Extreme Wife with Dawn Porter

See us in a British TV Documentary Series. Channel 4 Tuesday 30 September 10pm

In episode one, Dawn immerses herself in the world of polyamory – or free love. Not quite ready to settle down with one man, Dawn is curious to find out what it is like to live in a relationship but share partners freely. Her journey begins in San Diego, California where a husband and wife run a kind of free love school to open people up to the idea of polyamory.

"They're going to open me up and cleanse my chakras and introduce me to the idea of multiple lovers," explains Dawn. "I've got no idea what to expect but I think there's going to be quite a lot of groping".

Trying to discover if there's more to the free love world than just sex, Dawn experiments with role playing and physical group exercises, before finishing off with a frank, fact-finding session in the school hot tub.

Next it's off to Germany were Dawn visits Zegg, a 1960's style commune isolated in former East Germany, where members live a polyamorous, utopian lifestyle. Idyllic on the surface, Dawn digs deeper to discover the cost of free love – fear of abandonment, jealousy, competition – and meets some of its victims. And, before she leaves, Dawn has a chance to experience one of the most extreme and controversial practices of this unusual community.
"It's intoxicating to feel that the normal rules and limits of society don't apply to you," muses Dawn. "I can imagine a life where I didn't have to choose one man but I also witnessed the downside. I think free love sounds great on paper but the price is too high for me".