Roslyn

Wow Robyn. Sounds like something a single mom would write.

Ahhh. I'll bet her mother escapes the Wyoming winters by hanging out at Janelles.

And...fit a wide range of sizes! My Grandmother was the family genealogist and had a collection of old photos. I remember her showing me a photo where little girls to about preteen were lined up at a family gathering (roughly 20's/30's) at an old farmhouse. They were all dressed pretty much alike in what looked like the same style dress. She told me that "sack dresses" were made, not only making them from the flour sacks of the day, but because they were sack shaped. Cinched at the waist they would fit many sizes of girls and could be passed back and forth or passed down or to cousins etc. If they were too short, pieces of cloth was sewn to the bottoms to make them longer. Fabric was never, ever thrown away and worn out clothes always became something else. I learned to hand sew pretty young with putting patches on worn areas of clothes etc, and my grandmother always had a box stashed away of old fabric to dig through to find a good patch.

...not just featuring Meri...but her name is in the title of the show and it has a slight negative feel with "is she MOVING?" and of course "Confronting..." The labor show only slightly edged out the third episode with Meri's name in it too. Sadly...her bullshit drama is exactly what people are tuning in for.

I remember that conversation at their anniversary dinner and Kody's repulsion. I also think that his feelings now are an extra step past feeling betrayed and repulsed simply by her willingness to step out of his spiritual marriage with her. She didn't just betray him with her online fling, she betrayed The Family. That is a really really big deal in KodyLand. She gave out personal financial information to her Batman, mortgage papers, TLC contracts, banking information. Her "man" was "getting his lawyers" to go over her contracts to get her out of them, as well as trying to untie her from the family etc. Kody does not have a poker face. He could take lessons from Janelle...And he does look at her with a repulsion. I certainly hope that off camera they have gotten real with each other, but I really do doubt it. If he did look into what she was really up to online with all the information that was released I have a feeling that part of how he looks at her is her voicemails "comparing" her Batman to Kody and that bloody banana photo, but some part is the fact that she breached Family loyalty by handing over personal information.

No. The legal divorce happened in September of 2014 and the catfish stuff got going in Feb/March 2015 through August 2015. However the divorce didn't go public until Feb 2015, they managed to keep it a secret until then...even from the filming company/TLC. If it was truly a storyline meant for the show...why keep it a secret?

The "racy" photos are already out there. The little video states that the website people "have seen cropped versions" of the photos. A bathtub photo and a bathrobe photo with cleavage. Those were released with everything else back then. Just a sad woman trying desperately to stay relevant.

I agree with Celia. Looking at it from their faith's perspective means that they now have the marriage that Kody has always had with Christine and Janelle. A spiritual union with their promises to each other. That is all a marriage is...a commitment between parties. Oral, written doesn't matter past what the couple (or group in this matter) commit to. Having issues or not, the whole avoiding the wife in the rotation is a passive aggressive shit way out. They committed to each other and intimacy or not doesn't matter. Every fourth night you put your butt in her living room, you put your butt at her dining room table. Even if sleeping is in one of the many rooms or on that fugly couch...so be it. By the sounds of it when Janelle said that at least Kody and Meri are speaking with a better tone to each other, and not snarking at each other...they may only see each other at family gatherings. Sorry....that's what you do with an Ex-wife...NOT a spiritual wife. Yes...Meri was telling Kody to stay away during the catfish times. She stated on the show it was because JO messed with her head and turned her against Kody....yadda yadda. However some of that was coming from Meri as well. Why have Kody around when she was always waiting for phone time with her online hottie. However...that is all part of the healing as well. Getting the truth of the matter out in the open between them, being open and honest...brutally honest. Then moving forward. I really really really wonder if Kody didn't ever go online and see the photos/texts/voice mails and that is what just ended it for him. He can't hang on the whole "but...but...you told me to stay away" any longer. That was then...this is now. BUT!! I get the feeling sometimes when they show him looking at Meri...really looking at her...the look on his face is telling. I know it's hard for me to look at her and not see that damn banana photo, or the "come hither, lover" photo...I can't imagine being her husband and seeing it over and over in your mind. The whole "Kody doesn't want to end it and be the bad guy" I think might have something to do with their faith as well. He has said in the past that if a wife wanted out..that was that. I think he puts it squarely on their shoulders, they want in..they are in. However they aren't treated well unless they submit to the family. Just like with Christine...she had to beg for "more grocery money" and for Kody to come around more often in exchange for wrestling mats in her garage, then the whole get away to Texas and "love the family and I'll love you". Christine followed orders, she sucked up to Robyn...and now she is getting the attention and time etc. Meri is in...but only sort of. If she wants more from Kody she will have to do the same. I think with him (after that money tweet he put out there) that the fact that her LuLaRo money isn't shared with the others hits hard. It's a one for all world in Kody Brown land.

This is why I always laugh at Kody's twisted catch phrase "Love should be multiplied, not divided", it's just hilarious to me...sorry Kody but that doesn't mean what you think it means!! It reminds me of the Brady show, Five Wives when he decided that he wanted a whole night to himself. Instead of rotating the wives so they only get him one every five nights, he wanted one night for himself with no wives and no children. The wives weren't having it. If you are going to use the "you signed up for this" on the women when they complain about the arrangements, then that goes for Mister Mister as well. He signed up for five women and gaggles of children...suck it up buttercup!!!

Yes. In the past years since I have also started gaming off and on I have learned a few things too. It's about balance, and he has found a much better balance with gaming and home life. I also have learned to communicate MUCH better on his level. Gaming with his friends and learning how to work as a squad in game and communicate with a bunch of guys, who communicate like guys, has taught me a lot about communicating with men in general. They really do think differently and process things differently. It's been good for both of us.

Oh yes. I agree that sharing him with another woman is a whole different kettle of fish. Like I said, I have a lot in common with the sister wives, but just not sharing him with other women and children and that kind of family dynamic. However. I have shared my husband, and I still share him. I share him with his game clan. Christine was trying to explain Meri's possible issues with the whole family gathering thing when she talked about when she and Kody were going through their rough patch she had a hard time with the whole family together. Seeing Kody happy and content with the other wives and children, and so unhappy with just her was very hurtful and disheartening. I know exactly how she feels. I've described the basics of my husband's schedule and I have very limited time with him. When the kids were small we were focused on them and our relationship really became our whole family dynamic more than anything else. Those rare times that Grandma took the kids for a weekend or a trip and we actually had alone time were quite precious (as any parent could understand). One thing that my husband had in common with the kids (that I didn't) was their mutual love of video games. He has played games since Commodore 64 days and we had a home pc when my son was 3 and so my kids were raised right in the beginning of the internet, computer games, playstation 1 etc. His best friend was a computer guy and he built our first computer and we went online pretty much as soon as it was available in our area. The three of them played games and it was their thing, although I did become a little obsessed with Spyro the dragon....and they did talk me into playing the 4 way of Crash team racing. Other than that, video games was something the three of them did. Fast forward and my husband learned how to refurbish computers and fix them and such and he ended up putting together a PC for each of them and networking our house so that the three could play their computer games against each other. Then...years later we moved into a house with real internet (dial up until then). They quickly entered the world of online gaming as a trio and he built better, faster computers to do just that. At this time was when we went through that "deep hole" in our relationship. He turned to the computer games as an escape and I learned what the term "gamer widow" really meant. I already had very little time with my husband, and when he was at home his time was either fixing something with the computers, talking about games, gaming, more gaming, more computer building, youtube videos that teach you more about computers and on and on. I was working full time and dealing with everything, the resentment built up. He quickly found friends online and joined a clan. The kids as well, and they all played together. He learned more and more from his clanmates about computers...lots of money goes into these high end rigs...lots. He came home. He ate, he slept (very little) and he gamed. He also treated me like shit. BUT!!!! He put on those headphones, turned his chair around...went into game and was happy. He laughed, he joked, he had fun into the wee hours of the night. He lined up his phone with his friends and they had group chatty texts when they weren't gaming. He wasn't cheating on me. He wasn't in a bar, hitting on women or screwing around, but he was gone. Completely gone, but his body was in that chair. After those headphones came off....no more laughing, no jokes, nothing nice at all. He treated me like shit again. Everything came to a crashing halt for game time. Game only online for the best ping. One ping spike and there was hell to pay. If I walked to heavy it was too loud in the microphone for the guys, if I watched tv it was too loud in the microphone, if I laughed it was too loud. I set up a tv in my bedroom and spent my time alone. TV and knitting or sewing or such. His clan mates are now good friends. In his travels for work he has met with all but two of his friends, they are good guys, but it took me a long time to come to grips with it all. My daughter describes them as her "uncles" because they have been a close part of her growing up and both my kids are kick ass gamers. Things have ironed out between us. We are still a work in progress and I won't ever be the same person I was back then. I'm a cold cynic through and through. I have learned to live with the games and computers and I just happen to be sitting at a very high end gaming rig as well. 5 years ago I threw in the towel and joined them. I'll never be much of a gamer. I have lots of handicaps as I can't play the games with any sound, but I did join his friends, I've gotten to know them, and I've seen the world from a different perspective with the headphones on. I have made my own game friends, from all over the world. There is an amazing diversity of people out there and it's helped open my eyes that lots more people game than just angry teen boys. AND....I really really think that every marriage therapy session should start with one on one, cat and mouse, first person shooter games. It's quite therapeutic to jump around a corner and blast him down and just stand there and wait to do it all over again. Yes...I have a dark sense of humor...

My schedule has taken years to iron out. But we both understood our roles as well. It has had lots of potholes along the way. When Meri and Kody were discussing how they were able to brush their marriage issues aside because of the polygamy and large family it really hit home with me. There was a very large chunk of time when my kids were teens when my husband and I hit a hard hole and he was very checked out. I think it went on for so long simply because Monday morning comes along and he is out the door at 5:30am and gone. My focus goes to the kids schedules and what needs to be done. By the time the next weekend rolls around you really don't bother bringing up shit from the past and it just builds up and builds up. My son is just about to turn 26 and works full time. He had a really bad roommate situation and moved back in the house, my daughter is away at Uni, so my husband and I are now on the cusp of learning how to be just us. It's just another shift in the life road. But I can say that a lot of couples wouldn't be able to live the marriage that we have. It's been 27 years for us this year. :) ...As for your thought on Meri....I suspect she simply agreed to polygamy for no other reason than she wanted the man. She agreed to keep him because he was very open about his future within that lifestyle. lolol I always tell people be careful what you wish for when they tell me how lucky I am to have hubbie gone. He takes his vacation days lined up with paid holidays to stretch them. One year Christmas and New Years lined up perfectly that he was home for a full 2 weeks. Both of us were a little leery about him being home for so long. I asked him ""So...how many days until you are burying me in the back yard?"" and he replied...""I don't know...how many days before you poison me?"" (we both have a dark humor...)

I suspect that my fascination with polygamy in general comes from the fact that in my own life/marriage...I have a lot in common with the sister wives. I do not have a full time husband, I have a weekend husband. When my daughter was around a year old my husband graduated from his HVAC tech school and walked right into a job that he had to travel to work. My daughter just turned 22, so for more than 20 years he has traveled Monday through Friday, some weekends as well. I was a Home Mom for quite awhile before returning to work (professional Baker/cake decorator) when she was in elementary school, eventually returning to full time work. I have a husband on most weekends and a few weeks a year. I run things on my own Monday morning through Friday afternoon. His Sunday is mostly paperwork, packing and making arrangements for the following weeks work schedule, so he really is checked out most of that day. I handled the household 100%, the kids, the pets, the bills, the yard work for years, and years. A few years ago I had to stop working and I have limited energy for heavy work, so he is now helping me more on the weekends than he used to. Lots of the guys he works with have issues in their marriage because their wives can't handle them not being there every night. Their wives can't seem to wrap their heads around the fact that the paycheck isn't 100% theirs, that a chunk of it is expense money that has to go to paying the travel expenses. Some guys have had their wives put them severely in debt by spending thousands of dollars in a day that was expense money. My husband and I have worked out a system that works for us. He is now with a global company and not only drives all over, but flies all over the country as well as international. I keep organized so that anything I need him for is done on a tight schedule, cars are maintained etc and I take care of all money so he just has to worry about work stuff. It works for us. There have been PLENTY of times that I have had to deal with large problems like the water pump breaking on Monday morning and no running water for that week. Cars having issues, furnace issues (tho one of his workmates came over and fixed it for me), injuries and illnesses. Bears ripping off the chicken coop roof, groundhogs needing dispatched (I'm pretty good with a rifle these days.) I have a personality that I'm okay with my own company. I'm used to this life and the rhythm of it. I have an inkling that Janelle is very much like this and she is okay with the whole polygamy thing because she thought about it...and chose it, knowing full well what it would entail. She's fine not having him around all the time. Just watching Kody on the show I think that he would be over the top and too intense of a guy to have around all the time. He demands his way, always "having fun" and his opinion rules...if not he sulks like an insolent child. I also think that Janelle enjoyed work, and a large issue she might have is she misses working. She lucked out with Christine because she is very clear that she wants the kids and the chaos of kids and lots of them. Janelle prefers not doing housework and not doing kids stuff so her and Christine got along just fine with their arrangement. I know what it is like to need to talk about the kids, to need to talk, to need a second parent, to just want the company of my husband and he isn't there. The evening phone call is filled with him bitching about work and I have to suck up whatever is going on at home because his plate is full. If his hours dip (which happens in construction based jobs) and the money coming in is less...I have to make ends meet, and be prepared for any issues that might suddenly pop up. The big big difference is that he is working, not bouncing from bed to bed with other wives and other children. Honestly I don't know how the average man does that successfully. My husband can barely keep his work stuff straight and I don't hit him with anything too big too fast at home. I really can't imagine how a man can keep the personalities of three or more wives straight, the various relationship dynamics...the money....the kids. Which is why it so often happens that kids are raised with little father interaction and wives fight like caged hens with limited scratch. Or worse....this "lifestyle" just breeds abusers and rewards power hungry, greedy horndogs.

So I finally watched the "Game Night" episode. WHY do television shows waste their episodes with these things!!?? Pointless to say the least. If we have watched the show...we have seen all of that. The regular show has so many flashbacks and recaps that every episode is a recap show!! So...I was busy doing other things and just had the episode playing in the background, so I was mainly listening to it. I did note one interesting thing. Most of the game questions centered around old seasons and what people specifically said on the show. The core family members really sucked at remembering what they actually said and did. NONE of the questions had answers that weren't on film. Once again...storyline. And Meri's inability to "remember the storylines" from so long ago. However...the interesting thing that stood out was the fact that Robyn was the only one who "suddenly remembered" many of these little things that had been on the show. She remembered what was said and done (on film on the show) that the other family members just couldn't remember even a little. It goes to cement an old theory of mine that Robyn really studied the family dynamic early on...she learned how to read the wives and learned Kody's dynamic with each of them as a group as well as one on one. I think she has watched the show (and actually paid attention to it) and cruised around online from the beginning WAY more than any of the others. She entered an existing family with a cemented family dynamic. She watched, she learned and she especially learned how to handle Kody. How to approach him, how to communicate with him and in my opinion how to manipulate most situations. It's probably why up until recently she has always inserted herself as a Brown Family Expert. After all that field study...she is.

I agree with you and can see it going down like this. They both got that look on their faces at the very exact moment...which is hard timing... However...my addition to your speculation isn't about the whole "keep the kids in the family"...but "Hey...Meri...help out the family by giving us a storyline here." Meri says..no...no...but then decided to martyr herself and her framed legal paperwork to the family television empire. Then getting that reaction on camera from Kody and Robyn. If you look at the next season's shows Sept 13, 2015 through Nov 21, 2015 and take away anything dealing with the divorce or adoption you aren't left with much until the Catfish is finally revealed. The storylines were two whole episodes of just Janelle and just Christine, mostly just rehash rehash...Christine and Kody's romantic getaway to Galveston Texas where he told her "You love the family and I will love you"...truly unforgettable. Kody traveling with the younger girls, by himself, to the beach. The building of the cardboard boat, the trip to Alaska with the reveal of Kody and Robyn pregnant again. Pretty humdrum. Add the whole drama over and over about the adoption/divorce and that weaves its way through the episodes. BUT...at this very time in the real world was Meri's online fling and the season ended with a bang of the catfish storyline that is continuing pretty much forever. So, Kody's first thought was to affirm that his and Meri's relationship would in no way change, yet we see for ourselves that it did just that. Meri, who was SO "weirded out" by the simple fact that Kody would even say such a thing turned around and changed it for good. I have always wanted to know if Kody ever sat down and had a good look at what Meri was sending. I have an inkling that Robyn has, she has always been more online, but I would love to know if Kody has seen those photos or heard the voicemails for himself.

You know...it's weird watching that scene over again. Right after all the "are you sure" and "shock" on their faces, Kody immediately gets his wits about him and blurts out..."Meri...I need to know that this changes nothing between us". He was very clear and upfront. "We are married, we will still be married, and this doesn't change our relationship!?" yet...Meri....immediately gets that now famous "guarded" look on her face, puts up "her wall" and starts to stammer. "Why do you ask that? That's weird. I don't know why you would say that. " She obviously couldn't process something so very simple as an affirmation, after landing a divorce in his lap (supposedly out of the blue) and then stammers when he was assurances that their relationship is the same with or without the framed legal paper on the wall. Meri can't communicate, or be communicated with to save her life. All the crap from this season has really always been there, it's just WAY more centered on Meri, Meri, Meri...

lolol First....was the concerned looks. The furrowed brows. The fast blinking with no tears. The soft piano music...

No one will ever know the real circumstances with the divorce. However, on their storyline on the show...on camera...it played out as Meri's great and selfless offering. The real life divorce happened in Autumn of 2014 to full and complete media silence. It wasn't until after the turn of the year 2015 when the news of the divorce leaked out. When the show was on the air in Jan/Feb 2015 the storylines were ho hum graduating from HS kids, Christines Mum moving to vegas, traveling and traveling to see another polygamist family, and then the "anthropology students" studying the Browns. By the time those episodes were concluding there was chatter in social media and online about the divorce, but NOTHING on the show that was airing. Then there was a twitter post (Instagram maybe?) from the production company about late night editing round the clock and wham...the last two episodes were about Meri going to a lawyer with her plan to offer her worthless, meaningless legal piece of paper framed and hanging on her bedroom wall so that she and Kody would sever their legal status and then Robyn could jump in that role for the sake of Robyn's children's spiritual salvation and legal protection in the arms of the Browns. (insert your own evangelical dialect...) The show has always played up the divorce as Meri's idea and her idea only. Lots of speculation and chatter of viewers over the years think that all the divorce stuff on camera was reenacted after the fact. NOTHING was ever alluded to on the show during that season until suddenly Meri had that "I've got a secret!! Little smug smile she gets" standing at the door saying she's going to see a lawyer with an idea that she has had for years....so many years...back to when Robyn first came into the family... And then all of a sudden she "tells" Kody and Robyn and they appear shocked !! :0 And then "telling" Christine and Janelle...which was just totally a weird scene. I still can't figure out if Christine and Janelle knew ahead of time. Janelle behaved very oddly...stone faced...and then said something random about taxes. Christine defaulted to giddy...giggly...clapping her hands and squealing. We will never know the actuality of the situation because the Browns write their own "reality" for their lives.

"It's time to start being honest..." Okay...yea...that made me laugh pretty loud. So. Meri. Are you admitting that you have just been lying the whole time!?

I believe the time when Maddie only wanted Janelle and Christine was when she was telling the adults about her and Caleb were a serious couple. Kody was there too because they were all excited that they knew Caleb already and especially the fact that they knew his family very well. Kody had the same reaction towards Aspyn's boyfriend/fiance Mitch. Kody flat out said that he knew Mitch's family and that was all he needed to know. Plus they have known Mitch when he was younger. They bristled with Tony because Mykelti is a wild child who isn't mature in their eyes, she isn't a favorite daughter like Maddie or Aspyn and also she brought an "outsider" into the family. As for Caleb and the birth, I thought it was interesting that he didn't step up and be the voice of Maddie while she was mentally preoccupied. I think he is overwhelmed dealing with the whole Brown clan and yes...came off as leaving his balls at the door. I also think that Kody steamrolled him into coaching Maddie through the birth. Unless we hear that Maddie herself chose Kody to be at her side instead of Caleb(maybe they both were??)...I think Kody pushed his way in because...you know....he's done it so many times. Kody should have pulled Caleb aside, given his advise with how to proceed and taken a seat like everyone else. Supporting Caleb instead of pushing him out of the way. We will never know the exact details, and so can only speculate. Maddie went through a hell of a labor and just looking at her face in the moments after...it was pretty obvious.

The 50/50 ratio of male and female is a mother nature thing. Think back to humans being just another animal on earth. Males do more dangerous things than females. Males go out hunting and gathering. Males fight among themselves. Males do stupid things to impress females or look better and more powerful to other males. They die more, plain and simple. The females gather within the circle and the males go to the outer edge to fight whatever needs to be fought. If you have a flock of chickens with multiple males you can see this behavior first hand. It's actually quite interesting to learn about chicken rules and compare them to humans. In modern day a man doesn't have to be the most powerful physically anymore. In polygamist groups he just needs to be properly connected within the politics and hierarchy of the group. Being born to the right leg of the group and having good manipulation skills wins the day. Women find it acceptable because for the most part, most of them, are raised with a clear indoctrination of this is the way, this is the only way, and this is what you do. Period. Hive mentality is very powerful. Even after mental, physical, sexual abuse and little education of any kind...many who escape the groups can't function in outside society and go back or turn to drugs. To leave the group means to be completely alone and on your own after a lifetime of always being surrounded by family and like thinkers. That is a powerful force. You are trained to not trust anyone outside your group, you aren't properly educated to be able to qualify for the simplest of unskilled jobs and you are alone. Jump back quite a few seasons after the Browns went to Las Vegas. They had scenes where they were looking for religious based youth groups for their children to be a part of. Since mainstream Mormons are so against polygamy, they couldn't go to LDS based churches and they sat down with a local Presbyterian minister. Christine was a fruit loop during those scenes. She could hardly carry on a conversation with "the shark" minister, and in my opinion was quite disrespectful to him. Her lifetime indoctrination was so strong that the thought of her children interacting with open and accepting Christian based youth group was a horror to her. Even as a grown woman in a modern age...she could not get past the life lessons of anyone outside of your church group is your mortal, spiritual and physical enemy. Meri and the catfish?? I don't think it really had anything to do with her religious beliefs at all. I remember reading some of the interaction with them (any info from JO has to be taken with a grain of salt, but some of it looked interesting) and I do remember a tidbit where Meri stated something along the lines of "in my religion we don't see it that way". Naturally nothing that was publicly posted ever made JO's role look at fault. Her goal releasing what she did was to punish Meri and publicly humiliate her. Meri did discuss a little bit that one of the things JO did was made her doubt her religion and her beliefs. Which is very believable because a manipulating person like that would want to confuse and alienate their target from their family/friends and their ability to think rationally and for themselves. Meri was raised in a world of sit down, listen and believe without question. It isn't easy to somehow in adulthood to gather the skills for critical and rational thinking or the ability to look at the whole picture with a clear frame of mind and make up your mind for yourself. Meri was obviously in a very dark emotional state when JO targeted her. The flattery and attention to such a lonely woman obviously worked and Meri was caught, hook, line and sinker. In Meri's mind she was falling in love with a handsome man who was attracted to her and made her laugh. She was getting attention at a time when she needed it and by the time it morphed into what it actually was....a emotional trap....it was too late. Her head was in the relationship, obviously even her daughter trying to talk sense to her didn't work. THAT is what a master manipulator can do. Even intelligent people who are not in a dark emotional state fall prey to people like this. That's how cults draw in members and how they keep them. It's how people are conned out of money, signing over their homes and entire bank accounts. One phone call from the right person and they are turning over their bank account numbers, credit card numbers etc. Manipulation is a learned skill. Without the information/voice mails and photos posted by JO we would have never known Meri's true involvement in the situation. I also think that the show would not have even discussed it if it weren't for all the stuff that appeared online. But it is obvious by the voice mails that Meri was very emotionally wrapped up in the relationship and based on the photos she was disturbingly involved in more than just a friendship with JO.

I suspect that it was more like Christine described that although Maddie (in a calm state of mind pre real labor) stated her intentions of only Caleb and the midwife being there, in actuality once it really got intense for her she didn't pay attention to the others around her or really care because her mind was obviously elsewhere. I don't think that at any time Maddie actually said...oh...you guys can stay, by the way...where is Meri? Get her here too. If that happened, they would have said it. Maddie didn't throw anyone out, Janelle didn't push anyone out when things got hot and heavy. They stated that it was Maddie who threw out the cameras. So if Maddie wanted them gone for sure she would have probably done just that. I don't believe Robyn suggested that Meri should be there to anyone. What Robyn said was that she "thought about Meri and how she should be there, she thought about it several times...but....it wasn't her decision...it wasn't her birth" However. When she said this in therapy she was also giving an odd side eye to Christine (possibly Janelle) who was sitting on her left on the couch. I have a suspicion that both her and Christine may have quietly voiced the Meri's absence issue to each other and weren't saying it. They BOTH used the "not my decision, not my birth" excuse in exactly the same way. Janelle was pretty clear about the issue. She was focused only on Maddie and really didn't give a hoot about anyone else. I agree completely about Kody tho. They are ALL radio silence with his involvement in any way. That sends up a flag that there is more to that part of the story. I can say tho...I only have my own two births for personal reference. When it was time, and pushing was going on...a hundred people could have entered the room and I would not have had a clue. My husband was at my side for both births. I can clearly remember one nurse directing me during both births, but I'm pretty sure two were in the room at the time for both. My son was born before the doctor even arrived and my daughter was born when the doctor was out of the room with another patient who was matching each stage with me and he was going between rooms. During the final pushing stages I didn't have a clue who was where or doing what. I only knew my husband was there and the voice of the nurse. Since Christine and Robyn were only there because Maddie didn't speak up to toss them out, and she also didn't toss out her mother and father...it comes down to the fact that no one in attendance (sounds like quite a few adults...) was willing to speak up for Meri. Since Meri wasn't willing to hang out with people she doesn't like to be close to what was going on and wasn't willing to push in (like Christine and Robyn did) that the whole thing is kinda a collective fault of all. A very hard lesson to learn, but I doubt Meri learned a damn thing...she will always blame the others involved and not her own part of the whole mess. I doubt we will ever hear any of the Kody role. They all seem to protect that Ass Hat man.

Isn't the 16 year old beating victim one of the girls who rescues polygamy people? On the TV show Escaping Polygamy. That's sounds like her story, her father is Daniel Kingston who is the father of all the girls on the show I think.

This is very true. In a TH Meri went on for quite awhile about how in no way did she hold any blame towards Madison and she knew that Madison was working hard to deliver her son and that Madison had always accepted her in the family. Makes me think you are right and that some venom was directed towards Madison in the beginning. Also Meri always used the term "invited" about the birth. She was not invited into the room. Christine and Robyn stated that "it wasn't my decision, it wasn't my birth" when they were trying to explain themselves. However...Christine and Robyn weren't invited...they just weren't kicked out. Meri didn't have the desire to push it and none of the other women (or Kody...) stepped up to the plate to make sure she was included when it was obvious that everyone was staying. I would have liked to have heard more from Christine and Janelle about the statement that Robyn made in the therapy session about how Maddy herself at one point realized Meri wasn't there and thought she should be. I think that was key...but no one expanded on it. In a TH Meri (in a rare real emotion I think) said something along the line of how no one looked around at everyone and noticed that an important part of the whole was missing. That has stuck with her. It's all a big festering symptom of a very broken group relationship.

First..I do have to say I don't know how you guys can watch this show in real time on telly. It takes me most of the day to work my way through the whole thing in 10-15 minute increments. All this to keep track of, the drama, the time stamps...it's exhausting. I just sat through the therapy and birth drama a second time, just because I really don't have anything better to do. I made note of the time stamps etc and I'm glad that production put it together that way to see more of an exact progression. My opinion... Meri missed the birth because of her whole dynamic with the whole damn family. This happened because of all of them really. Meri wasn't willing to barge in there to see what was going on and they weren't wanting to disrupt the flow by bringing Meri in. Instead of spending time with all of them Meri waltzed off to sell her leggings because "I told my people I would have a sale". Really!!?? If you really really wanted to be involved then you would have been there, but Meri wasn't comfortable enough hanging out with people she doesn't want to hang out with...to cancel her damn leggings sale. Come ON...a quick facebook message posted to say OMG guys I'm not selling tonight because Maddy is working hard on having the baby...back soon. Also...when both Christine and Robyn admit that they weren't saying anything so they didn't get kicked out (that was low Christine...real low) and then Robyn giving side eye in therapy to Christine while telling Meri that SHE thought about how Meri wasn't with them, SHE thought about it several times. Then Robyn even admits that MADDY said "hey...get Meri over here" but then no one did that. No one whipped out their phones to grant Maddy's wishes. During all of that Meri never jumped on Christine (though they had their fun one on one...), Meri never jumped on Robyn. She just said with a laughing voice "that didn't work out" Yet Meri was snide and bristly the whole time with Janelle. What was not being said was, in my opinion, that Meri was putting more blame on Janelle and Kody than the others. In therapy Meri is leaning as far away from Janelle as possible with that crossed leg and wiggly foot. Janelle is bristly right back because she is pissed and frustrated that Meri is trying to ruin the experience of Maddy's birthing for everyone with her bloody drama. At no time did Janelle give a passing thought to Meri's absence...she was focused on her daughter. As she should have been. Christine and Robyn sit there all sheepish because they KNEW they should have done something...and they didn't. Christine didn't want to lose her own seat and then she says that she didn't want Meri there because of Meri's poor attitude. The whole thing is one big shit show because Meri doesn't involve herself in the family, and the family isn't going out of their way to beg her. Janelle said over and over how they invite her and invite her and it is Meri who either comes and is aloof and distracted and always on her phone, or she doesn't come at all. Why wasn't Kody there? He played a major role in it all. My opinion?? There was no way, shape or form that he could even attempt to act his way into an even temper over the whole matter and he was kept away because at the end of the day he is an ass who doesn't want to deal with his four "nagging wives" and doesn't want to be in the office with those four plus Nancy nagging at him as well. He's the God in Training and "ain't got time fo that". It's Meri's choice in the end. How badly does SHE want to be involved...she is going to have to put as much work into her family as she does hocking her leggings and fawning over an old house. She is always on twitter after these shows saying how she isn't going anywhere and "you only see us on tv" and crap like that. You can't take much of anything as actuality....but shit did go down this night and you could see it on Meri's face when she walked into the door after the baby was born. ALL relationships take work. Husband and wife, friend and friend, parent and child. Nothing is handed to you.