Kody Brown: Part-Time Father, Full-Time Asshat

[Sandy W]

1 hour ago, Roslyn said:

 

Even after 30 years of marriages and children, moving and jobs...10+ years of a television show and therapy...this entire family truly sucks at any and all communication.

Most of us probably feel more affinity to people we recognize the faces of when we encounter them in local shops and may not even know their name.  We can share relaxed chitchat or exchange friendly greetings because we are not filled with resentment over our kids being shortchanged by an absentee father or jealousy over our husband spending the night in their bed. 

They claim that polygamy teaches them to rise above these petty emotions, I have seen no evidence of that.  Quite the opposite in fact.

[Art Of Noiz]

23 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

I think Kody said that about Robyn, but I'm sure she is happy to play the martyr.

Yes, but someone planted a seed.. he's not that bright, and he has picked up a lot of her codewords. Imo.

e.g. he says "sittinher". He's picked that up in the last couple of seasons.

[Cetacean]

On 7/15/2021 at 4:39 PM, SunnyBeBe said:

And so he feels like a failure.

He IS a failure on all fronts. 

If he truly believed in the preachings of his cockamamie church, he'd be fine and would have the support of other AUB members.  But he sold his soul (and those of his family) to the gods of TLC without thinking any of it through like he does with everything else.  The man doesn't look more than five minutes ahead and is always leaping from one insane idea to the next. 

Most of this mess sits squarely on his shoulders because he is a famewhore.  If he hadn't latched on to the TLC teat he might have actually gotten a real job and wouldn't have had to bring in Robyn to mess up the status quo.  Of course, he is still an idiot so I doubt his kids would have liked him any better but they may not have totally written him off.

The jerk has absolutely no redeeming features that I can discern.

[deirdra]

19 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

It sure has. And he doesn’t seem to mind showing it. 

This season we got to see the ugly side of things and Kody is finally showing how he actually feels about it all. 

He seems to feel justified that nothing is his fault, it is the fault of the wives ganging up on him on many trivial matters and that his response is normal and viewers will agree with him.  We don't. But he'll take the heat if that is what is required to get another season out of TLC.

Edited July 18, 2021 by deirdra

[Scarlett45]

42 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

He IS a failure on all fronts. 

If he truly believed in the preachings of his cockamamie church, he'd be fine and would have the support of other AUB members.  But he sold his soul (and those of his family) to the gods of TLC without thinking any of it through like he does with everything else.  The man doesn't look more than five minutes ahead and is always leaping from one insane idea to the next. 

Most of this mess sits squarely on his shoulders because he is a famewhore.  If he hadn't latched on to the TLC teat he might have actually gotten a real job and wouldn't have had to bring in Robyn to mess up the status quo.  Of course, he is still an idiot so I doubt his kids would have liked him any better but they may not have totally written him off.

The jerk has absolutely no redeeming features that I can discern.

Kody is a fame whore. They could’ve gone public without the show, and if Kody and Janelle had kept working full time, Meri worked part time and Christine stayed the primary caregiver they would’ve been fine financially as the older kids moved out and became more independent. 
 

But Kody wanted to be admired!

[Shelbie]

Kody is angry because he doesn’t see the disconnect between how he is supposed to treat his family and how he actually behaves. His wives and children and the viewers of his show do. 
He seems incapable of admitting he is ever wrong and keeps making asinine financial decisions that will push him and any wives who stay after the show is canceled into a horrible old age.

[deirdra]

2 hours ago, Shelbie said:

He seems incapable of admitting he is ever wrong and keeps making asinine financial decisions that will push him and any wives who stay after the show is canceled into a horrible old age.

How does Social Security work with people whose sole income comes from a few years of participating in MLM schemes? In Canada we pay CPP premiums on our self-employment earnings when we file our taxes - does the same happen in the US, assuming these people declare all of their income?  I worry about Christine who put in >20 years raising other peoples' kids for no pay, so no SS premiums paid for most of her life until the last few years and no legal claim on Kootie's SS when his big heart gives out. At least she has not alienated her children.  Maybe one or more of them will take her in.

I always wonder how the money is distributed from TLC to "Kody Brown Entertainment" and if individuals are paid salaries to accrue Social Security.  

Edited July 18, 2021 by deirdra

[MargeGunderson]

7 minutes ago, deirdra said:

How does Social Security work with people whose sole income comes from MLM schemes? In Canada we pay CPP premiums on our self-employment earnings when we file our taxes - does the same happen in the US, assuming these people declare all of their income?  I worry about Christine who put in >20 years raising other peoples' kids for no pay, so no SS premiums paid for most of her life and no legal claims to Kootie's SS when his big heart gives out.

They would be considered self-employed, and have to pay social security taxes on their net proceeds of their business. Christine would pay on her proceeds fro Lula Roe and the other MLMs she does. But if she’s not making much, she’s not contributing much. She should also be paying on her Sister Wives money, but that might depend on how they are being paid, each as a contractor or if they have a LLC for the money and they all get paid as employees of the LLC.

[deirdra]

I always image Kootie, who thinks real jobs and taxes are for suckers, would encourage everyone to minimize income and taxes, not thinking about the future, when it would help to have sizeable SS checks coming in during their senior years.

[Sandy W]

I am also Canadian, so not sure how it would work in the US, but if Janelle was truly "smarter than the average Brown", she may have set it up (at least on paper) that Meri and Janelle were paying for child care over those 20 years and Christine would have submitted this as income and paid into SS based on that.  Another benefit may have been that Meri and Janelle could have written off the cost of childcare against their income.

[deirdra]

That would be a reasonable plan, Sandy W, and one that my friends & family would think of because they plan for retirement, but Janelle cashed in her government pension and put it into the Lehi house, which they lost money on.  She may be "smarter than the average Brown", but that's a very low bar!

Edited July 18, 2021 by deirdra

[Sandy W]

4 minutes ago, deirdra said:

That would be a reasonable plan, Sandy W, but Janelle cashed in her government pension and put it into the Lehi house, which they lost money on.  She may be "smarter than the average Brown", but that's a very low bar.

I have read that Janelle also was the beneficiary of an inheritance that she poured into the Lehi house as well as her pension funds.  I read the chain of title to the Lehi home, it was originally in Janelle's name only, within a few months Kody was added and shortly after that, Meri was added.

What a good obedient soldier you are Janelle!

[MargeGunderson]

27 minutes ago, Sandy W said:

I have read that Janelle also was the beneficiary of an inheritance that she poured into the Lehi house as well as her pension funds.  I read the chain of title to the Lehi home, it was originally in Janelle's name only, within a few months Kody was added and shortly after that, Meri was added.

What a good obedient soldier you are Janelle!

And for all of your sacrifices, you get an RV on a patch of dust while everyone else gets a nice house!

[xwordfanatik]

1 hour ago, Sandy W said:

I have read that Janelle also was the beneficiary of an inheritance that she poured into the Lehi house as well as her pension funds.  I read the chain of title to the Lehi home, it was originally in Janelle's name only, within a few months Kody was added and shortly after that, Meri was added.

What a good obedient soldier you are Janelle!

Very sad, indeed, especially considering she & Meri couldn't stand each other!  I certainly would have drawn the line at adding anyone, considering it was her money, and Kootie wasn't her legal spouse.  Selfish?  It would be a rill asset in that gang of moochers to be selfish and think of #1.

[Kellyee]

Quote

All of the kids probably thought their mother was the "basement wife". Even Robyn has said she got the other wives' "scraps".

Robyn joined a huge family where only two people were actually happy to see her: Kody and Meri (at first). The others either didn't care or were actively resentful towards Robyn and her first 3 kids. I have no freaking clue why any of these women signed up for this situation. Even Robyn's 3 kids suffered from it, as the other kids already had existing bonds with each other that they were never going to have themselves.

 

 

 

[Sandy W]

1 hour ago, Kellyee said:

Robyn joined a huge family where only two people were actually happy to see her: Kody and Meri (at first). The others either didn't care or were actively resentful towards Robyn and her first 3 kids. I have no freaking clue why any of these women signed up for this situation. Even Robyn's 3 kids suffered from it, as the other kids already had existing bonds with each other that they were never going to have themselves.

 

 

 

You are asking the timeless question of WHY and after 10 years of avid viewing, I have not found a reasonable explanation.  It's not as if they were raised in isolated compounds with absolutely no exposure to the outside world, and only in Christine's instance does the practice carry back to the inception of polygamy in modern times.  Janelle and Kody both converted and had no previous history with polygamy and were in fact brought up as traditional Mormons who disconnected from polygamy many years ago.  I understand that their religion promises a glorious eternal afterlife for those wives that can get through this life abiding by the tenets and who merit a calling from their husband, and for them, I guess that blind faith is enough.

It creeps me out to think of Meri sending her husband out to court another woman, ensuring he was suitably dressed and buffed up and driving his sporty little convertible.  It must have seemed heaven sent to Robyn, who had been instructed by her own mother to "get her scent out there" like a dog in heat.  Robyn brought nothing to the group dynamic besides 3 emotionally fragile kids, a ton of overdue debt and a fecund uterus.

Live and Let Live, To Each Their Own, and all the other platitudes still haven't resolved the WHY for my inquiring mind.

 

 

[LilyD]

23 hours ago, Kellyee said:

Robyn joined a huge family where only two people were actually happy to see her: Kody and Meri (at first). The others either didn't care or were actively resentful towards Robyn and her first 3 kids.

The typical modern blended family issue: Mom and dad decide to divorce find new partners who bring along an army of step brothers and sisters you are supposed to love from day 1 and with whom you have no past. You cannot force love between two people, so why do we expect this from our own children in such situation?  

 

[xwordfanatik]

Kootie definitely wanted to be RobChin's hero, and do the dance with no pants with her.

There is no way I could live that life, and dill with all that drama.  The Browns were on a mission to show what a charming life they lead, and grab onto that TLC God they worship.  Major fail.

[Sandy W]

4 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

Kootie definitely wanted to be RobChin's hero, and do the dance with no pants with her.

There is no way I could live that life, and dill with all that drama.  The Browns were on a mission to show what a charming life they lead, and grab onto that TLC God they worship.  Major fail.

"dance with no pants"  I am 💀 and adding that to my repertoire of snappy sayings to impress my adult grandkids.  Thank You XWord, still laughing. 

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, xwordfanatik said:

Kootie definitely wanted to be RobChin's hero, and do the dance with no pants with her.

This is truly hilarious. I cannot. 

 

I also think after 17yrs with the same three women, Kody was bored AF, and Robin was "fresh vagina" (Robin is a person of course, but not a very interesting one as far as we can see, its not as if she brought any assets or an incredible wit to the family) as well as a chance to get a reality tv show, fame, admiration etc etc. - also more babies which Kody wanted and Christine had said she was done (as did Janelle).

Kody was enamored with her, and Meri thought by bringing her in, she would be Kody's favorite again. I dont think Kodi was thinking of the well being of Meri, Janelle, Christine or his kids when he started courting Robyn. They should've been his first priority, not his desire to do the "dance with no pants".

Of course step-siblings can grow to love and value each other, but Robyn didnt have a JOB. How do you bring FOUR more mouths to feed into the home and not add an additional income? How did they know TLC would keep them on?

[Twopper]

On 7/18/2021 at 12:00 PM, Sandy W said:

I have read that Janelle also was the beneficiary of an inheritance that she poured into the Lehi house as well as her pension funds. 

i think if I recall correctly it was the inheritance which went to the purchase of the Lehi house, but the pension fund money went to support them the first year in Vegas.  There is a scene in the rental house in Vegas where Kodi mentions cashing in his retirement account and there is mention of Janelle also doing the same.  It sounded as though they both did it at about the same time.

 

On 7/19/2021 at 10:31 AM, Sandy W said:

It creeps me out to think of Meri sending her husband out to court another woman, ensuring he was suitably dressed and buffed up and driving his sporty little convertible.  I

Also in the book it mentions that Meri's mother was a first wife who was the force behind getting her husband to practice polygamy.  I have a feeling Meri took lessons from Bonnie. The positive feelings I had toward Bonnie on the show evaporated a lot when I read the book.

[LilyD]

21 hours ago, Twopper said:

but the pension fund money went to support them the first year in Vegas.  There is a scene in the rental house in Vegas where Kodi mentions cashing in his retirement account and there is mention of Janelle also doing the same

Are you serious? They must be even more stupid than I thought... So on top of all the disastrous house buying and selling at a loss or minimal profit, failed business endeavours, wasting a fortune on numerous outrageously high rents and going bankrupt a few times, we can now add blowing away your pension/retirement money? Possibly the very last safety net they had? What will their future look like? Do they even have a future if this is true?

[Cetacean]

2 hours ago, LilyD said:

Do they even have a future if this is true?

I believe that in Kootie's mind, TLC will keep renewing the shitshow until the end of time.  After all, they are all so terribly fascinating.

[LilyD]

On 7/22/2021 at 2:15 AM, Cetacean said:

I believe that in Kootie's mind, TLC will keep renewing the shitshow until the end of time.  After all, they are all so terribly fascinating.

 

[Art Of Noiz]

8 hours ago, LilyD said:

 

Ok.  Its Kody's hair but Robyn's chin. 

[LilyD]

14 hours ago, Art Of Noiz said:

Ok.  Its Kody's hair but Robyn's chin. 

Omg you made me laugh so bad!!😂😂😂 My kids were watching Hercules the other day and when this guy showed up, all I could think of was Kody Brown.   I hadn’t thought of Robyn when I posted this.But you bested me with that chinny remark!😉

[monagatuna]

On 7/23/2021 at 10:56 AM, LilyD said:

 

It IS mildly interesting to see how he styles the scraps he's clinging to.

[Scarlett45]

On 7/21/2021 at 4:53 PM, LilyD said:

Are you serious? They must be even more stupid than I thought... So on top of all the disastrous house buying and selling at a loss or minimal profit, failed business endeavours, wasting a fortune on numerous outrageously high rents and going bankrupt a few times, we can now add blowing away your pension/retirement money? Possibly the very last safety net they had? What will their future look like? Do they even have a future if this is true?

Truthfully, I think that the Browns fully intend to use their kids as a retirement fund. Kody and Janelle will likely collect some type of Social Security and Medicare when the time comes, Janelle would be subsidized by one of her sons. Christine will be in the worst shape financially, but given how many kids there are, they wont let Christine live in poverty in her senior years. I could see Christine living with one of her girls as their nanny (so long as her health allowed it) and the other kids sending her an allowance to keep her comfortable. 

Given this is the Kody thread, KODY will be the one in deep water as a senior citizen. Given how much contempt the older kids have for him (rightly so), if he gets on Robin's bad side, he might not have anywhere to go. And heaven forbid he get sick and need a caregiver, how he has treated his wives, I don't see them standing by him. They are annoyed with him NOW, if he was 70+ and actually sick they would not be pleased to see him.

[Irate Panda]

I’m not saying they can live on it, but wouldn’t they all have enough credits by now working on the show to collect social security whenever they retire, but I do think Kody will expect the kids to help them with their retirement funds. 

[Absolom]

15 minutes ago, Irate Panda said:

I’m not saying they can live on it, but wouldn’t they all have enough credits by now working on the show to collect social security whenever they retire, but I do think Kody will expect the kids to help them with their retirement funds.

This isn't normal paid employment.  They aren't employees of TLC or of the production company.  They're more like contractors.  IF they filed their taxes as self-employed and if they could justify that and paid self-employment taxes, then they'd have the credit.  

[Irate Panda]

6 minutes ago, Absolom said:

This isn't normal paid employment.  They aren't employees of TLC or of the production company.  They're more like contractors.  IF they filed their taxes as self-employed and if they could justify that and paid self-employment taxes, then they'd have the credit.  

Yeah I thought they would be considered self-employed with that LLC they formed, but I had no idea about how they pay their taxes.  Then again the Browns financial situation always fascinates me 😂

[deirdra]

If you work more than 10 years, you will qualify for Social Security benefits, but will not get the full amount.  If you claim benefits with fewer than 35 years of earnings, Social Security credits you with no income for each year up to 35.

Edited July 30, 2021 by deirdra

[MargeGunderson]

So Christine is pretty much screwed, since she’s never had a job outside of the show and now whatever she does with her MLM schemes. Robin is a little better off, since she can also claim Kody’s benefits as his wife, but she has no earnings except for the show and the joolry store, which wasn’t successful. Meri can also collect on Kody’s SS, since she was married to him for longer, plus she has presumably paid more into SS from her more successful LuLaNoe sales and the inn. Jenelle has worked more than any of them in a salaried job, but I don’t get the sense that she was making a great salary. I would bet that none of them has saved a penny for retirement so they have nothing to supplement whatever they do get from SS. Those poor kids, expected to fund their parents’ retirement. 

[Absolom]

10 hours ago, deirdra said:

If you work more than 10 years (as the Browns have on TLC), you will qualify for Social Security benefits, but will not get the full amount.  If you claim benefits with fewer than 35 years of earnings, Social Security credits you with no income for each year up to 35.

They don't work for TLC though.  They are not employees of TLC as defined by the Social Security Act.  They produce a show for a production company that then sells that show to TLC.  

[Elizzikra]

Quote

I would bet that none of them has saved a penny for retirement

I didn't watch the early seasons but I believe that Janelle had a retirement account that she cashed out to purchase one of their homes. 

I don't know how they get by financially now, much less what they will do when there is no more television money and they are older and not able to work. They really strike me as a financial house of cards that will blow over at any minute...

[itsadryheat]

Grifters gonna grift.

Just cause this guy has another birthday, won't stop him from another get money quick scheme. Contrite return to AUB, government something, start a for money church, pyramid selling, gun running, selling autographs at a z list reality show.

His bloated ego will not retire quietly into oblivion.

[MargeGunderson]

3 hours ago, Absolom said:

They don't work for TLC though.  They are not employees of TLC as defined by the Social Security Act.  They produce a show for a production company that then sells that show to TLC.  

Right, but if they file taxes as independent contractors, or if they are employees of the Brown family LLC and are paid from that, they will contribute something to SS from that income. 

[Absolom]

3 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

Right, but if they file taxes as independent contractors, or if they are employees of the Brown family LLC and are paid from that, they will contribute something to SS from that income. 

This is true.  I was refuting what looked like someone thinking they were employees of TLC directly.  Many people believe that they are.  Employees of a family owned LLC might get a review, but properly structured would qualify.  

[Irate Panda]

12 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

I didn't watch the early seasons but I believe that Janelle had a retirement account that she cashed out to purchase one of their homes. 

I don't know how they get by financially now, much less what they will do when there is no more television money and they are older and not able to work. They really strike me as a financial house of cards that will blow over at any minute...

I think Janelle used an inheritance to help purchase the Lehi house and she and Kody cashed out their retirement funds when the family moved to Vegas.  I’m not sure if they cashed out retirement plans before that but it wouldn’t surprise me if they did that for the purchase or upkeep of the hom or regular bills.

Edited July 29, 2021 by Irate Panda

[deirdra]

6 hours ago, Absolom said:

Employees of a family owned LLC might get a review, but properly structured would qualify.  

They would qualify for some SS benefits, but only for the years that they worked for a salary. Christine & Robyn will have several $0 years in the 35 years needed to qualify for full SS benefits.

Kootie & Robyn also took out a $150K loan against their mansion right after they bought it, probably to pay for upkeep & regular bills.  They probably have little or no equity in it. Their retirement won't be cushy. But they have only themselves and their bad decisions to blame.

Edited July 29, 2021 by deirdra

[xwordfanatik]

Kootie and his cult are not unlike a lot of other cults.  Follow the (demented) leader to the end of the earth, regardless of logic or common sense.

[Sandy W]

2 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

Kootie and his cult are not unlike a lot of other cults.  Follow the (demented) leader to the end of the earth, regardless of logic or common sense.

I am optimistic that Christine has developed an awareness of the imbalance in this lifestyle.  She had the strongest family legacy of polygamy and would have been the most indoctrinated when the program first aired.

Recent events, such as Kody's callous disregard for Ysabel's pain and suffering and the family's refusal to even consider her proposed return to Utah may have opened her eyes to the brutal realities of her life. 

I am pretty sure that Gwen would be leading the choir of support if she decided to remove herself.  She has raised her kids with love and acceptance, unlike Janelle whose mantra seems to be "whatever 'Dad' says goes" or Robyn, who is totally reliant on the family unit for support.  Christine's kids, mother, and other family members will be there for her if she gathers the strength to act in the interests of her kids and her own mental and physical health. 

[Teafortwo]

On 7/27/2021 at 3:26 PM, Scarlett45 said:

Truthfully, I think that the Browns fully intend to use their kids as a retirement fund. Kody and Janelle will likely collect some type of Social Security and Medicare when the time comes, Janelle would be subsidized by one of her sons. Christine will be in the worst shape financially, but given how many kids there are, they wont let Christine live in poverty in her senior years. I could see Christine living with one of her girls as their nanny (so long as her health allowed it) and the other kids sending her an allowance to keep her comfortable. 

This. I've said similar before regarding Christine; I do think the kids, particularly the older ones, will take care of her financially when it becomes necessary. Same for Janelle - I would expect that her several sons would share the financial burden, if any, beyond what she'll collect. I'm hoping that someone decent advised them with setting up the LLC so that they do in fact collect SS-eligible income from being employed by the LLC. 

I also think the boys, at least, would take care of their father, although I'm sure they won't be happy about it if it comes to that. They would likely hate the idea that helping their father also means subsidizing his wife by proxy. But who knows, when Sol ascends to the throne he may have enough to take care of both his parents! /s

[Teafortwo]

On 7/20/2021 at 3:03 PM, Scarlett45 said:

How do you bring FOUR more mouths to feed into the home and not add an additional income? How did they know TLC would keep them on?

They REALLY gambled on this - it could have ended up as a one-season show. Then what? I guess they would have stayed in Lehi in that case (with Robyn in her rennal).

[Scarlett45]

3 minutes ago, Teafortwo said:

They REALLY gambled on this - it could have ended up as a one-season show. Then what? I guess they would have stayed in Lehi in that case (with Robyn in her rennal).

I think Kody would've made Meri get a better job in order to support Robyn and her kids. Then Kody would've been heading over to the rental for extra time with Robyn.

[WhatAmIWatching]

I figured if *I* had to see this, then you all must see it, too. You're welcome!

[Sandy W]

Wondering what to get your loved one for a birthday or anniversary gift?  Why not words of wisdom on how to manage a menagerie of not one but FOUR spouses.

Cameos are now available from Kody Brown for a mere $60. according to his Instagram. 

Requests to become the fifth wife will not be entertained.

 

[laurakaye]

Oh man......the temptation is real but I would sooner pay for a Cameo from FT to ask him for his chicken cordon blue recipe than listen to Kody babble for any length of time.

[Sandy W]

3 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

Oh man......the temptation is real but I would sooner pay for a Cameo from FT to ask him for his chicken cordon blue recipe than listen to Kody babble for any length of time.

I have to admire the optimistic value he places on his Cameos.  I think Christine and Janelle have set theirs at $35.  

I assume he's taking the quality over quantity approach, something he didn't consider when assembling his harem.

 

[ginger90]

Interesting, prior to his Cameo post, Kody last posted on Instagram July 4th, 2020!