Popular throuple splits as Precious separates from Jeffrey, Chidinma

Jeffrey and Chidinma, members of the Nigerian relationship trio popularly known online as Feral Throuple, have announced their separation from their third partner, Precious, bringing their three-person relationship to an end.

The couple announced the development in a video posted on the Feral Throuple Instagram page on Saturday, saying that although they once believed the relationship would last forever, it ultimately stopped working.

“We’re no longer in a three-person relationship. Today, the Feral Throuple is now Jeffrey and Chidinma,” they said.

They did not disclose the specific circumstances that led to the separation.

The development comes about three months after the trio spoke to PREMIUM TIMES about their relationship, describing themselves at the time as emotionally secure and committed to building a life together.

Jeffrey and Chidinma

Who are Feral Throuple?

A throuple is a romantic relationship involving three people.

While such relationships remain relatively uncommon and controversial in Nigerian society, Jeffrey, Chidinma and Precious gained attention online as Feral Throuple for publicly documenting their unconventional relationship and discussing its dynamics on social media and in media interviews.

In their May interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Jeffrey and Chidinma said they had been together for 9 years and had been legally married for 5. Precious had been part of their relationship for about a year, although Jeffrey said he had known her and been in an on-and-off relationship with her for several years. 

Jeffrey said he met Precious about a year after he began dating Chidinma, while he was buying ice cream for Chidinma.

He later introduced Precious into the relationship, and the three eventually lived together as partners.

While Jeffrey and Chidinma are legally married in Nigeria, Jeffrey said he and Precious were not legally married. He said, then, that they had considered formalising their union outside Nigeria, but maintained that legal documentation was not what bound the three together.

Their public profile grew as they openly discussed issues including intimacy, jealousy, finances, family acceptance, children, and the possibility of expanding their relationship.

Chidinma described Precious as her “wife” and said she did not regard her as competition. At the same time, the trio maintained that communication and emotional security helped them navigate a three-person relationship.

They also acknowledged that their relationship had not always been smooth. Jeffrey and Precious revealed that their relationship had previously been on-and-off and that they had broken up once before reconciling.

Then, however, they said their experiences had ultimately convinced them that they were meant to remain together.

Precious (Credit_Instagram@darrkkchocolate)

‘We thought it would be forever’

Announcing the latest separation, Jeffrey admitted he had not anticipated the relationship ending.

“We genuinely gave it our best. I didn’t really see this coming. We felt like it would be forever, but one thing is, it just didn’t work, and we’ve decided to move forward,” he said.

He said the former partners had chosen to move on and wished everyone involved well.

“We wish everyone the best and believe that we’ll get what we want from this moment onwards. We still believe love could be in several ways.”

Chidinma also insisted that neither a scandal nor a dramatic incident caused the breakup.

“There’s no scandal or dramatic story or reason behind it. Simply put, relationships evolve, relationships change, and it’s really sad, but we all tried our best,” she said.

Despite the breakup, Chidinma said she and Jeffrey had not abandoned their belief in non-monogamous relationships.

“We believe in polyamory, we believe in polygyny, and we also believe in ethical non-monogamy. And yes, we are still open to finding a third. And that’s why we created Feral’s Society,” she said.

Their position means that although Feral Throuple, as the public knew it, has ended, Jeffrey and Chidinma remain together and say they are open to another partner joining them in the future.

Precious reacts

Precious reacted to the announcement by asking Jeffrey and Chidinma to remove videos featuring her from the Feral Throuple social media page.

“Please, can you now delete all my videos from the page? Thank you,” she wrote in the comment section.

She also appeared to make light of the couple’s decision to record a video announcing the breakup.

“Sitting down to make a video is so funny, but what do I know? Everybody will be fine eventually,” she wrote on her Instagram Story.

Precious did not disclose the cause of the breakup or make any allegations against Jeffrey or Chidinma.

She acknowledged that there were many questions and said she completely understood the curiosity. However, she said she did not want her page to become a platform where she constantly had to explain or discuss her relationship.

According to her, some matters were better kept private, and she had chosen to protect that part of her life.

“To everyone who has followed, checked on me, sent me a message, or even just quietly watched, thank you. I genuinely appreciate it. Because the truth is, there’s so much more to me than my relationship. I’m a woman building things, creating content, figuring life out, making mistakes, learning, dressing up, looking good, building my businesses and just trying to enjoy my life.

“So if you’re new here, welcome. You might have found me because of one chapter of my life, but I’d really love for you to stay and get to know ME beyond that chapter. I feel like I’m entering a completely different season of my life, and honestly, I’m excited to see where it takes me. There’s so much I want to do, so much I want to create, and so many parts of myself I want to explore. So yeah… new chapter, same me. Just more me”, she noted.

Her response, however, has generated curiosity among social media users, some of whom have urged her to share her account of what happened. Recent reports also noted that followers have been asking her for a “story time” about the breakup.

Others have treated the separation as an ordinary relationship breakup and wished the three former partners well.

Below are some of the comments.