Craig moved out of his home, put it on the market and filed for divorce. Andrea held him while he sobbed in her arms. She made a drawer for him in her dresser. They laughed hard. They cried even harder. They screamed and threatened to leave when it hurt too much. They learned to trust again. And through it all they had one thing in common: they were crazy about each other. They had become inseparable.

Craig and Andrea knew their relationship had to be different &ndash different from what they saw on T.V., or how they were raised. Different from what they had been practicing up until now because they had both failed. They sat down in front of each other on Andrea's living room floor during those first few tender months and would spend hours discussing what they wanted in their lives in the future, and not being afraid but growing stronger in their beliefs. They insisted on truth before anything else, no matter what the consequences, and it's something they still live for in their relationship today.

Having an open relationship was one of many things they agreed upon immediately. Unfortunately they had no idea how to find it. So They set out on an adventure, first to the Exotic Erotic Ball in San Francisco one night, which was a horrendous example of sexual expression, and from there found a link on the party's website which led them to PleasureZone, an upscale lifestyle monthly event for single women and couples only (www.pleasurezonesf.com). The first party they attended, Andrea showed up in a pair of slacks and a pretty blouse and found out how overdressed she really was. However from that party on, she was quickly known as the first one with her clothes off, wearing a thong and being topless until security would find her, dancing right next to the DJ.

Craig and Andrea became advocates of the lifestyle. They attended every PleasureZone party, and also two special invite parties Risqué and Beautiful. They brought friends. They met very attractive, affluent and educated couples. Their friends evolved and either accepted this new direction in their lives, or fell out of contact with them due to their lack of acceptance.

Andrea had slept with women for several years on her own before she met Craig. She began to bring her girlfriends into the bedroom; into her relationship with Craig. Then they met their first girlfriend at PleasureZone, Tiffany, and saw her together for several months. This was their introduction to a regular three-some and a relationship outside of their own, which had some degrees of success and failure to learn from.

For the next five years Craig and Andrea traveled over many bridges together figuring out their own path through the lifestyle: of what they were comfortable with and how far they would go. It became trial and error, but they continued to grow stronger, searching for their truth together.

There were times in their relationship when they forgot to communicate, and they then learned to have a "game plan"; a plan of attack for the night out, so to speak. There were times when they would come to a roadblock, when one would be selfish and get in the way of the others pleasure. They agreed that the lifestyle was a learning experience which had no rule book, no educators and very little support, but Andrea and Craig continued to become advocates for a better relationship with all of the friends who surrounded them.

It was just a matter of time that Craig and Andrea decided to marry. Had they not had so many hurdles earlier in their relationship they would have been married within that first year of meeting each other. Happily, they eloped to Miami during a lifestyle event. They had their marriage with an officiate, an editorial photographer and the waves of Miami Beach in the background. How wonderful it was to cry in each others arms with no interruptions after they had sweetly spoken their handwritten vows to each other. Truly unlike anything they ever have witnessed at a wedding.

Now four years later they are even stronger than they were before: stronger with each passing day because they haven't forgotten what they both wanted from each other and from life, even through the major challenges and disbelief &ndash even through the drama that life suggests. Craig and Andrea have found a way to love each other the way people dream of. They refuse to take advantage of each other and will always listen to each other's needs. They are so happy to have found each other and to succeed and share their relationship with everyone around them. You can see it in their eyes and when they smile. You can see it in the way they hold each other. You can see it when they become one: always loyal lovers and best friends for the rest of their lives.  

Photos by DirtyDolly