Who and what monogamy/AP, Reuters, Getty Images, Shutterstock
James Armstrong, 36, married his wife Kris in 2016, but their relationship came with an unusual arrangement.
Her ex-husband, Brandon, was in a serious accident and was left brain-damaged and nursing, and Kris, 38, remains the legal guardian of her high school sweetheart and her ex-husband, also 38, who suffered severe brain damage in a car accident two years after their 2006 wedding.
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as a result, Brandon is left with dramatically reduced mental and physical capacity, unable to care for himself.
After years of caring for Brandon as his wife, Kris decided she needed to move on with her life - but she didn't want to give him up.
So she divorced him, then filed paperwork to become his legal guardian.
When James met Kris, he knew Brandon would be a part of their lives, but was more than happy to welcome him into his life - and take on all the responsibility with his wife to take care of her ex-husband.
"It's not just loving her, it's loving Brandon too," James told CBS. "He needs us. He needs people who love him."
"It's not just loving her, it's loving Brandon too"/screenshot, Instagram
Kris and Brandon married in 2006, but he suffered a severe brain injury two years later and was left unable to care for himself when a truck flattened his car.
The blended family also includes James and Kris' children, who also love Brandon and refer to him as their "uncle".
Brandon lives in an assisted living facility at the moment, but James and Kris visit him there regularly to help take care of him
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Kris and James are with Brandon at every important moment.
"Also physically, the fact that he helps Brandon, helps me. The fact that we change for Brandon together, for example. I can do it alone but it's very, very difficult," Kris said.
"James helps me, it's a gift of love for me too," she added.
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"You are a very special person"/screenshot, Instagram
James said he's come to love Brandon as his own family since he first met him and claims he's just doing what he thinks is right.
"I do what my heart tells me to do," he said.
And added that he would still take care of him even if Kris was no longer around to do it herself.
And more than that - despite the life they've created together, James says he'd give it all up in an instant if there was a chance for Brandon to heal.
"He told me that if they found a miracle treatment for people with brain damage and Brandon recovered, he would want me to be with him again," Kris said, "because I was with him before. I don't think that will happen. What's more, I think you're a very special person. You really are." she told James in an interview with CBS Mornings.
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