Ne-Yo's "Story Time": How One Song Sparked His Polyamorous Journey & The Rules He Lives By

Ne-Yo has never played it by the book when it comes to love. R&B star recently spoke with The Breakfast Club about what led him to polyamory, explaining that an eye-opening moment inspired his song "Story Time" off his 2015 Non-Fiction album. But for Ne-Yo, polyamory is not just about having multiple partners but also structure, communication, and clear expectations.

Ne-Yo revealed the story behind "Story Time" during an honest interview with Real 92.3 and explained how it changed the trajectory of his love life. The song was inspired when the singer was caught introducing another woman into his relationship. Things didn't go as smoothly as he hoped.

"I pitched it and she was like, 'Well maybe,' and I'm like, 'Oh cool.' So I'll just hit her on the phone now,'" Ne-Yo said. "And she's like, 'Call her?' I'm like, 'Oh… damn, oops.'"

That moment made one crystal clear: if polyamory was going to work, it had to grow from mutual agreement, not decisions made in backrooms.

"She would be down on someone we were meeting together, not someone I was meeting behind her back," he said. However, Ne-Yo's response was markedly different when his partner switched things up a bit by proposing the idea of adding another man to the relationship.

"She was like, 'Oh, you so gung-ho about another girl, what if I said I wanted another dude? I'm like, 'Hell no,'" he said, meaning that he has an open mind but limits.

Polyamory, for Ne-Yo, is no chaotic free-for-all. Instead, he describes it as a carefully structured partnership with well-defined rules. The most important aspect? Choice and consent.

"I do partnership, not ownership," he said. "You're not my property. I don't even want you as my property. Though exclusivity isn't a requirement he makes of his partners, he prepares them for what they're up against.

"There are rules to play if you give it and I take it," he said. "Nothing is off the table in a conversation as long as we're being honest. But if you promise exclusivity as in just me and only me and I say, 'Are you sure? 'You know that your exclusivity to me doesn't mean exclusivity to you?' That's a choice you're making yourself."
Ne-Yo sets the tone from the outset: His relationships bend to his will.

"If you make that decision, and I say, 'Cool cool well, here's the rules I need you to follow,' and if you cool with that, then we rock," he said. "If you're not, we don't. No love lost. You do you, I do me, and it's all good."

Though his polyamorous way of life has generated loads of debate, Ne-Yo made it known that plenty of men support him behind closed doors, even if they won't attest to it openly.

"You know what's crazy?" he said. "It's one of those things where guys are contacting you in secret. And like, 'Yeah honey, I would never,' and also like, 'Bro, you living life.'"

But despite all the misconceptions, Ne-Yo is adamant that polyamory is more than just a physical transaction.

"People get hung up on the sexual aspect of it," he said. "If the only reason you're doing it is to sever the sexual part of it, you're guaranteed to fail. That's an orgy. That's swinging. That's a completely different animal." This is community. This is a team. We're a team in this." Love, after all, can take many forms, and Ne-Yo is just writing his own rules.