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The renowned “Lonely” artist, Akon, embraces a polyamorous lifestyle with several wives.
During the May 19 episode of the “We Need to Talk” podcast, Akon, 53, expressed that “Polyamory is an innate tendency for men.” He elaborated, “Due to societal norms, we often restrain this instinct to please our partners, adhering to the rules that we collectively agree upon.”
Akon further explained, “When you’re single, this isn’t an issue. It only becomes complicated when you’re committed to someone and have pledged to maintain a relationship within agreed-upon boundaries.”
When questioned about the number of wives he has, Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, playfully replied, “I’ll let your imagination run wild.” He humorously added, “It’s all entertainment,” when asked if he has more spouses than Senegal’s president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who himself has two wives.
On a related note, Ne-Yo has been candid about his involvement with three women and discussed whether they are free to see other men. The “So Sick” singer, known offstage as Shaffer Chimere Smith, introduced his polyamorous relationship to the public in early 2025, revealing his partners: Arielle Hill, Moneii, and Cristina.
While playing coy about his relationships, Akon did offer insight into his home life.
“I got the most amazing kids. I got nine altogether. Seven boys and two girls, and the setup all depends on the person and the understanding,” he said. “It’s communication. It’s literally the answer and the solution. You got to be mature enough to know that, ‘If this is the situation that I’m going to park in, I have to communicate.’”
Among Akon’s relationship rules, his wives cannot have other partners and he lists his first wife as his emergency contact “no matter what.”
“That one is the reason you even got one, two or three. She’s the queen,” he stated. “Nobody violates Wife No. 1. The moment they violate, [they are] out the door. … There’s levels in the end, like, she’s the one that’s actually sacrificing in the end. With new people [joining] your family, there’s going to be new attitudes, new mindsets, new behaviors and [the first wife has] to deal with that.”
Prince Williams/WireImage Ne-Yo isn’t afraid to talk to his kids about anything — even his numerous relationships. In an interview on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show on Thursday, February 20, the singer admitted that his seven children are well aware of the fact that he’s in polyamorous relationships with four women — if they ask. […]
Akon also shut down any critics of his lifestyle during the candid conversation.
“If you’re going to do it, be honest about it,” he said. “The problem is [a] majority of the critics are hypocritical because they’re saying that this ain’t right, but yet they’re doing it. There’s not a person, I promise you, that ever critiqued anything that I’ve ever said that if I went and did a background check on them right now or hired a private investigator that I wouldn’t find nothing. That’s just being real, right?”
Akon added, “I think as humans sometimes we find ourselves judging others, not understanding the pathway they went through because most of the time, oftentimes, when I’m talking, I’m talking relating to culture.”
Akon further claimed that polyamory benefits each wife more than the husband.
“Oftentimes when the family is united in that way, the benefit is more for the woman than it is for the man because the man actually has to take care of all of them,” he said. “He has to treat them all equally and their responsibility bears on him as well.”