“We’re no longer in a three-person relationship.”
Jeffrey and Chidinma, members of the Nigerian relationship trio popularly known online as Feral Throuple, have announced their separation from their third partner, Precious, bringing their three-person relationship to an end.
“We’re no longer in a three-person relationship. Today, the Feral Throuple is now Jeffrey and Chidinma,” they said.
They did not disclose the specific circumstances that led to the separation.
The development comes about three months after the trio spoke to PREMIUM TIMES about their relationship, describing themselves at the time as emotionally secure and committed to building a life together.
A throuple is a romantic relationship involving three people.
While such relationships remain relatively uncommon and controversial in Nigerian society, Jeffrey, Chidinma and Precious gained attention online as Feral Throuple for publicly documenting their unconventional relationship and discussing its dynamics on social media and in media interviews.
In their May interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Jeffrey and Chidinma said they had been together for 9 years and had been legally married for 5. Precious had been part of their relationship for about a year, although Jeffrey said he had known her and been in an on-and-off relationship with her for several years.
Jeffrey said he met Precious about a year after he began dating Chidinma, while he was buying ice cream for Chidinma.
He later introduced Precious into the relationship, and the three eventually lived together as partners.
While Jeffrey and Chidinma are legally married in Nigeria, Jeffrey said he and Precious were not legally married. He said, then, that they had considered formalising their union outside Nigeria, but maintained that legal documentation was not what bound the three together.
Their public profile grew as they openly discussed issues including intimacy, jealousy, finances, family acceptance, children, and the possibility of expanding their relationship.
Chidinma described Precious as her “wife” and said she did not regard her as competition. At the same time, the trio maintained that communication and emotional security helped them navigate a three-person relationship.
They also acknowledged that their relationship had not always been smooth. Jeffrey and Precious revealed that their relationship had previously been on-and-off and that they had broken up once before reconciling.
Then, however, they said their experiences had ultimately convinced them that they were meant to remain together.
Announcing the latest separation, Jeffrey admitted he had not anticipated the relationship ending.
“We genuinely gave it our best. I didn’t really see this coming. We felt like it would be forever, but one thing is, it just didn’t work, and we’ve decided to move forward,” he said.
He said the former partners had chosen to move on and wished everyone involved well.
“We wish everyone the best and believe that we’ll get what we want from this moment onwards. We still believe love could be in several ways.”
Chidinma also insisted that neither a scandal nor a dramatic incident caused the breakup.
“There’s no scandal or dramatic story or reason behind it. Simply put, relationships evolve, relationships change, and it’s really sad, but we all tried our best,” she said.
Despite the breakup, Chidinma said she and Jeffrey had not abandoned their belief in non-monogamous relationships.
“We believe in polyamory, we believe in polygyny, and we also believe in ethical non-monogamy. And yes, we are still open to finding a third. And that’s why we created Feral’s Society,” she said.
Their position means that although Feral Throuple, as the public knew it, has ended, Jeffrey and Chidinma remain together and say they are open to another partner joining them in the future.
Precious reacted to the announcement by asking Jeffrey and Chidinma to remove videos featuring her from the Feral Throuple social media page.
“Please, can you now delete all my videos from the page? Thank you,” she wrote in the comment section.
She also appeared to make light of the couple’s decision to record a video announcing the breakup.
“Sitting down to make a video is so funny, but what do I know? Everybody will be fine eventually,” she wrote on her Instagram Story.
Precious did not disclose the cause of the breakup or make any allegations against Jeffrey or Chidinma.
She acknowledged that there were many questions and said she completely understood the curiosity. However, she said she did not want her page to become a platform where she constantly had to explain or discuss her relationship.
