It’s just a different experience and a different type of love.”

The Unexpected Upside

Over time, they noticed benefits they didn’t anticipate — including, as Jankay puts it, a kind of built-in support system.

“You get double the support and double the affection,” he said. “You can bounce something off one person and get feedback from another. If you’re in a quarrel or an argument with one person, the other person can show a perspective that you might not see because you’re in the heat of the moment.”

Eventually, the trio moved to Colorado, upgrading from their tight apartment to a larger house — with more space and, importantly, three bathrooms. Jankay says the dynamic feels “so normal” now, largely because they’re simply around each other all the time.

Telling Their Families

As they built a life together, another challenge arrived: telling their parents.

Smith’s mom, whom Underwood affectionately calls a “total hippie,” was supportive from the start. For Underwood and Jankay, it was more complicated.

Underwood recalls sitting down with her parents and saying: “Hey, so I’m bisexual, and I also have a girlfriend — who is also Kevin’s girlfriend.” She laughs about it now, but says her parents were stunned at first.

Still, she says they adjusted faster than she ever expected. “They were just like, ‘OK, so have you guys gone camping together?’ ” Underwood said, explaining that they tried to find a comfortable way forward in the conversation.

Jankay’s experience was harder. After he told his parents, his mother called him on the way home to say she “wasn’t OK” with the relationship. He says they didn’t speak for two years. While contact has slowly resumed, he says it hasn’t yet opened into genuine curiosity about his life or about Underwood and Smith.

“But we believe that everybody’s on their journey and love can overcome everything,” he said. “There’s no animosity or anger. She’s had her own journey, so I respect it, and when she wants to — and hopefully she does — I’m here.”

Why They Went Public on TikTok

All three say polyamory was completely new territory for them just a few years ago. That’s part of why they started their TikTok account, “CampThrouple,” sharing what their relationship looks like day-to-day.

The response was immediate. Smith remembers posting one video and waking up the next morning to 300,000 views. “We were like, ‘Oh, s—.’ ”

Their content now blends humor, lifestyle moments and straightforward Q&A — explaining how their relationship works and responding to common misconceptions. They also say they’ve connected with other people in polyamorous relationships, but some of the most meaningful messages come from people who say their videos helped them understand what this kind of relationship can look like — especially as a parent.

At the same time, Smith says they aren’t trying to sell polyamory as a universal solution. In fact, she admits that if their relationship ever ended — a scenario she calls “very sad” — she isn’t sure she’d choose polyamory again.

“We just happen to find a match with each other and it flows and it works correctly,” she said. “I don’t think that it’s necessarily the perfect way of living or the best way to go in a relationship. I think people should do whatever makes them happy and what they’re comfortable with, but we just want to shine a light on the positive aspects of it.”