Alapaki

There have been several scenes over the course of this franchise that, if the genders and nationalities were switched, would cause a firestorm.

Some others follow her closer than I, and would have a better idea. But as far as I’m concerned the STRONG (and intentional) implication of her constantly blaming her weight on her phantom PCOS diagnosis (which we’ve never heard confirmed by an actual endocrinologist) is that she is the weight she is DESPITE a healthy diet.

And she’s so self-involved the only value she places on a child is as an accessory. And this point the costs probably outweigh the benefits on that front

This got memory-holed after the 1st or 2nd season. Back then Whit’s shtick was basically “HAPPY at any size”. Then she decided to hide behind “HEALTHY at any size” (which expressly DOES NOT include people in her weight category) so she had to nix any talk about not actually being healthy. Given the fact that the franchise has been waddling on fumes, I’d be surprised if she doesn’t decide to parlay her weight loss into a storyline (if not a whole other show)

The funny thing is, if she thought she could make a penny by endorsing the medicine she’s obviously taking she’d be shouting its praises from the rooftop.

I remember on one of the Tell Nothings she had a mask over her mouth pretending to have not had dental work done

I actually had to research this for a lawsuit I recently handled. It’s not entirely as straightforward as saying that it’s legal in the U.S. if it was legal in the country that it was performed in. For example, in many countries polygamy is legal. It is not clear (and indeed may be doubtful) whether a 2nd, 3rd, etc wife’s marriage would be recognized in a State in the U.S. I believe different States have different rules on the degrees of consanguinity that are permitted. A (legal) foreign marriage that violated those rules might not be recognized. None of these factors would seem to apply to Angela’s marriage. But I just wanted to point out that it’s not always that clear cut

Technically parish Priests take vows of chastity and obedience. Vows of poverty are usually taken by Priests in religious Orders. No Priests that I’m aware of take vows against alcohol or dancing. Maybe if there’s an Our Lady of Footloose out there somewhere . . .

There is a significant cultural overlap in America between right-wing Catholics and right-wing Protestants who adhere to those sorts of restrictions. I wasn’t aware of that being the case in Israel however.

without turning this into a theology thread, the Church recognized non-Catholic marriages as valid. The question with annulment is whether (grossly oversimplifying here) whether the parties freely intended to to enter into what the Catholic Church believes about marriage. Annulment presupposes a divorce, so the prior marriage has already been ended, or undone. The question is what, is any, sacramental effect it had at the time it was entered into.

That’s tracks with ultra-“orthodox” Catholicism.

I think it’s a matter of the Catholic Church declaring that the prior dissolved marriage does not constitute an impediment to the planned marriage.

My understanding is that the Church recognizes the validity of marriages between non-Catholics and so considers married-and-divorced non-Catholics to be not free to marry unless the prior marriage is annulled.

I think there were a few months of fill-ins between Bob Kelly leaving and Meisha starting. I don’t know whether that was some contractual delay on her end or is CBS fired Kelly without having a replacement lined up.

In that article Meisha really paints herself as a loon. it sounds like she cut off an older non-English-speaking lady in traffic who low-key road-raged on her. Interpreting that at a demonic spirit speaking an ancient language trying to divert her from her conversion is just nuts. And having the wherewithal to photograph this divinely-induced celestial phenomenon, and then not saving the picture (or having a Cloud backup) sounds a lot more like bullshit than God’s plan.

I think there is a thread in the Couples section. But there are no comments

If she claims to have seen 2 huge orbs in her window, I’d be asking if she was vacuuming topless.

I was responding more to the idea that the per-show fee isn't much rather than your particular comment. I do think at this point most of the people on this franchise are on it solely to be on the franchise. They can get several seasons of "before the 90 days" out of it before they break up, and then I'm sure many of them now anticipate at least a season or two of "single life". Plus the free travel, occasionally "for promotional consideration" discounts on plastic surgery, etc. It's made it really difficult, if not impossible, to take any of the relationships seriously.

But compared to what? None of these folks are turning down good-paying jobs to be on this show. What I can believe is that "sexy singles" weren't taking her to 4-star restaurants to hear sermons on chastity and abstinence.

Correct. The Church is looking for some impediment to marriage at the time it occurred. In law that would be called a contract that was void ab initio (invalid from the start). Annulments have expanded because the Church has taken a broader view of "consent" at the time marriage. A party has to enter into the marriage freely, and that means consenting to not only the marriage (i.e. no "shotgun wedding") but consenting to what the Church holds marriage to entail. This isn't the forum to debate the merits of that; I just put it out there so people understand the theory. FWIW, no annulment is guaranteed. The Diocese will try to contact and interview Meisha's ex, and if he fights it by, for example, saying that she understood marriage to be a lifelong commitment, etc., she may have a tough time. Also, fwiw, I have to say that when she was doing traffic in Philadelphia I followed her on social media. She posted a lot of socializing pictures, but I had absolutely no idea that she was previously married or had two children before this season started airing. I bet there's a story there.

I don't have a problem with it either. Being a 31-year-old widow has got to be tough. BUT, I think being fatherless-children at 6 and 3 has got to be a lot tougher. And I think her priority right now should be to help them adjust rather than running off half-way around the world.

So Amanda spent this episode making very good arguments for why she has no fucking business being in Romania!!!!! If she thinks that having Razvan visit on a tourist visa is more disruptive for her kids than her traveling half-way around the world, and then popping Razvan on them a year later when they have only 90 days to get to know him before he becomes their step-father, she's even worse than I thought. She's repugnant. And, is it just me, or do all of those filming lights Razvan has set up in his bedroom give really creepy vibes?

You know that saying that "no matter good looking a woman is, there's a guy out there who thinks she's a pain in the ass"? That was written about Valentin.

Let me tell you, I've been to a few of these group rosaries. They are (primarily) older (usually) women, and there is NOWHERE NEAR the over-the-top performative nonsense that Meisha was spouting. That sort of production actually defeats the purpose. The goal is to attain a contemplative state through repetitive prayer, not to put on a community theater production of Godspell. The one positive thing I can say about Meisha and Nicola is that, unlike certain couples we've seen in this franchise, they are both serious about their faith and found like-minded potential partners whom they aren't going to try to change. Although her daughters seem to have Nicola's number down.

She wasn’t even the weather lady. Iirc she did traffic updates. At least she made snow days interesting. Let’s just say certain parts of her entered the frame loong before others.