Three Former Lovers Were Granted 'Tri-Custody' of a Child in a Historic Ruling

While the typical threesome is usually a standalone product of a drunken night, some have the potential to develop into something far more serious. Just ask Long Island couple Dawn and Michael Marano, who began an intimate relationship with their downstairs neighbor, Audria Garcia, in 2001.

The relationship continued, and in 2007, Garcia had a child with Marano, with an agreement that the three of them would raise the child together. According to the New York Post, the relationship eventually crumbled, with Dawn Marano and Garcia deciding to become a duo. After Dawn divorced her husband, Garcia and Marano agreed to joint custody of their child. But when Dawn felt “left out,” she filed a suit to secure custody of the boy as well.

On Wednesday, Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge H. Patrick granted “tri-custody” of the 10-year-old child, a ruling without precedent in the United States. To justify his ruling, the judge cited a ruling from New York’s highest court last summer “that allowed non-biological or adoptive parents to seek custody of a child if they had a prior relationship with that child.”

The judge also took the boy’s feelings towards both women into consideration. When asked how he tells the difference between his two mothers, he responded that one of his mothers drives an orange truck, while the other drives a gray truck.

According to Dawn Marano’s attorney, Karen Silverman, all three are “thrilled” by the ruling, which grants Garcia residential custody, Michael Marano weekends, and Dawn Marano Wednesday nights with three weeks of vacation.