Spice

Also: spouses (plural play on 'mice'), the spice

A playful collective term for multiple spouses or serious partners — formed as a mock-plural of 'spouse' the way 'mice' is the plural of 'mouse.'

1 min read · Reviewed 2026-05-24

Spice is community in-joke vocabulary: if one is a spouse, then several are 'spice,' by analogy with mouse and mice. It's used affectionately by polyamorous people who have or are building multiple spouse-like partnerships, and it shows up in the LifeStyle and broader ENM culture as a light, warm shorthand.

Beyond the joke, the word does a small amount of real work. English has no neutral plural for committed partners that doesn't sound either clinical ('my partners') or possessive, and 'spice' fills that gap with humour. It signals a relaxed, community-insider register and a degree of comfort with the plurality of one's relationships.

Like most community slang, usage is informal and self-selected — nobody is required to call their partners spice — but it's widely understood across polyamory spaces and is a friendly marker of belonging.

Where this term fits in the wider picture

Ethical non-monogamy is a network of overlapping practices, identities, and structures — and Spice connects to several of them. The neighbouring terms below show how this one sits alongside the rest of the vocabulary practitioners actually use; the guide at the end is the longer-form treatment of the same territory.

Closely-related vocabulary

Polyfamily
A polycule that functions as a chosen family — shared household, shared finances, often shared parenting — across more than two adults.
Polycule
The web of romantic connections between a group of people — the network you would draw if you sketched everyone's relationships as nodes and edges.
Chosen family
The network of people one treats as family by deliberate choice rather than by birth or marriage — a concept originating in queer community and widely embraced by polyamorous practice.
Polyamory
The practice of, or willingness to engage in, multiple loving romantic relationships, with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.
Constellation
An alternative term for polycule — the web of romantic and intimate connections that includes someone's partners, those partners' partners, and so on.

Continue reading

The longer treatment of this territory is in the guide What is ethical non-monogamy? A clear primer for adults thinking it through — An honest, plain-language introduction to ethical non-monogamy — what it is, what it isn't, the configurations it covers, and the questions it asks of you.

New to ethical non-monogamy? Start with the glossary for vocabulary, the structures index for the named relationship configurations practitioners actually use, and the guides for longer-form treatment of the common questions.