purpleflowers

For a second I sympathized with Mariah on the deck at the mountain resort because it must be awkward to have your mother discuss personal things with you on film; but then I remembered Mariah agreed to have the cameras on her and yet has such a sour attitude! I am thrilled for her that she can finally be herself and find true peace but her attitude is reprehensible and she still has an air of entitlement IMO. She could be doing better things with her time? Then don't agree to be filmed! Yes Meri messed up big time and the situation will not get fully resolved until Meri comes clean about what really happened with the CF (it bugs the crap out of me too that she keeps lying about the nature of it) but that conversation was painful to watch not just because of Meri's cringeworthy communication but because Mariah was behaving as if she was the parent and Meri was the child or something. I agree with a previous poster who said Meri should not grovel and beg. It was obvious Meri wasn't saying the right things in this coming out situation, but her awkwardness was probably compounded by not being able to even talk to her daughter with even slight openness on Mariah's part. I don't think Meri had to apologize for her reaction to the coming out; Mariah didn't seem bothered by it and that was just Meri's honest and calm initial reaction. She was just digging a hole for herself but I think she was desperate for some response. I know Meri has to apologize and come clean but Mariah should also think that she has probably been unpleasant to be around all these years due to not being true to herself and everyone around her understands. Can she maybe have a little sympathy considering Meri has also had to force herself into a lifestyle that she's not meant for? Granted Meri now should take the initiative to change her own life and not blame the rest of the world. Argh. It's hard to take anyone's side in this.

Sorry, posted in wrong thread!

Definitely thought the therapy session between Kody and Meri was interesting. I noticed in a talking head Kody claimed that the idea of pursuing in vitro fertilization with Meri was "foreign" to him! But he is the one who suggested it to her before the Robyn offer in the first or second season when the two of them went to Mexico! He is such a liar. Also, although many of us already suspected the perks of polygamy/one happy family theme was a sham for a while, it is still deceitful of them the way they portrayed themselves as soul mates with a solid relationship for a good part of the series run, and we now find out they have been in marital discord for about 12 years!! It looks like things are good for Janelle and him maybe because she has few expectations of him. If he is actually expected to be a fully participating partner, he is not interested. It seems the bloom is off the rose for Robyn even. Maybe things are okay with Christine for the time being as the balance has shifted and she may be a safe place for him to go right now. I thought the coming out scene of Mariah was authentic but I'm sure they suspected. Not sure why Christine's mom was involved. If the problems between Kody and Meri were the elephant in the room earlier, now it's definitely the true nature of Meri's catfish encounter. No matter how many details she is now sharing about it, it seems so disingenuous when she refuses to acknowledge the romantic nature of her feelings for and interactions with the "Sam" persona. Just friends, my foot!

I agree with whoever said they are getting a phony vibe from Christine! It is so unconvincing and fake sounding when she acts like "BFF's" with Robyn! I do think Christine is naturally funny and upbeat but sometimes her enthusiasm looks so fake as if she is overcompensating for something. I can just picture her going off camera afterwards and majorly rolling eyes and changing the tone of her voice.

Hi all! Have gone back to lurking here for quite some time and finally decided to chime in again on this episode which was unintentionally hilarious! I agree 100% with everyone about Janelle's terrible wedding speech. I understand she is pragmatic but couldn't she be a little more positive on such an ocassion?? It was innapropriate not to mention very impersonal and uninspired. Also thought Kodys comments about Maddies dress were a bit creepy but I don't think he meant it in that way. He just has a lot of foot in mouth moments. I am sure Maddie suggested Kody officiate the wedding at the urging of producers. She was so focused and in charge with the wedding planning and knows how her family embarrasses; I don't think she would come up with that kind of thing on her own. I wish there was some more time spent on the siblings and bridesmaids and their thoughts on Everything. Had to fast forward through a lot of Kody rambling. Maddie looked pretty and I like her long hair. I like the theory that Maddie and Caleb were already married prior to this filming. I got that feeling too. Having just had my first baby myself, just based on my experience, I gotta say Maddie definitely looks more like five months along in that magazine article photo! And if she is feeling tons of kicking? And the baby's not due till May? Yeah, I don't buy it. Anyhow, I wish her a smooth pregnancy and delivery. Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone :-)

I think that is Mindy, that niece or cousin of Robyn who stays with her sometimes.

Wow, that therapy session was interesting. I really thought the catfishing coverage would be just a few minutes of fluff, but it went a bit deeper than I suspected. It appears Meri is still pretty traumatized from the whole incident and at the time this episode was filmed, was still pretty fearful of what the catfisher could do to her or the family. I agree that Meri is the victim and the catfisher is despicable for what they did; but I also agree with others who say Meri is not coming clean that yes, she DID have an affair, if only an emotional affair. I also found it odd that she said when she realized it was all fake, she didn't cut it off immediately but was asking to meet "Sam" in person if he really was real. Is that because she was in fear of the person and didn't want to upset them by cutting off all communication? Or was she still holding onto the hope that the guy might be real and she could pursue something with "him"? I don't think it's just a matter of Meri falling for Overton's act and manipulation as Janelle put it; Meri admitted last season that she knew from the very beginning the whole thing seemed fishy but she was desperately lonely and wanted the companionship and laughter that came from this relationship and convinced herself it was okay. That's very sad. Robyn can be annoying, but I did like the point she made about being lonely for female companionship even though her house is more full than Meri's. It's hard to say if Meri was really being left out by everyone or if she was isolating herself on purpose. I thought they were all okay with having their own homes side by side, but Meri seems very lost with it. I don't know if the problem is really polygamy for her or her relationship with Kody. I might be alone and this, but I am kind of getting the sense from a few of last season's episodes and this one that Janelle is trying to convince herself than she is okay with Maddie's plans in life. I remember Janelle saying when Maddie was starting out in college that she gets a little concerned because Maddie has the tendency to have her goals and plans sidetracked when a guy comes along. I hate to be negative--and I am happy for Maddie if she's happy--but it kind of seems like what Janelle predicted sort of happened. In any case, I wish her well.

Robyn had her baby on Sunday night http://www.people.com/article/sister-wives-star-robyn-brown-welcomes-baby-girl

It's amazing watching those earlier episodes! (Thanks to the one who posted the link!) It literally is like a different show, almost a different family. Janelle legitimately said "we have a fabulous relationship" in regards to the wives.

New season is filming. Robyn and Meri at Meri's house. Robyn: Mer, I'm so glad we are gettin' a chance to reconnect now that this catfish thing is behind you. I'm glad I begged you to tell me the truth about it, thank God I'm such a good sister wife!! Meri: yup...right. I just fill so grateful for the fam'ly. So what do you wanna do. Robyn: let's go to your craft room, I need the space for my latest project; I'm plastering pictures of my face all over the old Brown family albums. It's rill special cuz we shoulda all been together from day one!! Meri: that's not creepy at all. (Calls Aspyn later) Hey honey, Robyn's doing another "special" craft and I need you to give a Big wow reaction on camera for the reveal because Logan did it last time. You can have your own TLC cut too! Aspyn: oh jeez.

Considering the personality traits of Janelle and her tendency to apparently block out emotions I can kind of see why Janelle and Robyn seem to still thrive in polygamy and Christine and Meri are floundering. It would seem you either have to be detached from the situation or the one in power/in the most favour with the husband to be happy in it. Or you have to have a husband who gives absolute fair and equitable treatment to all wives(though to be honest even then it could be depressing). Though you can forget about that last one with Kody.

I'm pretty sure the tag lines for the wives were pretty close to this: Meri: I believe in living this life, it just makes each of us better. Christine: I wanted the whole family, I didn't just want the man. Janelle: I like sister wives, I wouldn't want anything else. Robyn: it's like destiny, like we shoulda' all been together from day one.

I also missed the Tell All and was very sad at first because the previews made it look so juicy! But after reading the entire thread here I am all caught up and realize I did not miss anything of substance. Love all the comments here, so many great observations and I had to laugh out loud at some!! It is obvious that Kody is failing in his relationships with Christine and Meri and how these folks think we will buy their whole facade after Meri herself admitted she was so desperately lonely that she decided to pursue an online affair with someone she knew was sketchy is beyond me. I'm very disappointed in the dishonesty. I guess anything to keep the gravy train going huh. I did catch a clip of Tamron asking them about jealousy being highlighted more this season and Kody had his usual clueless expression on. For goodness sake, Meri talked about leaving and Christine discussed not being able to see a silver lining. Forget jealousy Tamron, these people are miserable! The only thing they have going for them is great kids. Kody obviously turns a blind eye to most of it and likes it that way. I'm honestly relieved to hear Mariah is not so gung-ho about plural marriage. By the way, did she come right out and say she isn't going to choose polygamy?

To me the saddest thing Meri said was that she knew there was something fishy going on within the first week of talking to "Sam" but she did it anyway. She must have been so incredibly lonely and this is the most real I have ever seen this show. Whatever unfaithfulness Meri may have shown, I can only feel so, so bad for her. She just seemed so sad. I don't know if she would have been less lonely if they were all still living under the same roof. It's hard to say. I also noticed, as others did, that Kody said absolutely nothing at that dinner. Quite pathetic. It seems obvious to me that his relationship with Meri is not the same anymore, and I find it very odd that in the TH he already jumps to "it sounds like she doesn't want to be married to me anymore". I don't think the other wives or Kody knew about the catfishing at the time of the Alaska dinner discussion because Janelle was just talking about making sure Meri would be home for Thanksgiving; that made it seem like she really didn't know; otherwise she probably wouldn't make a statement like that. I did think what Christine was saying about Meri was very sensible. Otherwise I found Christine entertaining but a little more zany than usual. It kind of stuck out. She also seemed kind of drowsy.

I don't think it was ever confirmed that Maddie dropped out of college.

It IS all very fishy and like others have said, at this point it's hard to know what parts of the whole story they are painting are actually true because most of it doesn't make sense. For instance, the way Christine made that super awkward statement to Meri about how her "getting a divorce was so worth it!" So, is she implying that they didn't even know beforehand whether or not the divorce and marriage to Robyn was going to be necessary? Does she not realize how ridiculous that sounds? Here on PTV that is what people have been pointing out for many months. Maybe in their warped thought process, the Browns thought that Kody marrying Robyn would make Jessop feel differently? Another thing I noticed was how Kody and/or Robyn were instructing their kids to thank Meri for Jessop "giving consent" or however they phrased it. So, Jessop gave his consent or signed off or whatever because Meri divorced Kody? These people are really in a world of their own. I don't know, it's just bizarre.

It looks like in the preview for next week's episode, Maddie says something like, "the church wants me to consider joining when my family's not so public." On Twitter she said that she isn't joining the LDS faith now and will not in the future either. It looks like she won't want to be in it even when the Brown Clowns get cancelled someday.

That's too bad about Maddie and the LDS church. She seemed like she had found her home. She also said in those tweets about being rejected from the church that "after two years" she and Caleb began dating. That's a little weird...so they liked each other since she was 17? I'm not sure what she meant.

The People article is weird. It says that the divorce was so that Robyn's oldest three could get insurance and benefits from Kody. It also states the wrong ages for those kids. Wow, I feel bad for Meri. How humiliating.

That is interesting to think about, but I don't think it happened this way. Robyn said in one of the Tell-All's how she has signed divorce papers of her own. And then she recently mentioned her lawyer who handled her divorce from Jessop. I may have found the Browns annoying or irresponsible in the past, but after tonight I am truly disgusted by Robyn and Kody! I can't believe the ego on Kodoofus to act all dejected when Brianna and Dayton didn't jump for joy at the news. That was so wrong to film such a private moment too. I am seriously puzzled by this adoption thing. Wow, Meri looked so detached from everything! She came across much differently in this episode than in others. Notice the way Kody was practically forcing her to give him a hug! I wonder if this was filmed when the Jackie Overton/"Sam Cooper" interactions began. On the other hand, she was looking refreshed and a bit more trim.

I always thought Meri was never suited for this lifestyle (not that I think it is really a great idea for the majority of people out there. However, if you remember the Dargers, the family with the twins and cousin wife, although we didn't have years of viewing them to see what they are truly like at best and worst, I did get the sense that they can accept their circumstances better and are more open around each other). Meri could not share a kitchen with sister wives, let alone a home. I think she only entered the lifestyle because of the religious aspect and maybe to hold on to Kody. The line she spouts at the opening credits about polygamy making each of them better is I think what she has to keep saying to convince herself there is a good reason for the misery. It feels so strange thinking back on the very first season because Meri literally said Christine and Janelle were her best friends. I don't know where that came from. About their houses, isn't Meri's the one house that Kody's name is on too? I don't know much about property and mortgage, etc., but would that make it more complicated for Meri to try to leave or sell her home?

WOAH...I just heard many of the voicemails Meri left for "Sam Cooper". What I'm wondering is whether they just kept leaving each other voicemails or actually had a phone conversation--and if so, who was talking as "Sam Cooper"? I don't care what her ulterior motives may have been for bringing Robyn into the family, Meri did not deserve this kind of deception and humiliation. It is downright creepy! But I agree that she put herself in this situation willingly and was not faithful in her marriage.

I looked for it in the Facebook search and couldn't even find the page anymore.

I know Christine has been a homemaker all her adult life, and with six kids and her nurturing nature I think that in itself is an admirable job to have had...but I want her to realize she can stand on her own two feet without Kodouche or TLC and I truly think that any job, even if it doesn't pay the bills right from the start, will give her the boost of confidence and exposure she needs to break free. She is charismatic, seems reasonably intelligent (sure she can be a bit flaky but I think she has all her faculties), and I know she could make it. Christine, I hope you are seeing this!

The situation with Jessop seems so peculiar. According to Sobbin', he's a bad enough dad that his parental rights should be terminated...yet she is super stressed out over making him seem like a negligent parent and she wants it to be as painless as possible for him. There is just a big missing link in this whole story. The only commentary I remember any of the Browns making about David Jessop besides that one time Robyn was sending the kids off for visitation with him was when Christine said last season on Twitter something to the effect of him not having positive experiences with the kids. It's all been very vague.