BoogieWonderland

They said those things were standard in their culture but also bad for their courtships, wedding days and marriages, didn't they?. Kody, Janelle and Christine all said how sad (or short) their courtships, weddings and honeymoons were. So why would they want the same bad things for Kody and Robyn? That was the point. They realised how shitty it was for them to have a short courtship and non-celebratory wedding with a man they didn't really know. And it sucked. And wasn't a good start for marriage. So Kody took his own shitty experiences and what Janelle and Christine had told him about how and why their wedding days and honeymoon were a bit sad and shit so ...had the wedding with Robyn that ideally, Janelle and Christine would have liked. And...he didn't have to pay for it. TLC filmed it and paid for it. That puts a whole different spin on it. This was the first time that the Browns had money for a honeymoon, because TLC paid for it to film it. If there was available money for luxurious honeymoons when the OG 3 got married, things may have been different. Same as the Brown children that got married on the show. Without TLC, they wouldn't have had huge expensive weddings. Aspyns wedding reception at La Callie was 10k and Kody was told that was pretty much the same cost as Maddie and Mykelti.

Contractor is a vague title. That's it. Doesn't mean anything other than that. Doesn't mean they were qualified, or working or anything else.

The show will carry on because the majority of viewers want drama and something to bitch about online. Till the Brown's want to stop, TLC will keep going. It makes them and the Browns money. All the posters wanted a spin off for Christine or Janelle or both, it wouldn't be as successful as SW. The public likes drama and loves snarking. They'd very quickly lose interest in watching the SW have nice lives and new boyfriends unless the boyfriends end up to be not what they seemed to promised.

Leon has always been black and white in their views and rejected anyone that wasn't on their perceived side. They were extremely pious and saw themselves as superior to gentiles and even their own siblings that weren't as devout. Leon had the best possible experience of a plural child. That not might be the best possible experience of a child ever; but in plural marriage they did. Their Mom was 1st, legal and public wife. Their Mom had the same household budget as the other Moms who had to provide for more children. Leon had better food and everything they needed materially, and more. Never had to share a bedroom when all the other kids did and didn't have to use the outside stairs in Lehi like the other kids did. They also benefitted because despite having the benefits of being an only child, they also had lots of siblings to play with and love. On Meris nights with Kody and Meris family vacations, Leon did not have to compete with other kids from the same Mom for attention from their Mom, or Kody. Like all the others did, competing with 4/5 siblings. When all the kids went to public school, Leon got to go back to AUB school as they didn't like the school or the other students. Leon snitched on their siblings (Mykeltis non-modest clothes being one Leon admitted) and was dismissive of the ones struggling with Robyns first pregnancy, even though Leon thought it was sad Meri wasn't. Plus all the obvious times when Leon was moody, bossy and badly behaved on camera. This didn't stop when Leon was a teenager, in the covid season, Leon was generally dismissive to Kody and particularly to Meri. They also clearly struggled with how obsessed Meri was with them growing up and suffocating; and Leon said on camera that was a major reason why they wanted Meri to have another child, so that Meri had another focus for all her love and attention. So I'm not saying it was all roses. Leon got to go to a college 3 times the price of their siblings *because* it was so vital to them that they be in Utah to be with church members and to meet families they could join as a sister wife. Maddie went to a cheaper college in Utah but it was glossed over as Leon only had the choice of Westminster somehow? And would not consider any alternative and manipulated the family in saying that was their only option if they wanted to stay in the church and join a plural family. Which would obviously appeal to every parent as Leon was the only one who seemed to want to live plural marriage. Then Leon, the black and white thinker went to a progressive college in the middle of an identity politics revolution, suddenly rejected everything they'd said they needed to go to Westminster for; and very quickly said to Tamron Hall in a tell all that they didn't want to be a sister wife anymore but hadn't told their parents. Then came out as gay and abandoned the AUB and God entirely. That's their choice but is was hella quick. Then they spent a couple of years jumping on every social media left campaign; seemingly not realising their own privilege and being scathing when Kody pointed it out. Then a couple of years later their partner who they clearly adore, comes out as trans and has surgery and so does Leon. And Leon says they reject anyone that doesn't celebrate that without question, not use their chosen pronouns or vote for political candidates which don't support what they want. So when Gwen says Leon is just staying safe and building their tribe of people; I don't see that as very different as people in the AUB or any other group/cult who isolate themselves from anyone who has concerns, questions or an opposing view.

I kinda feel like this is one of the reasons given for Kody being a dick and Robyn a bitch which is unfair. Kody, Janelle and Christine all said how sad their weddings were in a way. Because of the lack of celebration and it being low key and even secretive. The lack of honeymoon planning and time spent together on honeymoon was also complained about, particularly by Christine. Kody, Janelle and Christine all said their courtships were too rushed and they married without really knowing each other or really giving thought to how adding them to a plural marriage would go. So Kody and Robyn had a longer courtship to really spend time with each other and had a celebratory wedding and a decent honeymoon. Then got slated for it. And probably the biggest factor in the wedding and honeymoon was it was being filmed and therefore paid for by TLC. Robyn would not have had a big wedding or honeymoon if the Brown's were paying for it. So it was just that the circumstances were entirely different as well as they all realised that short courtships and sad weddings weren't good ways to start marriage. And as an aside, Christine married Kody when Janelle was pregnant with her 1st child and then got jealous of the new baby and insisted she have her own house to develop her relationship with Kody. Leaving Janelle struggling with all the firstborn stuff in a house with Meri who she did not get on with and who was desperately trying to conceive, while Kody got to escape to Christine's house every third night.

And even if he is, it's because the situation is totally different now. He's in one house with only 2 kids at school and doesn't work or works less. When Gwen was Aris age they were all living together and he had 3 wives and a dozen kids all living together that needed attention and money. Plus he worked full time and often was on the road working. I feel sad for Gwen but the situations and lifestyles are incomparable. It reminds me of all the people who say their parents are better Grandparents to their kids then they were parents to them. Because the Grandparents are less stressed, have fewer responsibilities, are more mature, have more time, and learned from the mistakes they made as parents. It's why Janelle, Christine and Meri and the older kids talk about how wonderful it was in the early years (SW relationships aside) and what an amazing Dad Kody was. There were 4 adults managing several kids. It was hard financially and in terms of diaper changes and toddler antics but so long as everyone was fed, warm and loved, it was hard work but relatively uncomplicated. It's when being fed, warm and loved is not enough because needs are greater, that it gets tricky.

Kody never wanted any of his kids out at 18. That was Christine who thought they should be out on their own. Kody insisted Janelle have the 5th bedroom in Vegas for Logan even though he was already at college. In a talk early in in the show about sex before marriage Kody said ideally, he wanted his kids at home till they got married. He only wanted Garrison out and Gabe because they weren't following his covid rules. And Garrison was already in his early 20s. I think Robyn and her kids were Kodys do-over. He had learned from a lot of the mistakes he made with the OG 3 plus they had money now so things were gonna be different anyway. Not rooting for Kody but polygamy sucks for the men as well as the women. I think he tried to make it work but it's impossible to meet the needs of 3 women and 12/13 kids. Even harder to meet the needs of 4 women and even more kids so being an immature manchild with a new wife and kids that worshipped him instead of making him feel like he was failing, he chose to be the best husband and Dad to them. I dislike the man but he had a choice between having 4 wives and 18 kids he was letting down and having crappy relationships with or having 1 good marriage and being a great Dad to a few. There was nothing special about Robyn and her kids other than they made him feel like he was doing a great job.