Childhood sweethearts who invited single-mother to join marriage insist it makes them better parents

A married couple who fell in love with another woman and now live as a polyamorous ‘thruple’ have insisted it makes them better parents. 

High school sweethearts Leo Barillas, 35, and Mary Barillas, 31, met estimator Kimberlee Slagle, 29, all of Washington State, at their CrossFit gym business in 2015 and became fast friends. 

As they spent more time together, their friendship blossomed into a romantic attraction and they formed a thruple in September 2016.

Kimberlee and her two children, Keagen, 11, and Kymper, seven, joined the Barillas’ and their two children Carson, nine, and Paige, four, at their home in June 2017, and they’ve been living under the same roof ever since.

They believe their triad relationship has benefited their youngsters and plan to expand their family, with Kimberlee and Mary hoping to fall pregnant at the same time.  

High school sweethearts Leo Barillas, 35, and Mary Barillas, 31, (far left) fell in love with Kimberlee Slagle (pictured right), 29, all of Washington State, and now live together

The three parents pictured with their children Keagen, Page, Carson and Kymper, during the Christmas period (Mary left and Kim right)

The three parents pictured with their children Keagen, Page, Carson and Kymper, during the Christmas period (Mary left and Kim right)

Mother-of-two Kim explained: ‘Having an extra body is so useful for parenting, it just means you’re splitting the work between three rather than two.’

Mary and Leo, who married in 2005 after first getting together in high school, had previously invited people to join them in the bedroom but never permanently.

But in 2016, when their youngest daughter was 11 months old, they met single Kim at their Crossfit gym. Kim had just ended a nine year relationship. 

‘We weren’t actively seeking a third,’ explained Leo. ‘Kim came into the picture as an athlete at the gym, we trained her and got to know her. 

‘We became friendly and would have her over socially, then that progressed into a sexual thing. It was actually Kim who said “I don’t know if I can come and hang out at the weekend because I’m growing feelings for you both of you”‘. 

The couple met Kim at their CrossFit gym business in 2015 and became fast friends (pictured all together in their home)

The couple met Kim at their CrossFit gym business in 2015 and became fast friends (pictured all together in their home)

As they spent more time together, their friendship blossomed into a romantic attraction and they formed a thruple in September 2016. Pictured together in their gym (Mary left, Kim right)

As they spent more time together, their friendship blossomed into a romantic attraction and they formed a thruple in September 2016. Pictured together in their gym (Mary left, Kim right)

Kim added: ‘I understood that they were a married couple but I could feel my feelings changing and so I started to pull away. It was incredibly hard for me to tell them how I felt – it was a scary moment for me.’

The three of them talked it over and proposed the idea of becoming a triad. The following week they went to Vegas and made it official.

Mary and Kim are both keen to each have another child, and have hatched plans to get pregnant simultaneously.

Leo said: ‘I was done after two kids, but Kim wants to have a child with the person she loves, so now we’ve come to a compromise that they would get pregnant at the same time and do it in the hospital.’ 

Thankfully, family members have been accepting of their arrangement and even the kids enjoy having another parent around.   

Keagan, 11, admitted: ‘I like it better having three parents because you have more people to talk to.’ 

The thruple (seen above) believe their triad relationship has benefited their four youngsters

The thruple (seen above) believe their triad relationship has benefited their four youngsters

Mary, Leo and Kim (Left to to right) enjoying a night out together. Mary and Kim are both keen to each have another child, and have hatched plans to get pregnant simultaneously

Mary, Leo and Kim (Left to to right) enjoying a night out together. Mary and Kim are both keen to each have another child, and have hatched plans to get pregnant simultaneously

The three parents have also had good reactions from most strangers, with Mary recalling: ‘When we go out the three of us holding hands, guys often give Leo all the kudos, and tell him he’s lucky! 

However, it hasn’t all been praise with the three of them receiving some negative comments online. 

Mary admitted: ‘I think that was the hardest part for me, to deal with people saying that we’re going to mess up our kids.’

The mother-of-two stresses that the threesome are just like any regular couple, spending their days at the gym and having family movie nights and dinners.

She said: ‘I think that we live a very normal life. We all work, we all try to stay fit, we have children, we don’t live insane lives.’

They share their family life on Instagram under the handle, @pnwtriad16, and want to inspire others to be honest with who they are – even if that differs to what’s considered ‘normal’ by society.  

Thankfully, family members have been accepting of their arrangement and even the kids enjoy having another parent around. Pictured: The three of them together (Mary left)

Thankfully, family members have been accepting of their arrangement and even the kids enjoy having another parent around. Pictured: The three of them together (Mary left)

However, it hasn't all been praise with the three of them (pictured) receiving some negative comments online (Kim right)

However, it hasn’t all been praise with the three of them (pictured) receiving some negative comments online (Kim right)

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