What has Ne-Yo said about monogamy in the past? Rapper poses with 3 women in new Instagram post

On Tuesday, February 11, Ne-Yo was tagged in an Instagram post, where he posed with three of his partners, all of whom were in matching bikinis on a yacht. The caption of the post, uploaded from the account of @daddys_pretty_baby__, read:

"US vs. ...NOBODY. You can't compete where you can't compare. #PolyAndFly."

The Instagram post has received over 41K likes and 1K comments. According to HotNewHipHop, one of Ne-Yo's partners responded to the criticism the Instagram post was getting, stating:

"People are gonna voice their opinion—that’s expected. But y’all need to understand over here it’s a solid foundation."

Snippets of the 45-year-old's highlighted polyamorous relationship come as he accepted that he was not interested in monogamous relationships.

Joining Karleen Roy for a Lemon Drop interview (uploaded on YouTube on November 15, 2024), the Because of You singer acknowledged that relationships were not "one-size-fits-all," and shared his opinion on monogamy, stating:

"Society tells you that you're supposed to be with one person. You get married and y’all supposed to be together forever. I am not sh*tting on marriage. I'm not sh*tting on anyone who has figured out how to make that thing work for them. Again, everything's not for everybody. Monogamy is for you. It's not for me."

The 45-year-old also explained that he found being with only one partner unfulfilling, adding:

"I realized that I've not been living my truth for a very, very long time. I'm living it now, and you could tell—my skin is glowing."

Ne-Yo then went on to reveal in the interview that he spent a good part of his adult life lying about his preferences in order to fit into the conventional norms "for the sake of everyone else." Calling it an "utter waste of time," the singer added he should instead have been exactly who he was and let others gravitate to him.

Expressing relief at the fact that he did not need to lie anymore, Ne-Yo stated:

"As long as my happy ain’t messing with anybody else’s happy, I’m in the right place. And I'll be damned if I ever go back to that person that needed to lie for the appeasement of somebody else. I'm not that no more."

He also claimed feeling like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

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Ne-Yo's ex-wife, Crystal Renay, filed for a divorce in 2023

Ne-Yo, who currently advocates polyamorous relationships, was previously married to Crystal Renay Williams. The Knock You Down singer first announced his engagement with Renay in September 2015, alongside the news that the couple were expecting.

The couple got married in February 2016, and welcomed their first son, Shaffer Chimere Jr., a month later. Two years later, in June 2018, Ne-Yo and Crystal had another son, Roman Alexander-Raj. In 2021, the couple welcomed their third child, a daughter, Isabella Rose.

However, in 2023, Renay publicly accused the R&B singer of cheating and filed for a divorce shortly afterward.

According to People, Renay also claimed that she had been caring for all three of their children since the couple's separation in 2022, and sought primary physical custody, joint legal custody, child support, and alimony from the singer.

At the time of their separation, Ne-Yo asked fans to respect his privacy at the time in a tweet, writing:

"For the sake of our children, my family and I will work through our challenges behind closed doors. Personal matters are not meant to be addressed and dissected in public forums. I simply ask that you please respect me and my family's privacy at this time."

The singer-songwriter shares seven children with three different women.

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Before their separation, the couple had split once before, in February 2020, but reached a reconciliation four months later. They even renewed their wedding vows in a red-themed Las Vegas soiree in April 2022.