LilyD

True when it comes to Robyn's kids. But what about most of the other kids? I should probably start with highlighting a situation a long time ago regarding either Mykelti or Maddie. She had an appendicitis and required emergency surgery. It wasn't covered by Kody's insurance because Kody wasn't officially listed as her dad, or so they said at the time. The wives also explained that this was because they were afraid of being outed as polygamists. According to American law, the husband is father to every child born or conceived within the marriage. So from that point of view, we can say that Kody is the legal parent to Leon and Ari only. All other kids were not born within a legal marriage. That made Christine and Janelle the primary custodian (and Robyn to Sol) and Kody nothing at all. Kody can have his legal rights officiated if he goes to court, but we can be fairly certain he never did so as it would have cost a lot of money and drew unwanted attention (at the time). He is probably listed on the birth certificates of Sol and Truely as their births were on the show, but I am not sure if that grants any legal parental rights without court interference. So, my point: if Kody never sorted these things out officially, he is nothing to most of his kids from a legal point of view. Just their bio-dad. And that makes their situation almost equal to Robyn's first three kids, he is nothing to them either. That's another reason why I seriously doubted the "adoption" scene.

For whatever reason I was thinking about this family’s recent falling apart. Was it just the move to Arizona and the pandemic that pushed the button? Or was it a festering wound where more and more kids moved away from Kody’s ideal fundamentalist world supported by their moms?? Not too long ago, we had Mykelti’s, Maddie’s and Aspyn’s very traditional courtships and subsequent marriages. Then Logan kicked the bucket with dating and living together unmarried with Michelle (and his thoughts of potentially not starting a family) We had Leon and Gwen with their coming outs. Other Brown kids starting normal relationships not courtships, and different dress codes that were definitely not modest. Christine, Janelle and Meri were ok by it, supporting and embracing their kids. But what about Kody? On the show he pretends to be ok with it, but I don’t believe it, considering his background and all the things he said on the show. I think that privately, he’s angry and upset by the direction his family is going. I think he’s angry with being ignored and feels betrayed by his wives who do little to “correct” this and keep supporting their children. Nobody cares what he thinks of it, which is very hard for someone who wants to be in charge and wants to be important. There is nothing left of his ideal world with everyone living together in a polygamist setting with him as a patriarch. And apart from feeling betrayed, he is also aware that he failed as a patriarch and in building his ideal world. It’s all the fault of his kids and Janelle, Christine and Meri. And here we have another reason for Kody only being with Robyn. She seems to still embrace parts of their religion, raises her kids secluded from the rest (the pandemic was perfect for keeping them out of school) and she gives Kody the idea that she listens to him and his rules. Whether or not she is sincere is a different matter, but he thinks she is and still worships and supports him.

Well, the bigger the group of people (in this case 1 huge family) the bigger the chances for opposite beliefs I guess…Especially in this case where the entire family was raised in a fundamentalist environment which has left its mark till today. I can absolutely see how alcohol and liberal ideas about sexuality could potentially cause problems and even divide the family. You can already see how some have become pretty liberal and for example embrace Leon and Gwen’s life and coming out, whereas others like Paedon reject it. I don’t think Garrison is the only one who has joined the LDS which, unless I’m mistaken, is also fairly conservative concerning marriage, alcohol and homosexuality.

Re Kashara: maybe she’s gotten a different job within the organization? That could explain why she’s no longer listen on the game day program. Or she now works as a freelancer for them? Just speculating obviously.

It’s only logical that some of the kids, especially the boys, look like dad. They (unfortunately) carry 50% of his genes after all. Let’s hope they inherited the better part of his dna. And let’s also hope the moms have had some good influence on their kids, directing them in the right direction. While Kody has some obvious character flaws (like his temper) most of his ugly traits seem to stem from either his religious ideas or the way he was raised and adored over the years. I’m positive regarding the boys. Most boys worship their moms and dad has shown them how not to treat women…

Of course. Nobody is perfect after all. I'm sure her mr Right is out there and in the right setting with the right people around her, she may be ok and even fun to hang out with. No Meri fan but I can see how a competitive setting with jealousy and favouritism can bring out the worst in everyone. In addition, she had to deal with her own infertility whereas the other two kept on popping out babies as if it was nothing. That too is an incredibly hard thing for someone to deal with. Those things really didn't do her character any favours. Without these immense stress factors, we'd probably have a different, more amiable Meri.

Maybe this is a direct result from our society's emphasis on looks? And also how you can deceive yourself by convincing yourself you still fit in a small when you don't? The thing is...you can't see what size you have from the outside. So it's better to wear that size L and look good (and slim!) than cram yourself into a Small that makes you look like a sausage! Clothes that fit well, will hide those few extra pounds, whereas your extra few pounds will be highlighted by your way too tight-fitting size S dress.

Yes, I clearly remember some footage of her in the DCC uniform out on the field with awkward faces. One or two of them were close ups on the jumbotron. I think some of it was on the show and there may have been some on the internet/sm at the time.

Another question related to the DCC work load vs College work load a few weeks back: One thing that has always puzzled me is this: Usually there isn't that much activity around colleges and universities during summer. The year wraps up in June with the last papers and/or exams. Then there's nothing until the beginning of September (at least that's the case here in Europe) Unless you flunked a test, there really isn't much going on those months. So those in training camp should be fine (apart from maybe the first 2 weeks, which aren't that busy anymore either) So, I could never quite understand the issues with college and TCC, but maybe the situation in the US is different from Europe? If so, please enlighten me. Also, I understood that after TC, the schedule isn't that demanding anymore with only a few practices a week and the performances? That should be doable right?

There was another problem with Breelan which was already showing at TC: her facial expressions. Breelan's face seemed to always mirror what she was thinking or how she was feeling. In addition she could also pull funny faces and look frightened. Unfortunately, due to some bad luck, the camera caught that quite a few times which really pissed Kellie off. Especially when it was a headshot on the big jumbotron. It's hard to change that but I can also see Kellie's issues with weird faces in terms of looking good and appearance.

Ah but Meri knows exactly what luxury means! Just look at the houses she’s been renting. Palatial, compared to Janelle and Christine. Some seem even bigger and more luxurious than Robyn’s (auch…that must hurt!) Also, there are all the extra finishings and additions she demanded for her Vegas house. She knows! I guess this has more to do with an hugely inflated ego; a delusional notion of self-importance. She must honestly believe that people are queing up to spend bought-time with her.

A thing that I started to notice when watching the show: Has anyone else noticed how often Kody says “I didn’t give anyone permission to do so or so” in the past season?Quite scary really. I’m starting to wonder how dominant and “despotic” even he really was behind the scenes….

Ok timeline-wise.... the book is worthless! There is no chronological order and you just keep going back and forth between Kody and his wives. It's up to us to figure out what happened when and how long. It's a mess..... I guess the internet is more helpful than this whole book. They tell a lot but basically say nothing; Take the many moves. The book tells us where but not when. The most accurate descriptions are vague lines like "some two years later" or "Meri and I moved back to Wyoming to bring Janelle into the family." It's even worse when it comes to the kids. You'd expect they mention the births. Nope.... In general, some kids are mentioned, others barely at all. Paedon for instance doesn't show up until page 193 (when Paedon gets bad grades he is not allowed on his Xbox) And he is only mentioned 3 times. The same goes for Gwen and Savanah (4 times). Garrison is the big loser here with only 2 references. This excludes photo captions btw. (And no, I haven't done a literal count here, the Kindle search option is very helpful!) As for some of the questions that popped up, I did my best but can't get more out of the book than what is listed below: Christine literally goes from a reference to a "late honeymoon with Kody, Aspyn and Mykelti" to the time when they decided to have another baby (Truely) Nothing is said about her other kids or her miscarriage btw. Truely was born in April 2010 so conceived in the summer of 2009, which was when Kody first met Robyn. I don't think trying for a baby was a way to deal with Robyn as she had the miscarriage before Truely, so they were obviously trying for longer. Neither is there a clear reference to a date for Robyn and Kody's first meeting. Just some vague references like "after my divorce" and "some time later". The first real indication is a scene mentioning a 14-year-old Madison and a 30-year-old Robyn, which matches spring or summer 2009. The gap between Garrison and Gabe and Gabe and Savanah: The only thing worth mentioning is that Janelle had an emotional breakdown (postnatal depression?) after Gabe's birth. This is when she moved away from the family and tried to work things out. This probably explains why she had Savanah 3 years later. As for the gap between Garrison and Gabe: She had 4 kids in 5.5 years! She probably felt she needed a break from being pregnant after having one girl and three boys!

While racing through the Sister Wives book hunting for some information re. some questions in the Kody thread, I came across the following interesting bit by Christine: In chapter 7 she describes an incident that occurred between her and Meri that really soured their relationship. It was a few years before Truly was born and about the way Meri treated her kids. I'll quote the passage here: "For a while, I'd been feeling that she was too tough on my kids. While I understand that all children need discipline, I often felt that she went too far when it came to my children. It seemed to me that she was taking out her frustrations out on my kids in particular. As a result of this, many were wary of her and were afraid to cross her accidentally." Christine stood up for her kids here though she admitted that she left it too long. She had a huge fight with Meri and as a result their relationship became very troubled. At the time of the book (2012) it still hadn't gone back to normal and they "were still working on it" I guess it also explains why her children feel so little love for Meri. It also proves to us that Meri really has some nasty traits. It's not just for the show, the woman we see on the show is the real deal.

Just flipped through a bunch of the wedding pictures that were posted here on the forum. Maybe I have overlooked things, but where are Robyn's kids?? I spotted most of the other ones, just not them. Were they even there? Added: I may have seen Breanna and AuROARa but am not 100% sure. Not Dayton nor the younger two though.

Meri could learn a lot from Christine. You can pick a neckline that is not too revealing. Much better than always choosing one with a huge cleavage (when you don't want one) and cover it with a white shirt. Meri is like Michelle Duggar in that respect. And Christine's waist looks amazing, whereas Meri's dress puts all the emphasis on her stomach. I fully agree on the tights though. Christine should have worn one. I like Gwen's dress too, am just puzzled by the colour which stands out a lot compared to the rest which all seem to focus on a greyish blue or green style. Can't detect any real dress code though. And Truely.....why? Who dressed that girl? They could have done so much better. Why the white thing (not sure what to call it?) again? She does seem to wear a nice green dress. And those ankle socks with prints in the ballerinas? Just a plain NO.

Yes he is. He may wear his hat/cap because of that but honestly, I think it's been part of his wardrobe from the moment he was born and just refuses to step outside without his hat. Some people are like that. (You know like those women that won't even put the garbage out if they haven't applied any make-up just yet?)

That’s probably the case during normal seasons. They shoot hundreds of hours of film over just a few days with multiple cameras, so who knows what will be used. However, the past few seasons were almost completely recorded by the Browns themselves due to the pandemic. I’m sure that gave them a brilliant opportunity to film what they wanted us to see. And this is one reason why the past few seasons have left me so puzzled. Those episodes showed us the worst of the family! Or maybe they did it because there really wasn’t anything better to show us?

Nope, I’m sure Meri still regards herself and her family important enough to take pride of place. Even at the cost of others. However….It could well be that the Browns have a strict “you are all full siblings-policy”? They were one big family after all. If that’s the case, then technically Leon holds the same status as Savanah and Maddie. In that case, it doesn’t really matter where they sit.

If that’s the case, he’s even a bigger douchebag than I thought. Arriving late at your own son’s wedding is both disrespectful and embarrassing to the bride and groom. I guess it tells us all about the end of the polygamous marriage. Kody should have entered and sat with Janelle, not Robyn, if they still regarded each other as “husband” and “wife”. Lastly, If no one saved him a prime seat as Logan’s dad, it says all about how they perceive him: not good! They obviously couldn’t care about where he was.

Just watched those beautiful wedding pictures again and I just cannot wrap my head around the awkward family placing. In my opinion there are only two possible explanations as it so goes against everything that is customary: 1. Kody simply refused to sit with his family and therefore ended up 2nd row across the isle as there was no way the parents of the bride would give up their pride of place. 2. Janelle and her kids are far more estranged from Kody than we thought. Even possibly Logan. They have all simply shut him out and he was forced to second row (to make a statement). Not sure which is more likely. My gut just tells me something IS wrong. Not wanting to sit next to an (ex)-wife could explain why Kody and Janelle weren’t sitting next to each other as parents of the groom. But then moving the father of the groom across the isle behind the parents of the bride simply defies every single rule in the wedding book.

I have to say I haven’t learned anything new from Without a Crystal Ball… We’ve basically all come to the same conclusions out here a while back. All the things she’s said on the video can be gathered from this forum, reddit, SM, cross-referencing what you read with what you see on the show and using your common sense and common knowledge. I’m not buying the story that a ‘Neighbour’ reached out to her with this info. Why going to a dodgy youtuber instead of trying to sell your story to a well known website, newspaper or magazine that is willing to pay for it? I should probably confess that I’m not a fan of this channel and the lady who runs it. Her reputation on the internet is dodgy at best, with many people accusing her of making things up, stealing information from other websites and pass it off as her own and just going after the nasty bits.

One of the reasons why I love Garrison so much! He’s usually on the side and not saying very much but when he does, it’s brilliant! Could someone point me to Garrison’s killing -the-general-scene please? I can’t remember it but that sounds like so much fun! As for loving him: Like you said, he’s their dad. Kids are unconditionally loyal and loving to their parents. It takes a lot to hit that breaking point and I think the boys are getting closer to it every day.

Very true, and he has said to all three things about not being in love with them (anymore)in different ways. The main difference though was that he still wanted to have Janelle and Christine around somewhat (as in: according to his needs and wishes) He also specifically said that Christine wanting a divorce wasn’t his choice. Meri on the other hand was told over and over again that there wasn’t anything left between them and that he wanted her out. He literally told her in the face that he wanted her to go and that there was nothing between them anymore as far as he was concerned. The fact that she stays around despite being so unwanted, makes her situation so pathetic to me.

If her pregnancy has been uncomplicated so far and the babies are in the right birthing position and Mykelti is up for it, then it is possible to have a natural birth with twins. Most OB’s would opt for a c-section though. I always suspected she’d try for a natural birth. The Browns seem rather averse to any form of medical intervention. I also suspect she only has a hospital birth because she had to. Being induced is always a hospital birth where I live, as are twin births. (I live in a country where we highly promote home births and c-sections are only done when absolutely necessary from a medical point of view.)