S15.E04: The Basement Wife

[Scarlett45]

Quote

Robyn questions why Christine said the family hates her when they all gather; Mariah and Audrey look at wedding venues.

Air Date: March 7, 2021

[Chicklet]

News flash Christine is insecure.

[RedDelicious]

And Kody went a little overboard with the toothbrush and the Grecian Formula.

[Art Of Noiz]

This was a better episode beCAUSE for the first part of the episode GrodyKody wasn't in as many scenes. A+ on that. A little less Robyn would be nice. I dont think Robyn did any drycryin this time.  

[Adeejay]

1 hour ago, Chicklet said:

News flash Christine is insecure.

Christine and her children appear to be the "least of the apostles", so I can totally understand.  Meri was the first wife and head bitch in charge; Janelle had four sons and Robyn is the youngest and shiniest.  Where does that leave Christine?  And Kody had the effing nerves to say that Robyn gets the crumbs.  

[Pooky]

Christine used to be my favourite but that woman is grating my nerves... mid life crisis comes to mind. Talk about flip the script

[Gramto6]

Robyn has never gotten any crumbs NEVER ever, ever... someone prove me otherwise..anyone...go for it...

[sheshark]

The worst was Kootie dancingk.  

[Art Of Noiz]

5 minutes ago, sheshark said:

The worst was Kootie dancingk.  

He tries to moonwalk. 

[Pickleinthemiddle]

1 hour ago, Adeejay said:

And Kody had the effing nerves to say that Robyn gets the crumbs.  

I still can't believe he was actually able to say that with a straight face.  Knowing darn good and well Robyn was getting everything she wanted,  Even the almost million dollar home.  No fan believes for a minute that she ever got crumbs, she got the entire cake.

[crimson23]

When you watch this crowd, you have to piece random comments together and read between lines, while adding some past history.  No one ever really comes out and says how things were back in the Lehigh house.  Back  in the Lehigh house days, Janelle worked full time, so Christine raised, watched Janelle's kids along with her own.  Not sure what Mer did, besides polish her wedding certificate on the wall.  Janelle had one side of the home, probably because she had more kids at the time.  Christine lived in the other side in the basement with  Meri and Mariah over head. there were stories where when Janelle's kids went down to Christine's area, they were made to go around and outside to get into C's area. Meri didn't want them tromping thru her domain, and disturbing her. That's the reason why they are afraid if they Mer the access to the pond at Coyote, that no one else will be able to use it.  Big Mer was always the queen bee and called the shots.  I think Christine would live in the one house Meri wasn't in it. 

[ginger90]

Some tweets from last night: (Once again, Christine did not participate.)

[Grifter Lives]

Their Tweets Summarized:

Kody: Let me remind you that Christine killed my dream of Plyg Palace.  She must suffer.

Janelle: It's because the hill was a mountain, not because I'm completely lethargic  and immobile.

Meri: Regular interaction is so important.  I prefer the friends in my head and catfish; they treat me better.

Robyn; At least Christine didn't portray me as the problem, but I had to listen her go on and on.

[laurakaye]

9 hours ago, Pooky said:

Christine used to be my favourite but that woman is grating my nerves... mid life crisis comes to mind. Talk about flip the script

And I suddenly find myself not loathing her as much as the others, lol.  I feel like she's the true "basement wife," and if anyone got crumbs in this fam'ly, it's certainly Christine.  I think it's possible that she's had enough and is starting to drop some truth bombs on the viewing audience.  I found myself kind of riveted when she told the truth about the Lehi house, how she was the one responsible for Janelle's kids at the expense of her own, and how isolated she was.  Now I take everything this family says with a giant grain of salt because I know how desperate they are to keep this show on the air, but darned if I wasn't thinking that perhaps we are starting to see how things rilly went down, and Christine is going to be our narrator while the others pretend like they don't know what she's talking about.

[Art Of Noiz]

1 hour ago, laurakaye said:

And I suddenly find myself not loathing her as much as the others, lol.  I feel like she's the true "basement wife," and if anyone got crumbs in this fam'ly, it's certainly Christine.  I think it's possible that she's had enough and is starting to drop some truth bombs on the viewing audience.  I found myself kind of riveted when she told the truth about the Lehi house, how she was the one responsible for Janelle's kids at the expense of her own, and how isolated she was.  Now I take everything this family says with a giant grain of salt because I know how desperate they are to keep this show on the air, but darned if I wasn't thinking that perhaps we are starting to see how things rilly went down, and Christine is going to be our narrator while the others pretend like they don't know what she's talking about.

Its interesting that Janelle's kids had their needs met 1st. 

I wonder at this. I've 8 wondered if Janelle's income was always a  veiled threat. Its not really UNspoken. For some reason, Janelle still presents as the "logical" one. Or as coming from a "financial" perspective. I think she might have used this as her subtle power base. 

[Sandy W]

11 hours ago, sheshark said:

The worst was Kootie dancingk.  

 

11 hours ago, Art Of Noiz said:

He tries to moonwalk. 

Ok, Ok, I'll take my lumps for this, but at least Kody attempted to display some moves.  I didn't notice Christine or Janelle, but Meri, Mariah and Audge lumbered about the dance floor like a herd of oxen.  Robyn went for dainty with her hands on her upper thighs as if she were doing the Charleston.🤷‍♀️

[Grifter Lives]

11 hours ago, sheshark said:

The worst was Kootie dancingk.  

 

11 hours ago, Art Of Noiz said:

He tries to moonwalk. 

Kody danced to mark his territory, especially since Audrey's father was there.  Audrey's father's trademark move is the surfer, so Kody had to let him know who the alpha surfer dude is.

Kody also was lying down on top of one of the picnic tables at the snow mobile venue, in the middle of the entire group.  He's an embarrassment.

[MV713]

OMG this episode annoyed the crap out of me.  The Covid conversations from a year ago are so dramatic and the music is annoying.  And the amount of wrinkles that Robyn in generating from the constant frowning and gloom and doom.  FLAGSTAFF...NOW...HAS A CASE...OF THE... CORONAVIRUS.

But we now know that Christine is regretting her backdoor entrance.  HAHA

[SunnyBeBe]

So Mariah and Audrey have to wed on Sunday?  I’d try to consider days that accommodate out of town guests. Some people need to get back home to jobs, school, etc.  That’s difficult with a Sunday wedding.  Maybe, they are not expecting out of town guests.  
 

Edited March 8, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[smarty]

6 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

So Mariah and Audrey have to wed on Sunday?  I’d try to consider days that accommodate out of town guests. Some people need to get back home to jobs, school, etc.  That’s difficult with a Sunday wedding.  Maybe, they are not expecting out of town guests.  
 

They have to marry on the 29th, which happens to be a Sunday in August 2021.  They want the 29th because Audrey and Mariah's birthdays are on the 29th (I believe Audrey's is December 29th and Mariah's is July 29th).

[Sandy W]

7 minutes ago, smarty2020 said:

They have to marry on the 29th, which happens to be a Sunday in August 2021.  They want the 29th because Audrey and Mariah's birthdays are on the 29th (I believe Audrey's is December 29th and Mariah's is July 29th).

Much ado about nothing.  I may have seen their rationale if both their birthdays fell on August 29th, but this is a stretch to inconvenience guests,  a Saturday wedding is more traditional for reason.

[SuzWhat]

I'm setting-k here thinking for the gazillionth time...why do I watch these asshats?

[Kellyee]

Quote

And I suddenly find myself not loathing her as much as the others, lol.  I feel like she's the true "basement wife," and if anyone got crumbs in this fam'ly, it's certainly Christine.  I think it's possible that she's had enough and is starting to drop some truth bombs on the viewing audience.  I found myself kind of riveted when she told the truth about the Lehi house, how she was the one responsible for Janelle's kids at the expense of her own, and how isolated she was.  Now I take everything this family says with a giant grain of salt because I know how desperate they are to keep this show on the air, but darned if I wasn't thinking that perhaps we are starting to see how things rilly went down, and Christine is going to be our narrator while the others pretend like they don't know what she's talking about.

I think each of the original 3 wives has a list of resentments a mile long. I think the entire situation was worse than we even know. Think about it: Christine trying to parent at least 10 kids at one time. While on food stamps and watching Meri live like a King. And while dealing with Janelle, who seemed to love working but not so much parenting. And an absent Kody, who she maybe gets to have once every 3 nights. I don't know who in their right mind signs up for this lifestyle. And Christine is the most vocal in trying to convince us how great polygamy is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[eskimo]

I absolutely believe Christine about the 'basement wife', despite what Meri says.  If there were no hierarchy then Christine would have had first pick of apartments as a practical matter.  She was the one who was home 24/7 in that apt, while everyone else was at work all day.  And even if Jenelle gave birth to more kids, Christine actually had them more (I'm not counting time spent sleeping), plus all hers too.  So they lost me with that whole 'there's no hierarchy' thing.  If it were based on family needs, Christine would have had the biggest place.  It would have benefited all the kids. 

And Kody saying that Christine is 'twisting' the past into a negative place?  Well it WAS negative for HER but you didn't, and still don't, give two craps.  It worked for you, Meri, and Jenelle.  But not Christine and now she's 'twisting' it?  I really can't say what I want to about him because I'm trying to be more careful about the things I put out in the world, and it's already not going so hot.  Lol 

The whole 'showering at her house' thing is just the representation of her never feeling like it was their home and their relationship, if even only 1/3rd of the time.  He probably liked Meri's the best because there was only 1 child there.  Christine always had at least a handful of kids, and most of the time a herd.  But they were all HIS!  You wanted them all, deal with the chaos like you expected her to.  Less than half were hers. 

All that aside, it's on her that she didn't put her kids first, or at least put them all on the same level.  She probably did put up for Jenelle's more for fear of appearing to not be 'living the principle' by favoring her own.  Only to realize that she was the only one who was buying into it in terms of fairness for all.

And finally, she is a single mother.  Kody does not work on damaged relationships.  Nobody ever wants to discuss anything and this will not be solved without going through some ugly places.  Sorry, that is just how working through things is.  

1 minute ago, Kellyee said:

And Christine is the most vocal in trying to convince us how great polygamy is.

Was the most vocal.  Lol 

[Persnickety1]

3 minutes ago, Kellyee said:

I think each of the original 3 wives has a list of resentments a mile long. I think the entire situation was worse than we even know. Think about it: Christine trying to parent at least 10 kids at one time. While on food stamps and watching Meri live like a King. And while dealing with Janelle, who seemed to love working but not so much parenting. And an absent Kody, who she maybe gets to have once every 3 nights. I don't know who in their right mind signs up for this lifestyle. And Christine is the most vocal in trying to convince us how great polygamy is.

I'm watching season 2 and Christine is blathering on about how glorious it is all living under one roof.

My, how times have changed in the Brown household(s).  

Personally, if I were one of Kody's harem, I would hold a weekly raffle so the other wives could have my share of him.  

I used to think Kody hurriedly married not for love, but to start building his polygamist status, but once he met Robyn he actually fell in love.  

Now he seems to be over all four of them and his obligations to the wives and their children.  

I wonder if he spends his time with Robyn on his phone as he does when he's with Christine.  

I find Mariah insufferable so I'm not looking forward to her wedding extravaganza episodes.  I guess I'll be spending my time during her segments counting the sequins on my throw pillows or something equally entertaining.  

[bichonblitz]

3 hours ago, laurakaye said:

I found myself kind of riveted when she told the truth about the Lehi house, how she was the one responsible for Janelle's kids at the expense of her own, and how isolated she was

Not a Christine fan at all, and I can't believe I'm about to defend Janelle but Christine has left out an integral part of the Lehi structure. Janelle was the only wife working outside the home and from what I gather she had a very good job which she excelled at that she loved and paid very well. She enjoyed being out of the home. It was also her money along with Kody's that paid all the bills. Let's remember there was no TLC money at that time. The agreement was that Janelle works a full time job and Christine stays home with all the kids. Christine never had a career. All she was ever good for was brood mare and babysitter. Now she's whining about being the basement wife. Please. Cry me a river, Chrissy. It's what she wanted at the time.

I remember this spoken about vididly because I found it so very interesting how their plyg dynamic worked, living in one house and all. This was during the first season of the show when things were real, when they were real. Anybody remember those days? Before Robyn came on board? 

I don't remember what Janelle did for a living but it was a lucrative job, before Kody effed it up and decided they needed to run for cover in the middle of the night to Vegas. 

Edited to add: Christine has the most amazing hair. I love, love that loose side braid she was sporting. Just thought I would say something nice about Christine because I rarely ever do! 

Edited March 8, 2021 by bichonblitz

[MV713]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

So Mariah and Audrey have to wed on Sunday?  I’d try to consider days that accommodate out of town guests. Some people need to get back home to jobs, school, etc.  That’s difficult with a Sunday wedding.  Maybe, they are not expecting out of town guests.  
 

I have learned recently that most dgaf about how convenient or inconvenient their weddings are.  The trend here in NJ is mid week weddings now!

7 minutes ago, bichonblitz said:

 

I don't remember what Janelle did for a living but it was a lucrative job, before Kody effed it up and decided they needed to run for cover in the middle of the night to Vegas. 

I recall something financial maybe?  I also remember Meri had a job and when the show aired she was either fired or forced to quit.

[laurakaye]

Spoiler

Previously on Sister Wives…

The women all hate each other and they go out for pizza and lemons to talk about it while Kody eats chicken wings and looks at these people and wonders who they are, and why they’re harshing his mellow and complaining about things he doesn’t understand.  Pass the BBQ sauce and let’s move on. 

This week – get ready for some truth bombs and some unsettling, triggering pandemic scenes.  Of note – the show is almost exactly one year behind where we are now, so it’s almost like an out-of-body experience watching them trying to understand this thing called Covid-19 and what it means.  I was oddly fascinated by this episode, for that and other reasons.  Here we go!

Christine talks about what it’s like to be the “Basement Wife.”  Apparently, this is a thing in plyg culture, as is being called the Queen Bee (or is it Queen "B," with B a stand-in for another word)?  The Basement Wife is the one who is relegated to the least desirable part of a multi-wife house, and therefore is the most isolated.  That was Christine at the Lehi house.  She talks about how she took care of Janelle’s kids at the expense of her own, and that she wished she would’ve handled that better.  The Queen B idea is that if anyone in the family is hanging out in one wife’s domain, that wife is considered the Queen B – things are done her way, the food is served her way, she gets to boss everyone else around, etc.  I find this terminology interesting, and I don’t think we have ever heard “basement wife” or “Queen B” in the previous 14 seasons of this show.  Are we finally getting some tiny kernels of truth?  We hear from Meri who says that she is completely unfamiliar with this mysterious “Queen B” notion, to which I laughed out loud and nearly choked on my coffee.  Nice try, “B.”  Janelle then interviews that she too was once a basement wife and blathers about how when she lived in a basement in one of the Brown’s many houses, she was literally in a basement with no windows.  It was dark!  But Christine?  Well, at least she had windows!  So it couldn’t have been that bad!  I want to reach in and smack Janelle’s growth right off her stupid lip because (A) Janelle’s time in the basement was probably a few months, whereas Christine’s was several years, and (B) Christine was also living in the basement and taking care of Janelle’s kids as well as her own while Janelle sauntered off to her office job and lunched on Big Macs without 10 – 12 kids asking her to cut up their apples or put the straw into their juice boxes.  So while I am actually liking Christine so far in this ep, maybe it’s just that my hate for Meri and Janelle has greatly intensified.

Now we move to Christine’s house.  Christine is arranging a weird bucket of hyacinths as Robyn comes over for a chat.  Robyn wants to know why Christine thinks that everyone hates her and as we all know, Robyn is the peacemaker and designated diplomat in the fam’ly, so she has to get all up in Christine’s personal business so that she can report back to Kody and simultaneously make herself feel superior for not having all those messy emotions like loneliness, jealousy, and frustration at being a single mother.  Christine makes breakfast for herself and Robyn – yogurt, strawberries and granola – and serves it in these super cute red and white bowls.  And if you’re squeamish at all, skip the rest of this paragraph, because we are now going to hear endless stories of where Kody used to take his showers…sorry for any disturbing mental imagery this might unwillingly conjure in your brain.  Christine talks about how, at the Lehi house, Kody would come home and shower at Meri’s or Janelle’s house, never Christine’s.  Now I don’t want to delve too deeply into the meaning of this, but I kind of see where Christine is coming from – Kody basically didn’t want to shower at Christine’s because he simply didn’t want to be in her part of the house.  When Robyn came along, though – all of a sudden he started showering at Christine’s – because Robyn told him to.  Now, how Robyn knew about any of this when she wasn’t even living with the family in Lehi, I don’t know.  The point Christine is making is that once Robyn came into the picture, Kody did what Robyn told him to, while Christine never even knew that she had the option to tell Kody to do anything.  Robyn tells Christine that she needs to tell Kody what she’s told Robyn, about feeling isolated and insignificant.  Christine looks like she’d rather take a bath in Janelle’s Vegas bathtub, post-Maddie’s water birth, than talk to Kody.  I don’t blame her one bit. 

Kody’s stupid permed face pops up in a talking head and he says that Christine likes to take the past and spin it in a negative direction, and that he didn’t shower at her house because he liked to shower at Meri’s and then have breakfast at Christine’s.  If you were playing a game where you took a shot every time the word “shower” was uttered, I sincerely hope your liver is still functioning.  This season’s “shower” is last season’s “rental.”  Basically what we’ve had so far is Christine trying to tell some truths about living with these people while everyone else shoots her down.  I hope she watches this episode and immediately puts a For Sale sign on her house and moves to St. George with Truly.

Then it’s time for some scenes we’ve seen multiple times before – this time, it’s Pudge and Audge’s turn to look at wedding venues in Salt Lake City.  Nothing new here, except that one of the venues is at a ski lodge and since it’s March 12, 2020 (cue ominous music), there’s enough snow to require the family to take snowmobiles to the top of the mountain where the ceremony would take place, and guess who immediately whines and freaks right out?  That would be Janelle, who also whines and freaks out when asked to dance, or exercise, or wear a hat, or go to lunch with her sister-wives, etc.  Somehow the staff wrangles her ass onto a snowmobile and once at the top, she proclaims it “exhilarating.”  Whatever.  Maybe next time something like this comes up, Janelle, you just shut up about it and either do it or quietly excuse yourself.  But speaking of quiet, the family tours one venue with a huge dance floor and you’ll never guess who sliiiiiides himself onto the middle of the floor, a’ la Tom Cruise circa Risky Business, proceeds to do a terrible moonwalk and then shakes and shimmies for maximum hair floppibility?  If you guessed Kody, take another shot of your fave beverage – whatever gets you through this show, no judgement here.  The venue host does a hilarious talking head where she deadpans: “that Kody.  He sure has the moves.”  Lady – you don’t know the half of it.  Consider yourself lucky that you’ve only just met this toolbag. 

The ep finishes with the onset of Covid 19 and all its mystery and anxiety.  The wives talk about how they were going to fly back from Salt Lake City to Flagstaff, but so many flights were getting canceled, they ended up renting a car and driving home while Kody headed solo to Wyoming for his mother’s birthday party.  From here on, we’ll be treated to the family recording themselves on their phones or on remote-control cameras, because the production staff is out.  Kody, unfortunately, speaks for many of us at the episode’s end where he says, “I don’t know what we’re supposed to do.”  All I can say is thank goodness we are a year removed, there’s a vaccine, and hope on the horizon.  I would not go back one year and relive this for a million dollars.  This is going to make for an interesting remainder of the season.  Or a boring remainder……we shall see.

Warning: this episode is triggering.....for the pandemic, and for the word "shower."

Edited March 8, 2021 by laurakaye

[Tabbygirl521]

Robyn cleavage! 

[MargeGunderson]

I don’t think Janelle’s job was all that lucrative. She worked for the state government of Utah; state jobs are not usually well paid unless the person is high ranking, which Janelle wasn’t.

[Adeejay]

11 hours ago, crimson23 said:

Janelle had one side of the home, probably because she had more kids at the time. 

At that time, money in the Brown household was allotted by the number of wives, not number of kids. Which meant that Meri with her one blessing, was given the same amount as the other two ladies with their six.  As Meri so often reminded us, it wasn’t her fault that she had one child; she intended to have eight.  So, Janelle had one side of the Lehi home, because she bought the house with money from an inheritance and by  tapping into her 401K.  For whatever reason, she added Kody and Meri to the deed. 

[Grifter Lives]

1 hour ago, eskimo said:

I absolutely believe Christine about the 'basement wife', despite what Meri says.  If there were no hierarchy then Christine would have had first pick of apartments as a practical matter.  She was the one who was home 24/7 in that apt, while everyone else was at work all day.  And even if Jenelle gave birth to more kids, Christine actually had them more (I'm not counting time spent sleeping), plus all hers too.  So they lost me with that whole 'there's no hierarchy' thing.  If it were based on family needs, Christine would have had the biggest place.  It would have benefited all the kids. 

Meri's just asking them to ostracize her in her typical passive-aggressive way so that she can later cry that she was the victim.  If she honestly didn't know about the "basement wife," they were not at all close or as loving as they claimed to be and yearn to return to.  And, she is even more incompetent to guide them about living the Principle than Robyn.  Meanwhile, Robyn's takeaway from her visit with Christine is that maybe they deceived her by presenting themselves as such a happy polygamous family before she joined.  (Fortunately, she limits their participation in her monogamous marriage to financial support.)

There was another clue that Meri's completely removed from the family: Kody hints at LulaRoe, saying, "Meri and Christine both booked a cruise, and now it's canceled."  Immediately after, when Meri embellishes, she talks about it as her cruise alone.  

Edited March 8, 2021 by Grifter Lives

[Quickbeam]

I don’t think Kody ever liked Christine. She’s polygamy royalty and it was a feather in his cap. Got 6 kids from her, done. If he could throw her out like an old paper bag, he would. 
 

Janelle was the boy bringer. And I don’t think she asks much from him. 

[RedDelicious]

1 hour ago, bichonblitz said:

Edited to add: Christine has the most amazing hair. I love, love that loose side braid she was sporting. Just thought I would say something nice about Christine because I rarely ever do! 

I was thinking that last night too!!

[TurtlePower]

4 hours ago, laurakaye said:

And I suddenly find myself not loathing her as much as the others, lol.  I feel like she's the true "basement wife," and if anyone got crumbs in this fam'ly, it's certainly Christine.  I think it's possible that she's had enough and is starting to drop some truth bombs on the viewing audience.  I found myself kind of riveted when she told the truth about the Lehi house, how she was the one responsible for Janelle's kids at the expense of her own, and how isolated she was.  Now I take everything this family says with a giant grain of salt because I know how desperate they are to keep this show on the air, but darned if I wasn't thinking that perhaps we are starting to see how things rilly went down, and Christine is going to be our narrator while the others pretend like they don't know what she's talking about.

I feel for Christine because I don’t recall her “making waves” before this. She just kinda dealt with it. And now that she’s opening up about how she’s feeling about it, she’s somehow the problem? I like this Christine. 

At least she didn’t have an online affair and then lie about it. 

[laurakaye]

8 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

I don’t think Kody ever liked Christine. She’s polygamy royalty and it was a feather in his cap. Got 6 kids from her, done. If he could throw her out like an old paper bag, he would. 
 

Janelle was the boy bringer. And I don’t think she asks much from him. 

This.  Kody probably times his visits to Janelle for just after she's had her afternoon snack of Fritos and peanut butter and is sound asleep in the La-Z-Boy, her laptop dangling precariously from her belly.  And I absolutely believe Kody married Christine to make himself seem more "legit" in plyg circles.  He never loved her the way she loved him, and I think she thought that if she stayed home, raised everyone's kids, brought the fun and whimsy, and played sweet and innocent, he'd come to love her too.  But he never did, and I am enjoying Christine 2.0 as the truth-teller.

[NotinKansasanymore]

I was curious what the price was for Wadley  Farms with the castle venue. The castle by itself is 4,000 just for rental. The outside barn and garden is another 2,500. Plus cost of catering and decorations.

im curious as to if every child gets the same budget for their wedding. It only seems fair to tell each child you get this much. If you want more you pay the extra and if it’s less you keep the difference. That’s what my family did. 

 

plus I wonder if Audrey’s parents are paying for half since their are two brides.

[OdinO.]

2 hours ago, Sandy W said:

Much ado about nothing.  I may have seen their rationale if both their birthdays fell on August 29th, but this is a stretch to inconvenience guests,  a Saturday wedding is more traditional for reason.

I prefer a Sunday Brunch wedding. 

[the-grey-lady]

Not to brag or anything, but as a monogamous person, I have never – not once – had to worry about where my husband was showering.

Just sayin'.

So over the weekend, I saw this old-timey picture of people in a polio ward. They were all in iron lungs.

Every damn one of them looked happier than the members of this "fambly."

[bichonblitz]

32 minutes ago, the-grey-lady said:

Not to brag or anything, but as a monogamous person, I have never – not once – had to worry about where my husband was showering.

I don't even understand what that is all about. Is showering a sign for loving the other wives more? I remember seeing Christines Vegas bathroom a couple of times and it was a pigpen. Maybe that's why Kootie didn't want to shower there. A dirty bathroom, especiall a dirty shower can be a dealbreaker for me. 

I can't deal with Mariah and Audrey being back on my TeeVee. They are boring, have gotten fat, sloppy and did I say boring? Do either one if them have jobs? 

[Adeejay]

2 hours ago, CocoPuffs said:

Meri was the Queen and she can stop lying like she wasn’t aware of a hierarchy in their family and polygamy in general.

Meri is trying to rewrite history.  She lauded over the other ladies with her first wife status and used to throw her weight around, which is why some of the older kids resent her.  At the end of Kody and Robyn's wedding reception, before they left for their honeymoon, Robyn had to step aside so that Meri and Kody could have a special moment.  While Janelle’s kids appear to consider Christine a bonus mom, it’s clear they harbor no such feeling for Meri.  I’ll never forget her ripping Aspyn a new one for showing too much cleavage or wearing too short shorts.  I’ve seen her yell at Janelle’s boys for being overly rambunctious.  When Kody said all those negative things about her to Nancy, those were clearly thoughts that he’d been harboring all these years.

[smarty]

Do you wonder if maybe Christine was lax on discipline so it put Meri in the position of having to be the mean mom?  Based on the Christmas tree jumping we've seen allowed at Christine's house I sense she might have been more laid back.  

[Granny58]

3 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

I don’t think Kody ever liked Christine. She’s polygamy royalty and it was a feather in his cap. Got 6 kids from her, done. If he could throw her out like an old paper bag, he would. 
 

Janelle was the boy bringer. And I don’t think she asks much from him. 

As I recall, he said as much and that he was grossed out watching her eat tortilla chips or something.  I have to say, she did improve as she aged.   

[deirdra]

Janelle thinks being a "basement wife" only means physically living in a basement.  Christine was clearly using it also as a metaphor for being the low wife on the totem pole regardless of her accommodations.

Edited March 8, 2021 by deirdra

[Granny58]

3 hours ago, laurakaye said:

This.  Kody probably times his visits to Janelle for just after she's had her afternoon snack of Fritos and peanut butter and is sound asleep in the La-Z-Boy, her laptop dangling precariously from her belly. 

DEAD.  LOL.

[deirdra]

9 hours ago, Grifter Lives said:

Meri: Regular interaction is so important.  I prefer the friends in my head and catfish; they treat me better.

Meri, dear, therapist Nancy was talking about YOU in particular making up conversations in your head when you aren't conversing with people, not that all people do this.  I can go months without talking to some family, friends or enemies and just pick up where we left off the next time we talk.  I never make up conversations about what they might be thinking about me in the interim. I'm busy living my life.

[Tuxcat]

4 hours ago, bichonblitz said:

Not a Christine fan at all, and I can't believe I'm about to defend Janelle but Christine has left out an integral part of the Lehi structure. Janelle was the only wife working outside the home and from what I gather she had a very good job which she excelled at that she loved and paid very well. She enjoyed being out of the home. It was also her money along with Kody's that paid all the bills. Let's remember there was no TLC money at that time. The agreement was that Janelle works a full time job and Christine stays home with all the kids. Christine never had a career. All she was ever good for was brood mare and babysitter. Now she's whining about being the basement wife. Please. Cry me a river, Chrissy. It's what she wanted at the time.

I remember this spoken about vididly because I found it so very interesting how their plyg dynamic worked, living in one house and all. This was during the first season of the show when things were real, when they were real. Anybody remember those days? Before Robyn came on board? 

I don't remember what Janelle did for a living but it was a lucrative job, before Kody effed it up and decided they needed to run for cover in the middle of the night to Vegas. 

Edited to add: Christine has the most amazing hair. I love, love that loose side braid she was sporting. Just thought I would say something nice about Christine because I rarely ever do! 

Wow Christine is really doing the re-write if you ask me. IIRC she LOVED being the third wife. She didn't want to be #1 or #2 - only #3. And the arrangement in Lehi was because Janelle used her finances to buy the house. She worked full time. She had "the boys." Meri only had one child and therefore lived in the smallest portion of the house - plus she worked too. Christine got the second biggest part.

Christine hasn't ever been able to keep focus or have a job outside of the home. Even when presented the opportunity, she was not suited. She is the playful, almost child like caretaker and that was her choice when they were working out the Lehi house.

Not to mention - she was more of the fun playful favorite wife and was perfectly fine with playing that role. 

The thing that triggered these "now painful memories" is because Kody stopped favoring her when Robyn entered and Christine grew up a little and realized that things could be different in an adult relationship. I don't feel sorry for Christine at all. These were her choices.

[deirdra]

5 hours ago, Sandy W said:

Much ado about nothing.  I may have seen their rationale if both their birthdays fell on August 29th, but this is a stretch to inconvenience guests,  a Saturday wedding is more traditional for reason.

Why not get married on Saturday the 28th, hang out at the reception until just after midnight and then have all 24 hrs of the 29th as your first day married?  I guess it depends on what the other venues look like. Aren't Kootie and the wives worried they'll be arrested for being polygamists while driving to SLC for the weddingk?

19 hours ago, RedDelicious said:

And Kody went a little overboard with the toothbrush and the Grecian Formula.

On his mustache & beard?  I'd never seen his 'stache that dark before and there was a lot of grey in his beard the last couple of seasons.

------

Since Kootie likes babies, Christine was probably thinking when pregnant with Truely, that after sacrificing for years to rear and school the other 12 kids that she & her kids might finally get the attention from Dad that they deserved.  Then Robyn took that from her. And Meri had a hand in that, possibly so that Christine & Janelle didn't get too comfortable.

In past shows Meri talked about loving to go on road trips with Kootie.  That would have left Janelle to work and Christine to do every thing else for 12 kids. Meri must have been working sporadically to be able to take off for days.

Edited March 8, 2021 by deirdra

[Sandy W]

1 minute ago, deirdra said:

Why not get married on Saturday the 28th, hang out at the reception until just after midnight and thehave all 24 hrs of the 29th as your first day married?  I guess it depends on what the other venues look like.  

I was a bit confused.  Didn't the manager of the facility they all liked say that Utah is closed for business on Sunday, then that was glossed over and it appeared that Sunday the 29th would be OK. ???

[Art Of Noiz]

4 hours ago, bichonblitz said:

Not a Christine fan at all, and I can't believe I'm about to defend Janelle but Christine has left out an integral part of the Lehi structure. Janelle was the only wife working outside the home and from what I gather she had a very good job which she excelled at that she loved and paid very well. She enjoyed being out of the home. It was also her money along with Kody's that paid all the bills. Let's remember there was no TLC money at that time. The agreement was that Janelle works a full time job and Christine stays home with all the kids. Christine never had a career. All she was ever good for was brood mare and babysitter. Now she's whining about being the basement wife. Please. Cry me a river, Chrissy. It's what she wanted at the time.

I remember this spoken about vididly because I found it so very interesting how their plyg dynamic worked, living in one house and all. This was during the first season of the show when things were real, when they were real. Anybody remember those days? Before Robyn came on board? 

I don't remember what Janelle did for a living but it was a lucrative job, before Kody effed it up and decided they needed to run for cover in the middle of the night to Vegas. 

Edited to add: Christine has the most amazing hair. I love, love that loose side braid she was sporting. Just thought I would say something nice about Christine because I rarely ever do! 

Iirc, she worked for the State of Utah, not sure in which capacity. But I vaguely remember something about retirement plans (whose, I'm not sure)  being cashed out for MSWC.