My dream date turned out to be married, so now I live with him, his wife AND their five kids
A SINGLE MUM who went on a date with a married man who claimed he was separated has revealed how she fell for him – and his wife.
Monica Sandoval has now been in a polyamorous relationship with Gilbert and Giselle Gomez for five years and the threesome live happily together with their five kids.
The trio take it in turns to sleep with each other and both women have separate bedrooms so Gilbert, 35, can choose to sleep wherever he wants.
And they claim the bizarre situation is the secret to long-lasting happiness.
“Everyone asks about sex and yes we have sex a lot but we don’t keep count,” said Monica, 34.
“We have threesomes and individual sex and Giselle and I have our own rooms and Gilbert sleeps where he wants.
“Gilbert and Giselle have their time together and I have my time with him and then we have our nights together – that’s how it works.
“Of course, guys will reckon he is the luckiest man in the world having two females but it takes a lot of time, patience, dedication and commitment to be in a relationship like this.
“It’s not perfect but we are soulmates.”
Monica had been working shifts at Dunkin’ Donuts in Manhattan, New York, to help provide for her daughter, Anna, now 13, when she met Gilbert through a dating site.
He told her that he was married but separated from his wife when he took her to a seafood restaurant on their first date.
Monica instantly fell for the property manager but a month later he admitted he was still married to Giselle, the mother of his three children and newborn baby.
She was shocked, but was already in love with Gilbert, and eventually, in January 2015, he introduced Monica to his hair stylist wife, Giselle, 30, who had accepted that her husband was seeing someone new.
Later that month Gilbert and Giselle’s youngest, Max, was diagnosed with stage three liver cancer – hepatoblastoma – aged just five months.
Monica helped Giselle care for the baby while he was undergoing chemotherapy – but then dropped the bombshell news that she was pregnant with Gilbert’s baby.
She said: “I didn’t know how to tell Giselle at first, and she was very hurt.
“She was going through an especially hard time, but eventually she accepted it.”
Luckily Max recovered and is now cancer-free and Giselle was there to welcome baby Leon into the world when Monica went into labour in March 2016.
Incredibly, the two women eventually became romantically involved too, and the trio formed a polyamorous relationship, which she says is very fulfilling.
Monica said: “Giselle and I were just friends at first, nothing more than that, but I began to feel attracted to her, and there were lots of emotions going on.
“We started doing sexual things together. It was my first time but it was exciting.”
However, Monica’s family, who she was living in, disapproved and kicked her out. The married couple asked her to move in with them.
Gilbert and his two loyal lovers eventually moved to Connecticut with their five children – Jayvon, 14, Anna, 13, Jacob, 12, Max, six and Leon, four, in December 2016 to start a new life together.
Monica added: “If someone had told me when I was a single mother that I’d end up in a poly relationship with this super family honestly I would have asked what polyamory is.
“I would have seriously doubted that would be me. I was taught by my mother that it is very sinful to be with the same sex or to have multiple partners.
“But now I couldn’t be happier and we all love each other so much. We want other people to know that you are not weird and it’s OK to be in a poly relationship.
“Gilbert and Giselle are now my soulmates and I feel so loved, cared for and supported.”
Gilbert and Giselle have been together 16 years and married for 12.
At first their marriage was normal but after two years that changed when Giselle revealed she was attracted to women.
Giselle explained: “I told Gilbert that I had an interest in females too – something I had never told anybody.
“Ever since then our relationship became open and it has been great.
“We date other people and we are just totally up front about it. He told me about Monica right away and I met her a month after they began dating. We got on really well.
“But then my heart sank when I was told my youngest child Max had cancer. It was such a terrible shock.
“I had only met Monica once but she came to the emergency room where I was and she sat with me as Max went through his chemotherapy sessions.
“I knew she was building a relationship with Gilbert and it was hard for me because I was trying to focus on my sick son. But she was so supportive from the beginning and now she is part of our family.”
Gilbert, who is from New York, says he has the best of both worlds living with his wife and his girlfriend, but knew it would never have happened if he hadn’t lied to Monica.
Gilbert, 35, said: “If I’d have told Monica from the beginning I was married she wouldn’t have given me the opportunity to date her.
“I wanted her to meet the person I am and to gain her trust so she would feel comfortable meeting Giselle.
“When you say ‘Hey I’m in a poly relationship’, that is overwhelming for some people.
“Now we are all one big happy family.”
Monica said most people just want to know about their sex lives, but she insited they are like most other married couples – except there are three of them.
“We all cook together and have family time. We sit around the table and talk about our day and just cherish each other,” she said.
“We do have everyday disagreements like any normal family but we are always there for each other.
“We want to set our children an example that there is no rule that limits you to love one person when there is so much love to give.
“There was a funny incident at a parent teacher conference for Anna and Jacob and the teacher asked Giselle and I who was the mother.
“I explained how when it comes to Anna I am mum and Giselle is mum number two and it’s the same with Jacob. Instantly there was a very confused stare but in general people are accepting of us.
“We don’t want our children to feel like they have to live in a fear-based culture surrounding relationships like when we grew up.
“Society is no longer defined by marriage or being in a monogamous relationship.
“We want the world to know love has no limits. Love is love and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
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We previously shared about a throuple raising five kids who are planning another baby.
And meet the couples who spice up their lives with polyamorous adventures like Toni Collette’s Joy in BBC drama Wanderlust.