does anyone else have the problem of things feeling forced in some ways?

i (23F) been with my partner (27M) for four years and things are awesome. he was very understanding when i told him i had feelings for another person and wanted to try poly. i am in a relationship with both partners, but they are not together (they are very close and are great friends).

i have been with my other partner (21F) for about 8 months and we’ve been working on being affectionate in front of other people and having open communication. things feel forced unless we are completely alone, and it often feels like her and i are a secret to others. when we are alone it feels like we’re on top of the world. we have talked about this before but it doesn’t feel like things have changed :(

any advice on how to make our relationship feel more real and like we can be ourselves? i love both of my partners very much and want it to work out.