'One-Sided Monogamy': The Manosphere's Rebranding of Infidelity, Explained

The Clip That Launched a Thousand Arguments

When Louis Theroux's documentary Inside the Manosphere dropped on Netflix on March 11, 2026, it quickly climbed to the No. 1 spot on the platform, according to Ms. Magazine. Among the many uncomfortable moments in the 90-minute film, one scene in particular detonated across social media: American businessman and influencer Justin Waller describing his relationship as "one-sided monogamy."

The concept is exactly what it sounds like. In a heterosexual relationship, the woman remains monogamously committed to her partner, while the man is free to pursue sexual and emotional relationships outside the partnership. Waller shares children with his partner Kristen — they are specifically not married because of what the documentary describes as "the financial side" — and the couple operates under a don't-ask-don't-tell policy regarding Waller's other relationships, as reported by Cosmopolitan.

Another subject of the documentary, podcast host Amrou Fudl (known online as Myron Gaines), described his own arrangement in even starker terms on his podcast Fresh & Fit, as captured in the film. According to Cosmopolitan's reporting, Fudl stated on the podcast that his partner "packs my condoms when I travel" and that the arrangement is "monogamous on her end, open on my end."

Not New — But Newly Branded

Relationship experts and cultural commentators have been quick to point out that what the manosphere calls "one-sided monogamy" is not a novel relationship structure. As The New York Times reported on March 25, 2026, nonmonogamous relationships can take many legitimate forms — polyamory, open marriages, swinging, and what's known as "mono-poly" arrangements. The critical difference lies in consent, agency, and reciprocity.

Polyamory educator Leanne Yau, also known as Poly Philia, drew a sharp distinction in comments reported by Cosmopolitan. According to the report, Yau explained that in a genuine mono-poly relationship, the monogamous partner chooses that arrangement freely — they simply don't feel the need to pursue other partners while genuinely being comfortable with their partner doing so. She noted that such arrangements are "incredibly rare" because most monogamous people want mutual monogamy, while polyamorous people typically prefer to date other polyamorous people.

The manosphere version, by contrast, appears to be built on an asymmetry of power rather than an asymmetry of desire. James Bloodworth, author of Lost Boys: A Personal Journey Through the Manosphere, told The New York Times that manosphere figures rely on "crude, evolutionary psychology where they glom onto these pseudoscientific explanations for why what men want to do is natural."

As Cosmopolitan's analysis noted, men have been unfaithful to their partners since the dawn of time, often with their partners choosing to look the other way. What distinguishes this moment is that these influencers are not hiding the behavior — they are monetizing and evangelizing it to audiences of millions of young men.

The Data Behind the Shift

The cultural debate exists against a backdrop of measurable attitudinal change among young men. A 29-country survey of 23,000 people, conducted by Ipsos and the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's Business School, King's College London, and published in March 2026 to mark International Women's Day, found striking generational divides.

According to the King's College London findings:

• 31% of Gen Z men (born 1997–2012) agreed that "a wife should always obey her husband," compared with just 13% of Baby Boomer men (born 1946–1964) — making Gen Z men more than twice as likely to hold that view.
• 33% of Gen Z men said a husband should have the final word on important decisions, versus 17% of Baby Boomer men.
• 24% of Gen Z men agreed that a woman should not appear "too independent or self-sufficient," compared with 12% of Baby Boomer men.
• 21% of Gen Z men said a "real woman" should never initiate sex, compared with 7% of Baby Boomer men.
• 59% of Gen Z men said men are "expected to do too much to support equality," compared with 45% of Baby Boomer men.

The BBC reported that the study showed these views were significantly gendered: only 18% of Gen Z women agreed that a wife should always obey her husband, and just 6% of Baby Boomer women held that view.

Professor Heejung Chung, Director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's Business School, described the findings as "deeply concerning," noting that the data revealed "a striking gap between people's personal views, which are far more progressive, and what they imagine society demands of them." According to the KCL report, she said this gap is "particularly pronounced among Gen Z men, who not only appear to feel intense pressure to conform to rigid masculine ideals, but in some cases seem to also expect women to retreat to more traditional ways of being."

The Pipeline Problem

The documentary's broader argument — and the one generating the most discussion — is about how figures like Waller, Fudl, and UK streamer Harrison Sullivan (known as HS TikkyTokky) function not as isolated provocateurs but as entry points into a larger ideological ecosystem.

Ms. Magazine described Inside the Manosphere as exposing "a digital pipeline to misogyny" and called it "a necessary companion piece" to Adolescence, the 2025 fictional series about a young boy who killed a female classmate after being called an incel. The documentary, Ms. Magazine argued, "breaks down the infrastructure" behind that kind of radicalization.

The Guardian's review, published March 11, 2026, acknowledged that Theroux was "a bit late to the party" given the number of prior documentaries on online misogyny, but noted that the filmmaker "dialed down the ignorant-ingenue approach and went harder than usual." The review criticized the documentary, however, for providing "too little examination of how online misogyny affects those who didn't choose to be part of it."

The BBC spoke to a panel of young men in their early twenties who had watched the documentary. Several described being familiar with the influencers through their algorithms but said they had previously considered the content to be jokes. One 21-year-old panelist told the BBC that the behind-the-scenes footage revealed "a new aspect" to the creators. Another, age 23, said he knew people who had "lost friends" because those friends adopted manosphere mindsets, cutting off anyone they deemed insufficiently ambitious.

The Contradictions at the Core

Multiple analyses have noted a fundamental paradox in the one-sided monogamy model: the influencers who promote it position themselves as champions of "traditional" masculinity and conservative family values while simultaneously rejecting the core commitment those values demand.

Cosmopolitan's reporting observed that these figures "claim to be providers and proponents of traditional masculinity and family values, but refuse to — or are incapable of — actually taking on this role. They want what they deem to be the best of both worlds."

This tension extends to other areas. Ms. Magazine's review noted that while the male influencers in the documentary shame women who do sex work on OnlyFans, one of them — Sullivan — funds an OnlyFans creator house. His justification, as captured in the film, was that "it's just business" and that he would never allow his own daughter to participate.

Esquire's review described the fundamental disconnect between Theroux's documentary approach and the manosphere's media strategy, noting that the influencers and the filmmaker seemed to be "playing different sports, with different rules."

Real-World Consequences

UK domestic abuse charity Women's Aid described the documentary as "uncomfortable, yet absolutely essential viewing" in comments reported by the BBC, and called for technology companies to be held to a higher standard regarding content young people consume.

Domestic abuse charity Refuge told the BBC that the manosphere was "directly connected" to real-world violence against women, and that some parts of the online space "actively encouraged it." Refuge stated that "the misogynistic and anti-feminist views promoted in the manosphere influence how some men behave in real-world relationships."

The debate over one-sided monogamy may seem like a niche internet argument, but the data suggests otherwise. When 31% of Gen Z men across 29 countries believe a wife should obey her husband — a figure that has more than doubled compared to their grandfathers' generation — the attitudes being normalized by manosphere influencers are not staying online. They are shaping how a generation understands power, partnership, and what men are owed by the women in their lives.