THIS might just be the strangest story you’ll read today.

Nathan Riely and his fiancée “Xena” (real name Alex) look just like any other couple. They met a few months ago online and live a happy life together on Staten Island in New York. Nathan works as a truck driver, and likes taking his dog Scout for walks. Xena likes to be taken on those walks too. With a collar, on a leash.

Images of the duo’s unusual arrangement went viral last week when onlookers spotted them at Staten Island Mall. “It’s actually completely consensual and agreed to before we even started talking about a relationship,” Nathan said via his Facebook page at the time.

“The leash and collar are symbols of our bond to one another,” he later told the New York Daily News. “The collar is like a ring for most couples. They use rings, we have a collar.”

“This is the lifestyle I chose to do,” added Xena. “The first time I put on a collar I thought ‘Now I need to find someone for the other end. As long as I’m with my ‘fiancee master’ I could not be any happier.”

There is a name for this BDSM-style arrangement, and it’s called Puppy Play. However, Nathan insists that their sex life is “normal” and leash-free, and that “there really is no sexual appeal to it. It’s the way that I am.

“No matter what, everyone is right and no one is wrong. Everyone can have their own thoughts and opinions on the matter. If they stop and ask us we will explain,” he said.