Viewers' minds were blown Wednesday night when HGTV's House Hunters featured, for the first time, a "throuple." "A throuple is three people in a relationship," explained Lori in the episode; per E! News; she's been married to Brian since 2002, and after meeting Angellica ("Gelli") at a bar, the three fell in love and have since made things as official as legally possible via a commitment ceremony in Aruba. They were looking for a house in Colorado that would work for them (it needed, for example, a master bathroom that could accommodate three sinks, USA Today reports) and Brian and Lori's two children, ages 10 and 12. "Oh my god. A throuple on House Hunters," tweeted author Roxane Gay, one of many to express shock (and, in most cases, glee) on social media.
It's the first time the show has featured a polyamorous or ethically non-monogamous couple, and many viewers were applauding the progressive moment. "Representation matters," tweeted one viewer. HGTV's official stance: "We feature all homebuyers and living choices." "The past four years, I've been living in Lori and Brian's house, so buying a house together, as a throuple, will signify, like, our next big step as a family of five rather than all four of them plus me," Gelli said during the episode, which ended with the throuple selecting a home with a price higher than their original budget. As Salon noted last month, polyamory "is on the rise," and a throuple was also just introduced in the ABC sitcom Single Parents. (Is it time to legalize ethical non-monogamy?)
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