No don't worry!! Not a dumb question at all!
What is different is that whenever you're adding more people to your relationship, you need to work through some things!
Monogamy teaches us that your romantic partner is the most important person in your life, that will fulfill you and your dreams. We are used to being your partner's priority all the time.
But if you're dating two people, even if you consider them both your priority/the most important people, you will need to share that time and attention. Compromising in your own relationship with your on partner(s) is, of course, important in any relationship, but its harder when you add more.
I think its easier if i use a personal example! I hope you dont mind 😅
My partner used to date a close friend of mine, and while we weren't a throuple we were frequently together. However both me and his girlfriend have depression and we had a crisis at the same time. Both of us were used to relying on him and neither of us could leave the house. He had to choose who to help. That was hard for all three of us. He weighed our situations and chose her (which was the best call at the time btw). That felt like shit to me. I felt left behind, betrayed, and I had to take a lot of time to deal with the idea that I wasn't his priority when I wanted him to be.
And. Listen. I had been non-monogamous for almost 8 years by the time that happened. I had no idea how much i still relied on that idea, because that situation had never happened before.
And it felt shit for my partner, because he felt like he was betraying me. And whenever he feels like shit he wants time alone - which is the opposite of what I need. AND it also sucked for his girlfriend, because it felt like she had hurt me.
And we had that situation a few times after that. It got easier because we put in the effort to make it easier. But this means getting a bigger support network and knowing the difference between what you need and what you want.
I want to say, I think a lot of monogamous relationships can face a similar issue! Your romantic partner doesn't have to be the most important person in your life, and sometimes you can't be there for someone you love. But when you're dating more than one person this becomes the default.
A lot of monogamous couples get jealous of things like playing too much videogame or having friends, lmao, so keep that in mind.
Aaaand also welcome to your journey! I said its a lot of work but it's also so much fun and worth it. And honestly its the kind of work that makes life easier and lighter. Don't be too afraid about making mistakes either, hurting people is part of life, the important thing is apologizing and trying to get better!
Oh god this is a long reply I'm sorry lmao. Feel free to dm if you want to talk tho ^^