#veaux

Franklin Veaux’s work has shed light. His writings about polyamory have been valuable resources that have helped countless people find their way to happier, more fulfilling polyamorous relationships.

Franklin Veaux’s life has also cast a shadow. This shadow stretches back decades, and its darkness has enveloped those who have been closest to him — especially, though not exclusively, those who tried to share their lives with him.

The light he has shed has made the shadow difficult to see. And so, the damage left in his wake, and the women who have borne that damage, have remained invisible.

It is time to bring these women and their stories into the light.

Six women have come forward with stories of experiences with Franklin that do not align with his public persona, his self-described stories of his relationships, or the values stated in his writing. These women include all three of his past nesting partners, as well as the women who have featured most prominently in his personal narratives.

Their stories demonstrate a pervasive and longstanding pattern of serious harm. They are specific and detailed, they are consistent with one another across decades, and they are supported by written documentation and witness accounts. Evidence in support of the women’s accounts can also be found in Franklin’s own writing.

The women’s experiences indicate that Franklin has patterns of manipulation, gaslighting, and lying; leverages his multiple partners against one another; tests or ignores boundaries; pathologizes his partners’ normal emotions and weaponizes their mental illnesses; exploits women financially; uses women’s ideas and experiences in his work without permission or credit; grooms significantly younger, less experienced, or vulnerable women; lacks awareness of power dynamics and consent; has involved women in group sex and other sexual activities that they experienced as coercive; and accepts no responsibility for the harm he causes by engaging in these behaviors — often blaming other women, or the harmed women themselves, for that harm.