S19.E10: A Man After My Own Heart

[Mod-Tranquilizer]

Christine and David’s relationship continues when they go off-roading in Moab and David gets down on one knee; Ysabel is in tears over fears of losing her dad; Meri asks Kody to help her move to Parowon.

[Denize]

I was worried that Christine & David (or at least the ring) would topple off the mountain during the proposal.

[Chalby]

I have no issues with any of the "escaped" wives, but I'm not even inclined to want to comment anymore, because this all is OLD NEWS. I love these forums for the sense of community, but we've already said everything there is to say. 😢 

If they can't film anything relatively current, please just cancel the show.

[Dobian]

"I don't know if it's passive-aggressive, aggressive, or a joke"

It's not a joke.  Hope that narrows it down for you, Kodman.

[laurakaye]

The only good part of this episode was the preview for the next episode.

I have thought all along that once Meri finally peaced out, Kody was going to suddenly decide that he has the hots for her again.  He pushed and shoved her off the cliff, she hung on for dear life, and then finally let go and found out that the fall was only off a curb, not a mountain.  And now that she's landed on her feet without Kody's wisdom and leadership, he's all turned on by it.

Kody seems to not want to hate all of the OG3 at the same time.  I think he feels like he has to dangle his carrot in front of at least one of them so he can pretend that polygamy would have worked for them, but it was the women who forced it to its end.  Christine is a lost cause for him now.  Last week we saw him slobbering over Janelle and she was all - dude, no, LOL.  Now he's doing it to Meri.  Only now, she and Janelle both seem to finally be on to his mind games and they're done.  Look, Kody, you don't mess with a woman of a certain age - many of us are mentally exhausted and have no more f***'s to give.

 

[sassi214]

I really do enjoy seeing Christine so happy and I can tolerate all of the slobbering giddiness because it really truly seems to never had happened with Kody as much as she tried. I'm rewatching from the beginning and I'm on season 10 and boy oh boy do you SEE the slipping away of it all. Meri, Christine, even some issues with Janelle. Once Sol and Ari were born, Kody was OUT OF THERE. He spent almost all of his time at Robin's. It was grotesque. 

Janelle didn't mind it much her being so independent. 

But you can see Christine especially NEEDING love and affection from Kody and he would NOT give her an inch. It was so uncomfortable to watch. 

I think Christine really loved Kody at one point and really tried to make it work with him. But he was absolutely awful how he withheld. 

She deserves to jump whole body into this relationship with David. 

People criticize her because this is making her kids uncomfortable but aside from Truly, it really shouldn't matter or stop her or slow her down. She gave her entire life to her family, her marriage, her sister wives and her kids. Truly is a teenager and has a very good support system. I do think it's now Christine's time in her life to LIVE it the way she needs to. 

Plus I think David seems like a good guy, a family man. I think he will be good for them all. It is important for Christine's kids, especially Truly, to see a loving healthy, affectionate relationship. 

It bums me out when adult children, or older children have such a strong negative reaction when parents show love and affection to each other. How sad!

 

[Chalby]

1 hour ago, sassi214 said:

I do think it's now Christine's time in her life to LIVE it the way she needs to. 

Plus I think David seems like a good guy, a family man. I think he will be good for them all.

Love this post. When I watch past episodes, I too can see that the love Christine had for Kody and all the kids was bubbling out of her. She was always very affectionate with the kids, and it must have killed her that she couldn't touch kody in public, and then Kody stopped all intimacy.

She's had 30 years of repressing any outer physical love, and I'm sure the next couple of years will find her indulging in all the PDA that comes with an average couple (and David's a good sport for indulging her.)

And Christine wants all the kids to have a relationship with Grody. After a couple of years, I can see Christine facilitating scenarios for kody to sit down with the kids. (Unless he keeps punishing family members who he feels 'betrayed' him because they supported Christine leaving.)

Lastly, I really liked Janelle's summation of how Kody could make them each feel bad about themselves (and then grateful he still married them?) Christine's Achilles heel is her appearance, so he ensured she knew he found her unattractive.

Janelle's insecurity is finances, and look where she's at... no home and he's not sharing his future plans re: property with her.

Lastly, Meri's fear was all about Kody withholding love especially when he didn't feel she was loyal enough, or had his back. Plus he punished her for not continuing the polygamy farce, and forcing him to admit publicly they haven't been a couple because of him. No wonder Meri wasn't super close with the wives, Kody made sure of that. It served him well that they couldn't gather and compare lies.

So that scene with him & Meri sobbing...? Lol, The ultimate gaslighting, as that's all Meri ever wanted. Recognition she was loved at one time.

Gawd, he's horrible person.

Edited November 18 by Chalby

[Chalby]

13 hours ago, Denize said:

I was worried that Christine & David (or at least the ring) would topple off the mountain during the proposal.

Lol, I think I heard David's knee cracking as he was trying to do a proper proposal. Poor guy, but you gotta love him for allowing a 50 year old romantic experience her first proposal.

[WhatAmIWatching]

Ugh, Kody only wanted Meri to move to Flagstaff and stay there because he wanted her to pitch in financially to his and Robyn's life, down payment/emergency fund and tchotchke hoard. No extra wives = no more dipping into their wallets. It was cruel of him to pretend that he wanted to rekindle their relationship and start over when he didn't mean it.

The David and Christine proposal was at a beautiful spot but was a little lame. Does everything have to be recorded and have an audience? Why not do a reenactment or retelling instead of sharing such a private moment with the masses? (Yes, I'm watching it lol but still)

Oh my gawd, Robyn just had to victimize herself again and say that the other wives were against her and made her odd wife out. That's SO far from the truth it's annoying.

Robyn has The Littles wrapped in bubble wrap! She is not setting them up for success later in life. She's actually setting them up to have anxiety issues for normal, everyday changes and challenges. That's bad parenting!
 

Kody just admitted that ROBYN was the one who told him to allow Meri to believe she still had a hope of reconciliation. I hope that gets him in trouble with Queen Bee.
Is that where the "As the man, I can't leave. The wife has to make that choice" really came from? Was it Robyn and not their religion (that they stopped following a long time ago anyway)?

Robyn just wanted minions to lord her real marriage over and control via Kody. Why did she want Meri to stay so badly when Meri just outed that she never saw them anyway? (Which we already knew but it was nice to hear her finally confirm) I think she, like Kody, wanted the 3 to hang on for financial reasons.

[UsernameFatigue]

The best scene of this whole episode was David expressing surprise that Mykelti and Tony had cleaned their house. And Christine's reaction to him saying it on camera. Lol.

I wonder what the rating are for this show? It takes me so little time to watch as I am not interested in the never ending footage of the past. Heck, the whole show is the past. I can't imagine it surviving another season. 

[Chris Knight]

I cant stand Mykelti but can't fault her for what may have been a messy house. I remember those days when our children were small and it was rough keeping up with chores in addition to feeding, diapers, laundry, etc. 

So sad for Ysabel. She's not really weeping that she hopes David won't replace her a-hole dad, because Kody is absolutely not present to begin with. It really has nothing to do with David, except to point out to her what a real father is like, when she apparently sees David with his own children. Compared with Kody, David is a real father and a real man.

I find Truly's behavior puzzling. I know she's at that awkward age but in last night's episode, she seemed to be seeking out the camera, and biting David for attention. 

I felt so bad for Meri that no one checks on her, not for years. When she travels, no one cares if she arrives at her destination. That is heartbreaking. 

I hate Robyn.

Edited November 18 by Chris Knight

[Orcinus orca]

2 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I wonder what the rating are for this show? It takes me so little time to watch as I am not interested in the never ending footage of the past. Heck, the whole show is the past. I can't imagine it surviving another season. 

As long as there are viewers, even those that FF through it, it will air.  The network gets advertising dollars either way.  Those that continue to hang out watching eternal clips of old news are fine with TLC. 

The only way they will go away is to stop watching.

[Roslyn]

We are 10 episodes into this season and I have had very little to say. I do believe that Garrison's death really took the piss out of me. The show is more depressing than anything else. I have read so many comments about how "boring" this season is, and some episodes have very little content and odd editing of "conversations" that are more facial shots and voice over of solitary talking heads.

However this season (beyond Christine's replay of the teen years) has been validating if anything else. The fandom was right. People have picked up on the toxicity under the surface through the Browns vague speaking and Kody's couch session touches and dark glares. It's pretty obvious that they all played their roles and now that they no longer depend on Kody or play nice just for him to be in their children's presence for a moment here and there that they speak more freely than before.

Kody is the one crumbling because he has always expected for all of the family to create his life and experiences for him. They all had the job to keep him as the star of the show, the center of attention and the most adored in the room. He has been able to get away saying anything that pops into his head no matter how rude, condescending or toxic because he's just being honest.

The professor of anthropology way back when had it right. Polygamist families fail because of the husband.

 

[65mickey]

I wonder if TLC is going inflict the wedding episodes on us again so that we can all pretend that we didn't know how this all worked out last year. 

Meri is a bad painter. I hope this was just for the show and someone came in later and repainted the walls.  The David and Christine show is wearing thin. We hardly saw Janelle. 

 

 

 

 

 

[UsernameFatigue]

1 hour ago, Orcinus orca said:

As long as there are viewers, even those that FF through it, it will air.  The network gets advertising dollars either way.  Those that continue to hang out watching eternal clips of old news are fine with TLC. 

The only way they will go away is to stop watching.

But how does the network know people are watching? Or advertisers? Personally I never watch ads, I always tape shows and FF past the commercials. Are you saying that a ratings system is no longer used by networks to know how many people are watching any given show? I am confused. 

[Orcinus orca]

21 minutes ago, UsernameFatigue said:

But how does the network know people are watching? Or advertisers? Personally I never watch ads, I always tape shows and FF past the commercials. Are you saying that a ratings system is no longer used by networks to know how many people are watching any given show? I am confused. 

Networks still use the Neilsen ratings. They get statistics on viewing habits of selected demographic groups.  As long as their target audience is watching, they will keep producing.  And advertisers sell ads to those shows based on the demographics of the viewers as well. Advertising dollars help pay to produce the shows.

Enough Neilsen "families" watch this boring dreck, apparently.

[Absolom]

2 hours ago, Chris Knight said:

I find Truly's behavior puzzling. I know she's at that awkward age but in last night's episode, she seemed to be seeking out the camera, and biting David for attention. 

I felt so bad for Meri that no one checks on her, not for years. When she travels, no one cares if she arrives at her destination. That is heartbreaking. 

I hate Robyn.

I'm a couple episodes behind, but Truely's behavior is more in line with what I see in five to seven year olds than 11 to 14 year olds. My 12 year old grandson would rather be crushed under a rock slide than be on video acting like a little kid.  Truely is not being age or manners appropriate especially since it's obvious a camera crew is there and this is going to be on TV.  She must be extremely attention starved or there's something going on that should be dealt with.

I hope Leon pays attention to Meri and has a good relationship that we'll never hear about. It was long passed time for Meri to ditch the alleged "family."

2 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

As long as there are viewers, even those that FF through it, it will air.  The network gets advertising dollars either way.  Those that continue to hang out watching eternal clips of old news are fine with TLC. 

Slight change - as long as it's making adequate profit, it will stay on the air.  If several shows come along with a better profit margin, it's gone.  If it dips below TLC's profit line, wherever that may be these days, it's gone.

[Absolom]

Nielsen is still around plus the cable systems and streamers track viewership. That's how they get things like live viewing plus 2 and such.

[OlderThanDirt]

The timing between the Utah and Flagstaff segments was weird. Autumn leaves in Utah and that weird head high snowman tunnel with Meri walking  up to the house.  Of course no one was outside in Lehi so maybe that was just B roll footage. But there was no snow when they were moving into the house but the mountains were snow covered so maybe early spring?

Edited November 19 by OlderThanDirt

[candall]

@sassi214, I couldn't do it myself, but I appreciate that you're reviewing the entire timeline of the show with fresh eyes.  I can see now how Christine, Meri and Janelle were all just famished for affection and validation from Kody and how it never arrived in sufficient amounts to nourish them.

But of course that's the basic question everyone had when Sister Wives premiered.  How DOES a marriage thrive with three wives and only one husband?

I am enjoying the last couple of seasons because we finally have the unvarnished answer to that question:  it does not.

 

I love watching Christine roll around like a lamb in a clover meadow, soaking up all the good new things in her life right now.  You giggle and suck face all you want, Christine, and more power to you.  You earned it.  ("Basement wife," indeed!  Hmmph.)

I wish Janelle held the deed to "Robyn's house," since I get the feeling Janelle basically paid for it.  But Janelle's smart and she's found her footing; I think she'll be okay.

 

I never saw a woman who needed a strong best friend as much as Meri.  I hope her bestie in Padowan is legit.  If Kody finds it necessary to gaslight her to hopeful tears one more time, I think my head will explode.

[SemiCharmedLife]

20 hours ago, Denize said:

I was worried that Christine & David (or at least the ring) would topple off the mountain during the proposal.

That may have happened...but Robyn and Kody were no where in sight!  ;)

[b2H]

9 hours ago, sassi214 said:

I really do enjoy seeing Christine so happy and I can tolerate all of the slobbering giddiness because it really truly seems to never had happened with Kody as much as she tried. I'm rewatching from the beginning and I'm on season 10 and boy oh boy do you SEE the slipping away of it all. Meri, Christine, even some issues with Janelle. Once Sol and Ari were born, Kody was OUT OF THERE. He spent almost all of his time at Robin's. It was grotesque. 

Janelle didn't mind it much her being so independent. 

But you can see Christine especially NEEDING love and affection from Kody and he would NOT give her an inch. It was so uncomfortable to watch. 

I think Christine really loved Kody at one point and really tried to make it work with him. But he was absolutely awful how he withheld. 

She deserves to jump whole body into this relationship with David. 

People criticize her because this is making her kids uncomfortable but aside from Truly, it really shouldn't matter or stop her or slow her down. She gave her entire life to her family, her marriage, her sister wives and her kids. Truly is a teenager and has a very good support system. I do think it's now Christine's time in her life to LIVE it the way she needs to. 

Plus I think David seems like a good guy, a family man. I think he will be good for them all. It is important for Christine's kids, especially Truly, to see a loving healthy, affectionate relationship. 

It bums me out when adult children, or older children have such a strong negative reaction when parents show love and affection to each other. How sad!

 

Anecdotally, I had two bad marriages before my successful third marriage, still in progress.  My daughter, from my first marriage, decided my third marriage was a smack in the face to her, despite watching me go through two failed marriages and a committed relationship or two in between.  We are all but estranged now, for the only reason that I finally found a successful relationship and she wanted me all to herself.

[Chalby]

6 hours ago, Chris Knight said:

I cant stand Mykelti but can't fault her for what may have been a messy house. I remember those days when our children were small and it was rough keeping up with chores in addition to feeding, diapers, laundry, etc.

Your post had me chuckling because I remembered when I had toddlers; my friends knew if I was struggling because I'd serve the coffee on the veranda when they came by to visit. No way were they getting inside my messy home. 😂 

[Chalby]

3 hours ago, Absolom said:

I hope Leon pays attention to Meri and has a good relationship that we'll never hear about. It was long passed time for Meri to ditch the alleged "family."

I know I'm in the minority, but it still annoys the heck out of me that Meri was put through Hell by all the adults, and several older children, because she "cheated". Puhleese...

They all reacted so harshly, to Meri's  emotional "affair" and they all lashed out at Meri because she "gasp" met someone online who took advantage of her trust and situation. (I'd still like to wring that nasty bi*^h's neck.)

If "Sam" had been a real man, offering love and a monogomous relationship, Meri could have finally escaped that sham marriage she was in. I hope she allows herself to be vulnerable again, although... once burned, twice shy.

Regardless, prior to meeting Sam Kody made it clear, he'd never be a husband to her again, as he wasn't going to work on the relationship.

(Of course, he briefly implied otherwise, in order to talk her into selling her house for the move to Coyote Pass $$.)

Yet she was expected to show gratitude that they "let her" stay on with the "family", by staying nearby, but remaining isolated.

All three wives were deprived  of feeling secure and loved in their marriages, by a man who only considered them when he needed something from them. That's so sad.

[Chalby]

4 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

Networks still use the Neilsen ratings. They get statistics on viewing habits of selected demographic groups.  As long as their target audience is watching, they will keep producing. 

That is so surprising in this era of program stacks, youtube , patreon, and Netflix, etc. Some of my acquaintances were shocked to learn I still pay for cable TV.

I only watch my recordings because I've come to regard commercials with contempt.

[Soapy Goddess]

9 hours ago, Absolom said:

Truely's behavior is more in line with what I see in five to seven year olds than 11 to 14 year olds. My 12 year old grandson would rather be crushed under a rock slide than be on video acting like a little kid.  Truely is not being age or manners appropriate especially since it's obvious a camera crew is there and this is going to be on TV.  She must be extremely attention starved or there's something going on that should be dealt with.

I couldn't agree more! I've only ever seen kids biting at a very young age (2-5 years old), so obviously there are some developmental issues with Truely. I hope that C&D realize this and get her into some type of therapy, as well as medical check-up. 

[Quickbeam]

My husband is descended from Mormon Pioneers (a total shock from a DNA test). One thing we learned from family journals is that even in the 1800s, the women were free to leave plural marriage but the men could not.

I think Kody would have been fine if Meri left and he had a sham marriage to Christine and a lukewarm buddy rapport with Janelle. I don’t think he saw all three leaving coming. 

Edited November 19 by Quickbeam
Typo

[General Days]

18 hours ago, 65mickey said:

Meri is a bad painter. I hope this was just for the show and someone came in later and repainted the walls. 

 

I think Meri was just priming the walls, but I'm not sure.

 

16 hours ago, candall said:

I never saw a woman who needed a strong best friend as much as Meri.  I hope her bestie in Padowan is legit.  If Kody finds it necessary to gaslight her to hopeful tears one more time, I think my head will explode.

 

Meri and Jenn have been friends since the Browns lived in Las Vegas. I know she was around during the catfish days.

At some point, the Browns moved to Flagstaff and Jenn moved to Oregon (not sure which happened first). Jenn and her family were going to move to Texas, when Meri's mom died. They stopped in Parowan to help her at the B&B for a while, took to the area, and decided to move there.

All in all, Jenn seems to have been pretty ride-or-die for Meri. 

 

12 hours ago, Chalby said:

I know I'm in the minority, but it still annoys the heck out of me that Meri was put through Hell by all the adults, and several older children, because she "cheated". Puhleese...

They all reacted so harshly, to Meri's  emotional "affair" and they all lashed out at Meri because she "gasp" met someone online who took advantage of her trust and situation. (I'd still like to wring that nasty bi*^h's neck.)

If "Sam" had been a real man, offering love and a monogomous relationship, Meri could have finally escaped that sham marriage she was in. I hope she allows herself to be vulnerable again, although... once burned, twice shy.

Regardless, prior to meeting Sam Kody made it clear, he'd never be a husband to her again, as he wasn't going to work on the relationship.

(Of course, he briefly implied otherwise, in order to talk her into selling her house for the move to Coyote Pass $$.)

Yet she was expected to show gratitude that they "let her" stay on with the "family", by staying nearby, but remaining isolated.

All three wives were deprived  of feeling secure and loved in their marriages, by a man who only considered them when he needed something from them. That's so sad.

 

I pretty much agree with everything you wrote. 

I have more to say, but it doesn't really pertain to this episode. I'm gonna go figure out where it does belong and post it there. 

 

Posted here: 

 

Edited November 19 by General Days
Forgot to reply to a quoted post.

[Granny58]

19 hours ago, Chris Knight said:

So sad for Ysabel. She's not really weeping that she hopes David won't replace her a-hole dad, because Kody is absolutely not present to begin with. It really has nothing to do with David, except to point out to her what a real father is like, when she apparently sees David with his own children. Compared with Kody, David is a real father and a real man.

I find Truly's behavior puzzling. I know she's at that awkward age but in last night's episode, she seemed to be seeking out the camera, and biting David for attention. 

I think you are spot on about Ysabel.  And I wonder about Truely; I have my thoughts.  

[laurakaye]

16 hours ago, candall said:

I am enjoying the last couple of seasons because we finally have the unvarnished answer to that question:  it does not.

Same.  Even if the episodes are boring and repetitive for the most part, at least we are finally getting the unvarnished truth from these women.  Even Robyn is whining that she's stuck with a murder-faced angry man.  But that's the bed Robyn made, and now she's got a scary man-baby lying in it full-time.

6 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

I couldn't agree more! I've only ever seen kids biting at a very young age (2-5 years old), so obviously there are some developmental issues with Truely. 

I give Truely a lot of slack.  She was literally born with a camera in her face and grew up among people filming her that weren't related to her.  She nearly died under her dad's care on television.  She's watched as her dad showered love on her new half-sister and brother while she went without.  When Kody decided he needed to cosplay as her dad and force her to do things like ride a bike, she had to participate when she clearly didn't want to.  Now she's got a new man in her life whether she wants it or not.  She probably has no basis for how to interact with David, as she's never had a father figure.  She has no choice when her mom and David suck face right in front of her.  She probably feels very powerless.  I think the blue hair, the acting out, and the burying herself in books makes sense when her world is basically out of control.  Acting out might be the only way she knows how to express herself since Christine clearly doesn't seem to care how all of this affects Truely.  I also hope Truely gets therapy - all of the Brown kids need it, IMO.

 

5 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

My husband is descended from Mormon Pioneers (a total shock from a DNA test). One thing we learned from family journals is that even in the 1800s, the women were free to leave plural marriage but the men could not.

I hate this, because the women are also taught that normal feelings of jealousy, suffering and emotional abandonment are THEIR fault, and something that THEY have to overcome.  So while they may be allowed to leave, if they do leave it's because there was something wrong with them.  Men can act however they choose and the women have to keep sweet if they ever have hopes of their children seeing their father.  It pulls at the rawest part of a mother, IMO, having to tap-dance for table scraps from an a$$ of a man just so he'll visit his kids once in awhile.  

[Elizzikra]

7 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

I couldn't agree more! I've only ever seen kids biting at a very young age (2-5 years old), so obviously there are some developmental issues with Truely. I hope that C&D realize this and get her into some type of therapy, as well as medical check-up. 

Most of us here have no qualifications at all to diagnose Truely with anything and those of us that do would not diagnose a child we have never met and never interacted with personally. I wish everyone would stop armchair diagnosing this kid and just leave her be.

[Natalie68]

6 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

My husband is descended from Mormon Pioneers (a total shock from a DNA test). One thing we learned from family journals is that even in the 1800s, the women were free to leave plural marriage but the men could not.

I think Kody would have been fine if Meri left and he had a sham marriages to Christine and a lukewarm buddy rapport with Janelle. I don’t think he saw all three leaving coming. 

Same!

[RoxiP]

I did enjoy the segment where Christine was talking about parenting all of the kids at once and having almost twins.  Of course then I promptly fell asleep so will have to rewatch to see the rest of the show.

[Elodia]

Ariella is too young to hear the "M -word"?? What the actual...? Those kids are so sheltered, how are they supposed to deal with real obstacles, other than seeing an "aunt" they meet twice a year (tops) moving? 

And I'm sure Robyn didn't give a flying f.ck when she planted the idea of moving to Flagstaff in her best customer's head and uprooted all the younger kids. She couldn't care less. And now Ariella couldn't even hear that bad, baaaad M word? Mindblowing.

 

 

 

Edited November 19 by Elodia
Typo

[goofygirl]

7 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

My husband is descended from Mormon Pioneers (a total shock from a DNA test). One thing we learned from family journals is that even in the 1800s, the women were free to leave plural marriage but the men could not.

I think Kody would have been fine if Meri left and he had a sham marriages to Christine and a lukewarm buddy rapport with Janelle. I don’t think he saw all three leaving coming. 

And that made it all the better, to see the Douchecanoe finally realize that he's a total failure in the plyg department.

[Orcinus orca]

2 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

Most of us here have no qualifications at all to diagnose Truely with anything and those of us that do would not diagnose a child we have never met and never interacted with personally. I wish everyone would stop armchair diagnosing this kid and just leave her be.

Well, unless she reads the forum, who cares? Plenty has been posted about Areola's swinging from the chandelier and pacifier.

[Absolom]

I may have missed it, but I haven't seen a diagnosis of Truely posited.  People have commented on behavior seen on TV in the episodes.  Episodes where her mother or father were present and they and Truely knew it was being filmed and could quite likely air.  If it's seen in an episode, it's hard to ignore what we're being shown and where would we draw a line of not discussing something provided as entertainment by TLC? 

[65mickey]

Here is my take on Truely. This child from a young age had no father figure in her life. She saw that once Ari and Sol were born all of Kody's attention was focused on them especially Ari who was Kody's little princess.  So for years she had Christine to herself. Now she sees her mother carrying on over David talking about how he is the love of her life sort of like Kody did with Robyn. So Truely thinks here we go again. I am no longer number one in my mother's life. She fears that she will be abandoned all over again. Christine needs to spend time with Truely and let her know that she will never abandon her and will always love her unconditionally.  I hope she spends one on one time with Truely. I feel for that child.

[Elizzikra]

3 hours ago, Absolom said:

I may have missed it, but I haven't seen a diagnosis of Truely posited.  People have commented on behavior seen on TV in the episodes.  Episodes where her mother or father were present and they and Truely knew it was being filmed and could quite likely air.  If it's seen in an episode, it's hard to ignore what we're being shown and where would we draw a line of not discussing something provided as entertainment by TLC? 

Well there was this: 

Quote

obviously there are some developmental issues

And this

Quote

She probably feels very powerless.  I think the blue hair, the acting out, and the burying herself in books makes sense when her world is basically out of control

And this

Quote

Truely is not being age or manners appropriate especially since it's obvious a camera crew is there and this is going to be on TV.  She must be extremely attention starved or there's something going on that should be dealt with.

Not DSM diagnoses but a lot of conclusions about the health and wellbeing of a child. Honestly, blue hair and introverted is on brand for a lot of teenagers I know. I've done my fair share of busting on the Browns but it sits differently for me when it starts to become psychologizing and pathologizing based on the small bits of a child's life we see. YMMV.

[Absolom]

I do disagree and while I'm not going to diagnose a child,  I will talk about behavior that is televised for the world to see.   I see a vast difference between saying this is behavior my 12 year old grandson would find embarrassing and saying, for example, xyz proves the child is on the spectrum or has an attachment disorder, etc.  My disagreement is in trying to impose one person's comfort level on other posters.  Today I have avoided at least six or eight discussions because of lack of interest or discomfort with the subject.  It was not my place to tell the other posters to quit their discussion though.  I either skimmed to something else or closed the window.  

A good question is why is Christine allowing so much questionable filming of Truely as she has for what 3 or more seasons now.  Why do some parents think it's OK to have such moments of their children's lives televised?

Edited November 20 by Absolom

[SemiCharmedLife]

18 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

My husband is descended from Mormon Pioneers (a total shock from a DNA test). One thing we learned from family journals is that even in the 1800s, the women were free to leave plural marriage but the men could not.

I think Kody would have been fine if Meri left and he had a sham marriage to Christine and a lukewarm buddy rapport with Janelle. I don’t think he saw all three leaving coming. 

I think he wanted to have everyone stay in their version of "marriage" for the sake of the show.  He had nothing to lose by filming this sham and everything to gain.  He was avoiding Meri, and giving Janelle and Christine the bare minimum.  And cashing all of their checks until they wised up.  Christine's leaving was the catalyst that blew apart the fake relationships and how Kody really felt.

Edited November 20 by SemiCharmedLife
spelling

[Soapy Goddess]

17 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

Most of us here have no qualifications at all to diagnose Truely with anything and those of us that do would not diagnose a child we have never met and never interacted with personally. I wish everyone would stop armchair diagnosing this kid and just leave her be.

Sorry, but biting another human being (for no apparent reason) that has been nothing but nice to her is NOT normal. We are all entitled to our opinions here. 

[65mickey]

Did she really bite him? Usually is someone bites your hand the response is to pull it away. I didn't see that. 

[RoxiP]

2 hours ago, 65mickey said:

Did she really bite him? Usually is someone bites your hand the response is to pull it away. I didn't see that. 

He had on a thick glove (it was when they were in the 4-wheelers). 

[65mickey]

I just rewatched this scene. Truely did appear to take a nip of David's arm. She was laughing and so was he and Christine. Christine needs to spend some alone time with Truely and discuss appropriate behavior. What Truely is doing is a cry for attention.  

[GeorgiaRai]

Since everyone's dying to hear my opinion on Truely (lol!), here it is:  She sometimes seems a little immature for her age, but that's not uncommon for the youngest child (and she is the youngest in her immediate family).  I also think I could count on one hand the number of minutes we're shown of her over a year's time.  Ok, maybe two hands.

People of all ages sometimes act differently when they are with new people, on camera, at an unusual outing or event, etc.  I have no idea what Truely's life is like nor how she behaves in general.  I think the person who DOES know and can decide if there are issues that need to be addressed is her mom.  When my own parenting turned out to be imperfect (I'm still shocked, I tell you!!), I decided not to judge how others parent unless/until there is evidence of abuse or neglect.  

[laurakaye]

22 hours ago, Elodia said:

Ariella is too young to hear the "M -word"?? What the actual...? Those kids are so sheltered, how are they supposed to deal with real obstacles, other than seeing an "aunt" they meet twice a year (tops) moving? 

And I'm sure Robyn didn't give a flying f.ck when she planted the idea of moving to Flagstaff in her best customer's head and uprooted all the younger kids. She couldn't care less. And now Ariella couldn't even hear that bad, baaaad M word? Mindblowing.

Robyn puts the weight of her own emotions, suspect as they are, on her children's shoulders.  Think back to when Aurora cried when she saw Coyote Pass for the first time, or when she fainted and had to be carried upstairs by Kody, or when Breanne cried when she thought that she had given her entire family Covid...not to mention, the cookie-stealing story, the creepy pencil sketch, moving the entire family to Flagstaff so Dayton could attend college there, etc.  Robyn does this, I think, to keep Kody on her side by being able to say, look at how the actions of others are affecting my kids!  You have to help!  They are all so fragile!  Poor me! 

I hope those kids manage to leave and settle happily in their own lives, minus constant interfering from Robyn.  She is doing them no favors by involving them in every single convoluted family situation over which they have no control.

[RoxiP]

I became a parent at 38 - long after the majority of my friends.  I had to apologize to a few of them because I'm sure I gave unsolicited advice that they laughed at behind my back about.  At least I hope they laughed at.

[procrasstinator]

On 11/19/2024 at 6:33 AM, General Days said:

 

I think Meri was just priming the walls, but I'm not sure.

 

 

 

 

 

Priming okay.  My understanding of painting is that you're still not supposed to be painting over the outlet covers and half the baseboards...If she didn't care about the carpet that's fine, but smearing paint over outlet covers and baseboards (either tape up the baseboards or completely cover them in paint) is what I would describe as bad painting. 

[Granny58]

19 hours ago, 65mickey said:

Here is my take on Truely. This child from a young age had no father figure in her life. She saw that once Ari and Sol were born all of Kody's attention was focused on them especially Ari who was Kody's little princess.  So for years she had Christine to herself. Now she sees her mother carrying on over David talking about how he is the love of her life sort of like Kody did with Robyn. So Truely thinks here we go again. I am no longer number one in my mother's life. She fears that she will be abandoned all over again. Christine needs to spend time with Truely and let her know that she will never abandon her and will always love her unconditionally.  I hope she spends one on one time with Truely. I feel for that child.

this is incredibly insightful.  Thank you.