Jasmine says that her husband’s other wives will help her out with the breastfeeding
YAHWEH Jasmine is the first to admit her family set up is far from conventional.
She lives with her husband Yahweh Poetic and his four other wives, who also all share the same name.
Between them they have 18 children – and now Jasmine is pregnant with their 19th child.
And far from being shocked by his upbringing their eldest son – Yahweh Ace – is following in his father’s footsteps.
Despite only being 21 he already has two ‘wives’ – Simone, 19, and Francis, 20, who both live in the family home. They’re not only in love with Ace, but with each other too.
And Francis is also expecting a baby, due just a few days after Jasmine, while Simone is trying to conceive too.
A GRANNY AT 33
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Jasmine, 33, says, “We will all be mums to the new baby, we don’t do ‘step mum’ and the other mothers will help me breastfeed if their milk comes in too – we’ve done it before.
“And it just makes it all the more exciting that Francis is pregnant too – I’ll be a granny at 33.”
The huge family, who live together in an eight-bedroom house in Florida, all use Yahweh before their first name to signify their commitment to each other as they can’t legally get married, their children range in age from 21 to one.
It consists of Yahweh Poetic, who has two children from a previous relationship, Ace and Queen Yahweh, 18. His first wife is Debash, 42, who has three children with Yahweh Poetic.
Jasmine, has got two children from a previous relationship and three already with Yahweh Poetic.
The third wife is Paige, 32, who had two children from a previous relationship and has gone on to have one year old twins with Yahweh Poetic.
Madi, 29, has a previous child and is actively trying to conceive. And Krystal, 36, who had two children from a previous relationship, now has one with Yahweh Poetic too.
FLUID SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS
The wives are not only in love with Yahweh Poetic but with each other and their sleeping arrangements are fluid – sometimes all five wives will end up in bed with Yahweh Poetic, at other times the wives might have separate dates with each other, anything is possible.
It’s a dynamic that suits all of them.
Jasmine explains, “I knew when I met Yahweh Poetic 10 years ago over Facebook that he already had another partner, Debash, and that they were looking to add more women as and when they met the right person.
“I introduced Paige into the relationship as I knew her through mutual friends.
“Monogamy doesn’t suit me, I always felt something was missing. And I’d been in open relationships before that I enjoyed.
“I never feel jealous, I love having more people around me who I love and love me.
“All the wives feel the same and we have sexual relationships with each other as well as Yahweh Poetic.
“We know that whoever we end up sleeping with, anything that happens will be loving and connected.
“Our kids are content and love the arrangement and we are one big but very happy family.”
It’s against this backdrop that Jasmine has conceived her sixth child.
She says, “I wasn’t using protection so knew it might happen and I was thrilled when I found out six weeks ago.
“I struggle when I’m pregnant, I get very tired and I had to be hospitalised a couple of weeks ago as I was so dehydrated from being constantly sick.
“Once the baby starts kicking I find it easier. And when I give birth it’s all worth it.
“My fellow wives are looking after me, I barely do any chores at the moment – usually I’m the main one that runs the household, but everyone else is picking up the slack as I’m so tired.
“And I was thrilled when I found out Francis is pregnant too. We compare notes and fetch each other snacks and drinks.”
‘EVERYONE’S INVOLVED’
Pregnancy is always celebrated in the Yahweh family and the wives take it in turns to come into Jasmine’s pre-natal appointments along with Yahweh Poetic.
She says, “Everyone’s excited and wants to be involved. And Madi is actively trying to get pregnant, I hope she does soon so we can go through it together.
“And once the baby is born I won’t be exhausted because they’ll take it whenever I need to rest.
“They’ll breastfeed too if they can. We’ve done it before when we’ve had babies at similar times, both me and Krystal and me and Debash have fed each other’s babies.
“And when the twins were born my milk came in again – despite the fact I’d gone a year without breastfeeding.
“I helped out a few times, but Paige decided to bottle feed and they preferred that so we didn’t continue.
“But although we’ll share between the wives, I won’t breastfeed Francis’s baby, that would feel strange as it will be my grandchild. But I’ll help her in any other way that I can.”
Fortunately the 18 other children are all excited by the new arrivals and are begging Jasmine to have a gender reveal party.
She says, “We’ve never done one before, but we might this time. I want to find out what I’m having as soon as possible. I don’t mind whether it’s a boy or girl, but knowing makes it all more real.”
Jasmine has no worries that the new arrivals will cause chaos in the family.
A WELL-OILED MACHINE
She says, “We’re a well-oiled machine – we’re so used to having a huge family that a couple more won’t make a difference. We have a WhatsApp group that pings constantly with updates of what’s going on.
“We have routines in place for the school run and we all help out – though the other wives go to work, in jobs as varied as pharmaceuticals and hospitality, some do shift work so there’s always someone around.
“We do a buffet supper for the younger children and then they’ll watch a movie before their bedtime of 8.30pm. Then the wives and older children eat together.
“We have one day a week when each of us makes dinner, though because Madi is a good cook she does three nights.
“And we have one day a week when we do chores like laundry.
”As for bedrooms, we have one set up with bunkbeds for the children, some of the very young ones still sleep in with their mums.
“But we’ll always find room for more babies, and we’d even welcome more wives if we find the right woman – they have to love family for obvious reasons, and be fun, open minded, loyal, positive and intelligent.”
Yahweh Poetic travels a lot through his work for the family’s businesses, including security, fashion and jewellery, but when he comes home he’s welcomed with open arms, and he’ll be Jasmine’s birth partner.
She says, “It might be his 19th child, but he’s as excited as if it was his first. None of us feel the need for another man in our household – it works perfectly with just him. And our children all love having multiple mums.”
Yahweh Ace likes it so much he’s following in his father’s footsteps.
Jasmine says, “He’s chosen to stay living with us and I hope he stays for ever. I love both of his wives – they’re like my daughters.
“I think he’ll eventually have more wives too, but now he’s very happy with the two he’s got. And we don’t differentiate with gender, if any of our daughters want to introduce multiple partners to the family that’s fine too.
“It’s always the more the merrier in our house!”
Follow the family’s life on @yahwehpoetic