IT’S a dating show known for pushing boundaries, now Naked Attraction has featured its first married couple looking for a girlfriend to form a throuple.
Abbie and Charlie Bagdonas — who say their golden rule for a happy marriage is to never have sex with another person while their children are at home — checked out six stripped singletons who wanted a chance to win a date.
Mum-of-four Abbie, 29, says: “Charlie and I are very happy and he is definitely the one for me.
“But just because we are married doesn’t mean we are joined at the hip. It’s nice to explore and we are looking to bring in a third person because we want a mental connection with them. For us, it’s not just about sex.
“I know some people will think ‘That’s disgusting, how can they do that?’. But so long as we and the third person are happy, that’s all that matters.”
The couple, who met in a London club seven years ago and got married a year later, live in Essex with their three children, twins Leon and Luna, five, and two-year-old Zachary.
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Abbie, studying to become a nurse associate, also shares a daughter, Freya, ten, with her ex-partner.
The couple decided on a throuple after experimenting with threesomes, a partner swap and a visit to a swingers’ club.
Just like former heavyweight boxer David Haye and his partner Sian Osborne, who have formed a new three-way relationship Mica Jova after they split from singer Una Healy, the couple reckon sharing a girlfriend will bring something more meaningful to their marriage.
Abbie adds: “People like David Haye are inspirational. He has come out and said it’s OK to have a throuple.”
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The couple started experimenting after Abbie realised she was bisexual in 2019.
Charlie, 28, a stairlift engineer, initially feared Abbie would “run off with another woman”.
But after lengthy discussions the couple felt opening their marriage to include others would keep it strong — as long as they stuck to some golden rules, including keeping their experiments away from the kids.
Abbie explains: “I had been hiding being bisexual when I talked to Charlie about it. I realised I couldn’t hide it any more.
“We talked through everything and decided to become polyamorous.”
‘Hot tub ice breaker’
The first time they jumped into bed with another person was after lockdown, in a partner swap with some friends.
“We initially decided to go to a swingers’ club to meet like-minded people, but you don’t see young couples there,” recalled Abbie.
“We had some friends who were interested in it too and one night we all got in the hot tub as an ice breaker. We played naked Twister then I had sex with the other man and Charlie with the other woman.”
They were soon embarking on more threesomes.
Abbie says: “We initially felt like we had broken our vows. But we talked through everything and decided to try again.
“This time I experimented with the girl while Charlie and the other man watched. It was fun. We then went on to have three or four threesomes together. Seeing Charlie with another woman gets me aroused. It gives you more ideas for fantasies, too.”
For Charlie, it is already a fantasy come true. He says: “It is every man’s dream to have two women in the same bed as you. It is like living in a porn film.”
After their sexual experiments, Abbie and Charlie were ready for a full-blown relationship with a third person.
Yet it proved very difficult to find someone, despite 11 per cent of Brits being open to polyamory, according to a recent YouGov poll.
Charlie says: “It’s hard to find someone who is open to the idea of getting to know a couple.”
They decided to apply to Channel 4’s Naked Attraction after failing to find the right woman on any dating apps.
The episode, which aired last month, is available online.
Charlie says: “Going on Naked Attraction is the wildest thing we’ve ever done. When I saw the six women, I was shell-shocked.”
Filming took place in May last year and they chose 22-year-old Lizzie, who had never been part of throuple. Once filming finished, sparks flew.
Abbie says: “She came to stay with us for the weekend and we had sex with her. We then met her several times more over the next six months until last November. And every time we did, we slept with her.
“We did form a connection and we were texting her all the time. We went to the cinema and had meals.
“We would walk down the street holding hands and it felt normal. It was nice to be open about it all.
“But in the end, life got in the way. She lived hundreds of miles away and doesn’t have kids. We couldn’t find the right balance.”
As the couple continue to look for a third person, they reveal they have shown the episode to some of their children.
“The eldest has told us she respects what we do but doesn’t want to watch it,” says Abbie. “But our youngest daughter has watched it and told us she loves it.”
The couple also insist they would not stand in the way if either of them falls for another person who does not want to form a throuple.
Abbie says: “It’s about love, respect and supporting each other.
“But meeting Lizzie has made us realise we would like to have a relationship on a deeper level.
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“In fact, we hope the other women we had to choose between on the show might read this interview and reach out to us.”
Abbie and Charlie appear on Naked Attraction on Wednesday May 3. The series is available to stream on Channel 4