Polygamy was not new to me: Sue Nyathi explains inspiration behind ‘The Polygamist’
By Valerian Khakayi, August 7, 2026Author Sue Nyathi has opened up about the inspiration behind her book The Polygamist, revealing that the story was influenced by her observations of relationships and the different forms of polygamy she encountered while growing up and later in her professional life.
Speaking about the book’s inspiration, on Friday, August 7,2026, Nyathi said her first job at a corporate finance firm exposed her to the world of big businesses and powerful individuals, where she began interacting with men she believed were in monogamous marriages but were secretly living polygamous lives.
The author added that polygamy itself was not unfamiliar to her because she had witnessed it within her own maternal family. However, she noted that the traditional form she grew up seeing was different from the hidden relationships she later observed.
“I started my first job at a corporate finance firm, and I was immersed in big businesses, wolrd of powers and I started to meet a lot of men who were supposedliy monogomus but they were living polygamous life,”Sue stated.
“Polygamy was not new to me; my maternal side of the family is very polygamous, so I had seen it practised, but what I was seeing practised was very different from the traditional kind.”
Urban polygamy
Nyathi went on to explain that what caught her attention was the contrast between the openness of traditional polygamy and situations where women were unknowingly sharing a partner.
She said she became fascinated by exploring what would happen if a wife discovered that her husband had other relationships she was not aware of.
“I was like this is interesting alot of these women are married to men who have otherwise and they are not even aware of them, for me that was very intriging story and I was like,’imagine if the wife was to find out how will that lookm like? That was how the seed of that story was planted; that is where the inspiration came from.
Monogomus marriage
Nyathi explained that her upbringing also shaped her understanding of marriage and relationships. Raised in a conservative Catholic household, she grew up believing in the traditional idea of getting married and living happily ever after.
“I was raised in a very conservative Catholic household; you grow up get married and live a happy ever after, but I was not seeing this known in this world and I founded it intriguing,” she explained
Traditional polygamy setup
According to Nyathi, traditional polygamy in her family was open, with everyone aware of their place in the family structure. She recalled that her grandmother was the first wife and knew the other women, with the families living together and the children growing up knowing each other.
It was very open, my grandmother was the first wife and she knew who the other women were, they all lived together, the children knew each other played together that is how traditional polyganmy looks like