Meri Brown and her Wet Bar of Tears

[VedaPierce]

Maddie's not above reproach. She's not a 12 year old. When she shows her ass she'll be called on it. Like Mariah was when she had an entitled meltdown when she couldn't move into her McMansion by Christmas, because her sloppy mother dropped the ball with the paperwork. I'm not judgy, I'm opinionated and that's what I come here to do, to share my pearls of wisdom with all you lucky people! ;) lol 

Edited February 14, 2017 by VedaPierce

[ginger90]

So, Meri is living her why, hash tags bug me!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQdu8cWjLzO/

[Hockeymom]

I guess I just see things differently. I don't see the Browns as lazy grifters. Here's how I see it. They were a bunch of people trying to clothe, feed, insure and house a large family. Perhaps they tried different ways to make a living and some failed. Maybe they did declare bankruptcy. Lots of people declare bankruptcy. They weren't getting welfare or food stamps or any other hand out.

Kody pitches a show to TLC about a plyg family about to add another wife. Maybe another one of his get rich quick schemes, but this one worked. That's exactly what they delivered. They showed the family, warts and all. They got the benefit of their bargain.

This family entertains, or infuriates. We watch. We dissect them. We spend countless hours saying how lazy they are, but in fact, I'm on this site when I should be working!

I'm just saying that they created a show that didn't exist before. They accomplished something.   They created a spectacle for our entertainment.

As far as the kids doing the show instead of working, I see the show as work. If you are earning an income, its a job.

[Kohola3]

14 minutes ago, Hockeymom said:

They weren't getting welfare or food stamps or any other hand out.

Except that they did.  Christine even talked about it.  Your tax dollars at work.

And there were multiple bankruptcies because supporting this phony baloney "religious" lifestyle is not sustainable unless somebody actually works in a stable paying job.  So we, the consumers, pay for the crap that they buy and keep but don't pay for with higher prices.  Sorry, that's grifting to me.

[tabloidlover]

Well said, Kohola3.   My jaw hit the floor when Christine let that little nugget out (although in retrospect, I should not have been surprised).  She was quite proud of her free food pantry.   I have no issue with helping people out with food etc, there are some truly needy families out there.  However, when you have 3 wives (at the time) and only one adult works full time to support all 50 kids, I have an issue with you having your hand out while continuing to have more babies.   I don't believe Christine was pregnant with Truely at that time.  

Pet peeve of mine - don't have more kids if you cannot support them (or the ones you already have).

[Hockeymom]

58 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Except that they did.  Christine even talked about it.  Your tax dollars at work.

I did not know that! I thought I had muddled through every episode.

Yeah, I don't get having more kids when you can't support the ones you have. I remember even the kids were groaning "no more kids" at one point.

They were all working though. Kody and Janelle had jobs, and Christine was taking care of all the kids, laundry, dishes, etc. Clearly, you guys know more than I do, but I think Meri helped with childcare and had some disposable part time job.

[CofCinci]

Their faith has a "Bleed the Beast" mandate.  They were on any sort of aid they qualified to receive. They lied where necessary (Kody is the "landlord" and not the father). 

They are grifters and lie at every occasion -- even when confronted with evidence.  Maddy is now a junior member of the club.

[AZChristian]

And there were pictures online of Christine standing in line with her food benefits debit card even after the show started.  They are, in fact, grifters who are simply bleeding the TLC beast now instead of the government beast.  

[xwordfanatik]

9 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

And there were pictures online of Christine standing in line with her food benefits debit card even after the show started.  They are, in fact, grifters who are simply bleeding the TLC beast now instead of the government beast.  

And IMO they will be back to bleeding the government beast when the TLC gravy train ride ends.  

[Hockeymom]

Well, they may be bleeding the TLC Beast, but TLC is nothing but a sideshow. It's a carnival attraction of 600lb people, 20 kids, little people, and polygamists. Hard to say who is bleeding whom.

[toodles]

3 hours ago, ginger90 said:

So, Meri is living her why, hash tags bug me!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQdu8cWjLzO/

Omg.  Wth.  Wtf.  ROFL.  I...I just don't know what else to say.

[TurtlePower]

1 minute ago, toodles said:

Omg.  Wth.  Wtf.  ROFL.  I...I just don't know what else to say.

Someone on there said she's looking very skinny? Does that person know what skinny is? 

More like she's looking very average (which is perfectly fine but certainly not skinny). What a suck-up.

[Roslyn]

2 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Except that they did.  Christine even talked about it.  Your tax dollars at work.

And there were multiple bankruptcies because supporting this phony baloney "religious" lifestyle is not sustainable unless somebody actually works in a stable paying job.  So we, the consumers, pay for the crap that they buy and keep but don't pay for with higher prices.  Sorry, that's grifting to me.

The biggest travesty of their bankruptcies is they were most likely planned.  It's one thing living one way because your current income can support a certain lifestyle, then some big thing makes everything change and tumble down... I can remember reading the specifics of their bankruptcies and thinking that they each in turn built up debt in the name of the family.  Especially credit card debt.  Get bills out of the way, buy the needs and then when the debt hits a certain amount...bam....bankruptcy.  Then...the family continues on and the next person in line starts it all again.  

 

1 hour ago, Hockeymom said:

They were all working though. Kody and Janelle had jobs, and Christine was taking care of all the kids, laundry, dishes, etc. Clearly, you guys know more than I do, but I think Meri helped with childcare and had some disposable part time job.

  Meri had a part time job when the show started and when they had the money discussion she said that her income "picked up smaller bills".  I have always had the feeling (especially once they moved to the Lehi house) that Meri was more of the "Auntie" in the equation.  Christine is a home mom, and the kids have always treated her like she was the major nurturing mother of the entire family.  Meri....not so much.  I can't remember exact specifics, whether it was on the show/book or an interview etc where Christine voiced that she thought Meri was too hard on the kids.  Everything on the show has always showed Meri having the least contact with the kids.  And her and Janelle have had several strained comments about how Meri "likes nice things and takes care of them" vs. Janelles allowing kids to run amok (implied, not stated).

[Kohola3]

#livingmywhy - good Lord woman, do a proof reading now and then

And don't those humongous knots dig into your gut when you sit down?  Damn, that look is horrible.

[Galloway Cave]

2 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

#livingmywhy - good Lord woman, do a proof reading now and then

It's actually a real thing on twitter. You know, like one of those stupid sayings on her wall. She's living the reason why she's here on earth.

[DakotaJustice]

4 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

It's actually a real thing on twitter. You know, like one of those stupid sayings on her wall. She's living the reason why she's here on earth.

to shill MLM products?

[Galloway Cave]

Hey, I'm just here to report and snark. #livingmywhy

[toodles]

2 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

Hey, I'm just here to report and snark. #livingmywhy

And you do a damn good job.  :)

[DakotaJustice]

On 2/14/2017 at 4:51 AM, Hockeymom said:

 

Kody pitches a show to TLC about a plyg family about to add another wife. Maybe another one of his get rich quick schemes, but this one worked. That's exactly what they delivered. They showed the family, warts and all. They got the benefit of their bargain.

This family entertains, or infuriates. We watch. We dissect them. We spend countless hours saying how lazy they are, but in fact, I'm on this site when I should be working!

I'm just saying that they created a show that didn't exist before. They accomplished something.   They created a spectacle for our entertainment.

As far as the kids doing the show instead of working, I see the show as work. If you are earning an income, its a job.

Except that's not how it happened.  Puddlemonkey Productions was the entity that pitched the show, based on the popularity of Big Love.  

The production company put out the word with polyg groups that they were looking for a family to feature for a TLC show.  Christine was volunteering at Principle Voices (I believe that's the name of the organization) and found out, then she told Kody and they got in touch with Puddlemonkey. 

So it wasn't Kody "creating a spectacle".  they were hired by Puddlemonkey who I am sure calls most of the shots and develops most of the plot lines.

 

ETA - my memory was a bit off. Puddlemonkey contacted the head of Principle Voices, she suggested a few families, and they approached Kody, according to the production website but as can be read, the concept etc was totally the production company, not the Browns. 

http://puddlemonkey.tv/mobilemonkey.html

Edited February 16, 2017 by DakotaJustice

[Galloway Cave]

We also aren't sure who actually decided to add the fourth wife. Personally, I think TLC asked Kody to add the fourth wife as a story line and he agreed. He probably told Meri but not the other two wives (hence, the "problems in the marriage before Robyn arrived"). The community knew they were in the talks for a show, which is why Robyn knew about it when she did her strut and stuff at the family gathering.  We do know that when Kody approached the elders at AUB to get their permission to marry her, they said no, he couldn't financially afford another wife/family. He then told them they were going to do the show and had that income coming in. He was then allowed to marry her. They then had to stretch out the courtship for 10 months to accommodate the filming schedule.

[Kohola3]

49 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

They then had to stretch out the courtship for 10 months to accommodate the filming schedule.

Such a romantic soul, isn't he?  "Set your watch, Sobbin', we've got 10 months to get this done".  Ass.

[Galloway Cave]

Just now, Kohola3 said:

Such a romantic soul, isn't he?  "Set your watch, Sobbin', we've got 10 months to get this done".  Ass.

You would think he would have come up with a better engagement ring than that string or paper band or whatever the hell it was.

[ginger90]

21 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

You would think he would have come up with a better engagement ring than that string or paper band or whatever the hell it was.

"I thought I'd get you a ring," Kody says in the footage with a laugh. "You won't like this at all. It's a string," he adds, before handing over a dark piece of yarn to his newly betrothed.

 

But Robyn didn't let it damper her enthusiasm. "Oh my heck!" she exclaimed while rolling the string onto her ring finger. "Seriously? This is awesome."

[Roslyn]

34 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

You would think he would have come up with a better engagement ring than that string or paper band or whatever the hell it was.

It was something that Madison made.  Kody said that he saw Maddie making it and told her "hey!   I need that!"

[SongbirdHollow]

16 hours ago, Sista Snarky said:

Maddie said "Well...I sure hope these walls are thick...wait I don't want to say that in front of my parents"

Nothing has thinner walls than a yurt, stupid! It's a glorified tent! I can't with these people.

And as for reality-whoring, I'll be over here humming "Money For Nothing" if you need me.

[Readalot]

50 minutes ago, SongbirdHollow said:

Nothing has thinner walls than a yurt, stupid! It's a glorified tent! I can't with these people.

And as for reality-whoring, I'll be over here humming "Money For Nothing" if you need me.

"but the chicks aren't free"

[Kohola3]

1 minute ago, Readalot said:

51 minutes ago, SongbirdHollow said:

Nothing has thinner walls than a yurt, stupid! It's a glorified tent! I can't with these people.

And as for reality-whoring, I'll be over here humming "Money For Nothing" if you need me.

"but the chicks aren't free"

Yes, but you can have as many chicks as you want.  And brag about it to strangers.

[taragel]

Heh. A real life friend who I know watches this show just posted on FB that she's having a LulaRoe party!! I so want to point her to this thread. Interestingly, all the people in her comments are like "DO YOU HAVE ANY PLAIN BLACK LEGGINGS?" Lol. Like you can get in any store anywhere but probably pay 3x the privilege for if you get them from LR? The regional manager or whatever was like "THOSE ARE RARE UNICORNS!" Hee. Dying.

[Sista Snarky]

#livingmywhy...

Sounds like a billboard slogan for Zima in the 90s. LuLaRoe is the Zima of "fashion"

I'm waiting for Meri to break out a pack of Virginia Slims cigarettes...

#youvecomealongwaybaby #nowgoaway

[Sista Snarky]

6 hours ago, ginger90 said:

"I thought I'd get you a ring," Kody says in the footage with a laugh. "You won't like this at all. It's a string," he adds, before handing over a dark piece of yarn to his newly betrothed.

 

But Robyn didn't let it damper her enthusiasm. "Oh my heck!" she exclaimed while rolling the string onto her ring finger. "Seriously? This is awesome."

That silly string lasted all the way to a date night at Melting Pot. Kody & Robyn decided to schlep baby Solomon around town...when he had a terrible cough. Robyn was still carrying the string ring around in her bag. 

Solomon had a barking cough that sounded like croup that night but they "needed" a night out. ?

Robyn was like what did the Dr. say? Ummm...he'll stop coughing eventually.  Let's take the poor sick baby to the movies with us...after we're done with our fondue!

Edited February 15, 2017 by Sista Snarky

[ginger90]

I wonder if TLC is filming Meri and her livingmywhy? I will honestly lose it if it comes up as an episode title

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQhXM2wjhdd/

[TurtlePower]

3 hours ago, ginger90 said:

I wonder if TLC is filming Meri and her livingmywhy? I will honestly lose it if it comes up as an episode title

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQhXM2wjhdd/

Seriously. LLR looks like pajamas and bathrobes. 

And lol that people don't know it snows in AZ! I went to NAU and one winter it was so snowy we had to run in the streets because the walks were not clear of snow until March.

[Ladystardust]

21 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

#livingmywhy - good Lord woman, do a proof reading now and then

And don't those humongous knots dig into your gut when you sit down?  Damn, that look is horrible.

 

19 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

to shill MLM products?

Yeah, it's a MLM thing....I see MLM people make videos on FB talking about their "why" for being in their "business" all the time. It's basically a recruitment technique. They're actually hilarious to watch sometimes because they're so ridiculous - very similar to Meri's "I can do anything I want whenever I want and never work a real job and one day I'm going to make millions and buy a house and a car and blah blah blah". 

Meri just doesn't seem like a sales type of person. You have to have a certain personality to be able to sell stuff, especially overpriced MLM products. She's using her reality star fame right now, but that's not going to last forever. She'd be better off finishing a degree or learning another marketable skill for when they inevitably are penniless again. They're certainly not going to able to live off of Janelle's real estate career...

[laurakaye]

On 2/6/2017 at 3:47 AM, Celia Rubenstein said:

Maybe it is taking so long because Meri has to "severely vet" every applicant to make sure they're not the Catfish before she lets them in her group.

Or a poster from PTV.

 

On 2/8/2017 at 6:18 PM, VedaPierce said:

EGADS! That looks Dreadful!

^^ Regarding Meri's house full of LLR stuff...if I walked past a clothing store window at the mall and it looked like that, I'd pass for sure.  A lot of black, shapeless stuff fronted by a weird burnt-orange cardigan?  Nope.

 

 

On 2/9/2017 at 11:32 AM, RazzleberryPie said:

Someone still in Meri's Lularoe group ask if she has these. 

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH%^$^#%#%$#^%(& Make it go away!!!!!!

 

 

51 minutes ago, Ladystardust said:

Meri just doesn't seem like a sales type of person. You have to have a certain personality to be able to sell stuff, especially overpriced MLM products. She's using her reality star fame right now, but that's not going to last forever. She'd be better off finishing a degree or learning another marketable skill for when they inevitably are penniless again. They're certainly not going to able to live off of Janelle's real estate career...

Whatever happened to Meri going to school?  Or was that just a convenient excuse so she wouldn't have to help Robyn with MSWC?

Edited February 15, 2017 by laurakaye

[TurtlePower]

23 hours ago, laurakaye said:

Whatever happened to Meri going to school?  Or was that just a convenient excuse so she wouldn't have to help Robyn with MSWC?

I don't know why they ever thought that the general public would want their "designs" (aside from adoring fans). When the episode aired with their stuff at the Silverton, I had to go see it and it seemed very out-of-place. People buy Vegas-y stuff in casino gift shops, not jewelry from plyg families. 

As far as Meri, I don't know why she hasn't completed her degree. I guess she likes doing her LLR thing. Problem with that kind of thing is that it's eventually gonna run its course, but she seems to be doing better at that than MSWC ever did. 

Edited February 16, 2017 by Runnergirl

[Amers]

So on the government assistance issue, do we know how the show money works? If they set it up to go all to Kory and the legal wife, then couldn't the other wives with kids at home still get food stamps? I mean technically they are unemployed single mothers. I'd be interested to learn if they still get GA. Meri couldn't, she has no kids at home, but Janelle and Christine certainly could qualify if the tlc money is going to Kory. 

[Galloway Cave]

2 minutes ago, Amers said:

do we know how the show money works?

During one episode a long time ago, they explained the money (per episode) went to The Brown Family Entertainment LLC. They then divided it up 5 ways equally. Each wife got an equal share and there was a Brown Family Pot. Can't remember if Kody got a share in there too; someone will have to chime in. I think Christine was the only one who received food stamps during the first season, then that stopped. 

[laurakaye]

That "equal share" nonsense makes me stabby; however, it does explain how Meri can shell out thousands of dollars for all those fugly print leggings while the rest of the wives have to use their share on silly things like food and clothes for their kids (and in Christine's case, a vacation with Kody).

Edited February 16, 2017 by laurakaye

[TresGatos]

On ‎2‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 7:13 AM, ginger90 said:

So, Meri is living her why, hash tags bug me!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQdu8cWjLzO/

Well, I'm a standing on a corner
in Winslow, Arizona
and such a fine sight to see
It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed
Ford slowin' down to take a look at me
Come on, baby, don't say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is
gonna save me (Jackson Brown)

[Adiba]

On February 16, 2017 at 3:17 PM, Galloway Cave said:

During one episode a long time ago, they explained the money (per episode) went to The Brown Family Entertainment LLC. They then divided it up 5 ways equally. Each wife got an equal share and there was a Brown Family Pot. Can't remember if Kody got a share in there too; someone will have to chime in. I think Christine was the only one who received food stamps during the first season, then that stopped. 

If they divided it up 5 ways equally, Kody probably took from the family pot? It never made sense to me that Meri got an equal share because she shouldn't be "punished" for not being able to have more children. In a sense, it was then about "punishing" the wives who did have more children, or rather, penalizing the kids born to them.

When you look at it objectively, it is only fair that all of Kody's children get an equal share of money- why should certain kids get less resources just because they were born to a different mother? They after all, are supposedly ONE family, and the show money is earned by all of them in theory. 

[Galloway Cave]

I may be wrong on the five way split. It might be six ways, with Kody getting a share too. I can't remember. But I DO remember that when the episode came out, everyone at TWoP and Sister Wives Blog went ape-shit over the way the money was split. Everyone was in agreement that it should be split by child, not by wife. The family explained that the one Family Share was for extra things one particular family may need and the entire four-family complex had to agree to give money from that share to the family in need. 

[Absolom]

Yes, in typical Brown fashion they didn't say split six ways, they said split five ways plus the family pot.  I'm guessing that translated as five equal shares and the family pot share may be a different size than the ones to individuals. 

[Galloway Cave]

Yeah, so the five equal splits mean Kody and Meri both get WAY more to spend than the three families with kids to support. Which is why it was so horrible when Kody told Christine to save her grocery money to visit her sick father. THAT was a perfect example of a man being a bastard, Christine.

[VedaPierce]

18 hours ago, Adiba said:

If they divided it up 5 ways equally, Kody probably took from the family pot? It never made sense to me that Meri got an equal share because she shouldn't be "punished" for not being able to have more children. In a sense, it was then about "punishing" the wives who did have more children, or rather, penalizing the kids born to them.

When you look at it objectively, it is only fair that all of Kody's children get an equal share of money- why should certain kids get less resources just because they were born to a different mother? They after all, are supposedly ONE family, and the show money is earned by all of them in theory. 

EXACTLY! That's exactly the way to divide it fairly. All the money should be divided EQUALLY among all the people in that gigantic family. With every minor having it set up in a trust. That way, every child has an equal wedding, an equal education, an equal down payment for their own home, etc. None of this 'well, I always WANTED 9 children, so I should have the money I would have got to raise 9 children' -- Such a selfish cow. One of the main reasons I despise Meri -- And the whole family savings isn't blown on one stupid, sandaled wedding because the oldest greedy bride rushed her prize to the alter first. And they can decide what to do with their share if they don't even want a wedding. That's probably why mykelti rushed to get married, she knows the stupid adults in the family and knows how quickly they'll blow through the cash. She rushed to eat that last piece of pie even though she wasn't hungry, because someone else would've grabbed it. And then there'd be no pie.

Edited February 19, 2017 by VedaPierce

[Guest]

I completely and violently disagree with everyone who says money should be divided based on how many kids you have. If you can't afford six kids, then don't have six kids! Don't make someone like me, who was responsible, and had only one kid, pay for you to babysit all day.

Plus, I didn't have my child until I was 40, so guess who had to work every day surrounding holidays and three day weekends.  Guess who had to take up the slack for people not showing up on time, or leaving early.  It's not like I got compensated more, or that they got less, because we were all salaried,  and the boss was lenient to the parents who wanted to leave early for kids' crap.

Each wife made choices. Some wives CHOSE more children rather than bigger savings accounts. 

[Galloway Cave]

3 hours ago, Swim mom said:

Some wives CHOSE more children rather than bigger savings accounts. 

Well, we are talking about how the Browns divided up the TLC money, not how they managed money prior to the show. They haven't discussed how they managed money prior to the show. I seriously doubt this crew have saved a dime since they have started filming.

I agree that a polygamous family should not have more children than they can support through their own means (not Bleeding the Beast). But this is not how they operate. Their mindset is take what they can by any means and screw the government and anyone else in their path. When a sister wife has one child, you would think she would agree she needs less money to live on than a sister wife that has six children, out of kindness. But she has the mindset of screw it, I'm taking as much as I can, because that is how they operate.

[Absolom]

They pretend to the world that they are one family so the Browns should budget with the children in mind.  Their budget shows what the world is seeing that they are four households sharing one man. 

[Adiba]

5 hours ago, Swim mom said:

I completely and violently disagree with everyone who says money should be divided based on how many kids you have. If you can't afford six kids, then don't have six kids! Don't make someone like me, who was responsible, and had only one kid, pay for you to babysit all day.

Plus, I didn't have my child until I was 40, so guess who had to work every day surrounding holidays and three day weekends.  Guess who had to take up the slack for people not showing up on time, or leaving early.  It's not like I got compensated more, or that they got less, because we were all salaried,  and the boss was lenient to the parents who wanted to leave early for kids' crap.

Each wife made choices. Some wives CHOSE more children rather than bigger savings accounts. 

In turn, I respectfully disagree in this case. In part, because it is about the children who are being penalized because the adults in the situation have not made fiscally prudent and fair, imo, decisions. In this case, it is the show money primarily that is in question. They portray themselves as one family, and part of the reason they got the show was because of the size of the plural family -- the kids. Therefore, the children are entitled to their fair share, if not legally, then ethically and morally, imo.

I do agree that people should not have more children than they can afford and should not "bleed the beast," but that is a separate issue.

[Ladystardust]

5 hours ago, Swim mom said:

I completely and violently disagree with everyone who says money should be divided based on how many kids you have. If you can't afford six kids, then don't have six kids! Don't make someone like me, who was responsible, and had only one kid, pay for you to babysit all day.

Plus, I didn't have my child until I was 40, so guess who had to work every day surrounding holidays and three day weekends.  Guess who had to take up the slack for people not showing up on time, or leaving early.  It's not like I got compensated more, or that they got less, because we were all salaried,  and the boss was lenient to the parents who wanted to leave early for kids' crap.

Each wife made choices. Some wives CHOSE more children rather than bigger savings accounts. 

 

1 hour ago, Absolom said:

They pretend to the world that they are one family so the Browns should budget with the children in mind.  Their budget shows what the world is seeing that they are four households sharing one man. 

I think that if they actually WERE one cohesive family, then yes, Kody should split the money per child. I actually think it should be split into 5 equal shares, then KODY has to pay "child support" to each wife out of his share. Because I kind of look at it like Swim Mom said above - they're getting paid for their "job" (TLC), so each wife should be paid equally for doing the same job (being on TV). Especially since they act like 4 completely separate families. I could see if I were in their position being annoyed because I was doing the exact same job as my sister wife and getting paid less. I guess it depends on if you look at it as individuals being paid for a job, or the entire family unit getting paid for a job. It's obvious they see themselves as four separate family units. 

Of course I probably don't get it because I'm just a poor monogamist who doesn't get to experience these joys of plural marriage. 

[DakotaJustice]

Meri spent all day Saturday doing FB live feeds hawking LLR.  Her inventory and assorted LLR crap is taking up the entire main floor of her McMansion including the kitchen.  No kidding - she did it from 10 am - 7:30ish PM.  

some of that stuff...gawd.