Meri Brown and her Wet Bar of Tears

[laurakaye]

13 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

How big is this bathroom?! Lolz

As you can see, plenty of room for general admission to The Birth as well as an up-front area for reserved seating (pre-paid tickets only).  Oh, and even a tiny space for Caleb and the midwife.

[oliviabenson]

There is room for a mini fridge lol

48 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

As you can see, plenty of room for general admission to The Birth as well as an up-front area for reserved seating (pre-paid tickets only).  Oh, and even a tiny space for Caleb and the midwife.

 

[Art Of Noiz]

On 8/16/2023 at 7:07 PM, ginger90 said:

It wasn’t small.

Holy hell! They could have set up foldable sideline benches in that bath. 

[Rabbit Hutch]

It appears to be quite "builder grade", though.  

[xwordfanatik]

From Janelle's thread:

Meri said something along the lines of, 'the only things keeping me here' (in the marriage) 'are my commitment level and my daughter' (as they were known at that time.)  That was in Season One, not sure if it was the very first episode.

[oliviabenson]

Notice how she made herself a size 6. Why does she photoshop herself into a different (skinny) person? And that’s not what her face looks like. 

[oliviabenson]

Meri who do you think you are fooling with photoshop?

[xwordfanatik]

5 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

Meri who do you think you are fooling with photoshop?

Not we snarkers, that's for sure!  I wouldn't waste my time trying to look like a wax doll.  I look my age, and there isn't anything wrong with that.'

No social media freak here!  

[altopower]

5 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

Meri who do you think you are fooling with photoshop?

Herself.

[Sandy W]

This is the "Strong Woman" that looks life in the eye and gives it a wink.

"Worthy Up" Meri and be honest with yourself.

[Sandy W]

Did Robyn draw the eyebrows on her t-shirt?

[Teafortwo]

I watched a few minutes of her "Fridays with Friends" today, which took place last night while she and a female friend were walking in the Times Sq. area. So funny they announced they had dinner at Junior's Restaurant. Junior's is famous for its cheesecake but there are so many great restaurants in that area and they ate at a total tourist trap. Boring! They were on their way to see the Neil Diamond bio show "Beautiful Noise." 

I'm glad she has friends though.

[ginger90]

10 hours ago, Teafortwo said:

I watched a few minutes of her "Fridays with Friends" today, which took place last night while she and a female friend were walking in the Times Sq. area. So funny they announced they had dinner at Junior's Restaurant. Junior's is famous for its cheesecake but there are so many great restaurants in that area and they ate at a total tourist trap. Boring! They were on their way to see the Neil Diamond bio show "Beautiful Noise." 

I'm glad she has friends though.

This was one of her, “worthy up!” trips.

[Scarlett45]

Quote

I do wonder when the talking heads were filmed, in 2021 or much more recently.  I believe Meri has matured somewhat over the past couple of years, and she began to realize how deeply these nasty shenanigans of Kootie and Robyn destroyed this family.  The family she helped build.  One can see how much Christmas means to her.

I'm not a fan of Meri's, but she was put in a tough spot re Christmas.  She, like Christine and Janelle, needs to walk away from these two narcissists.  There's only pain and heartache staying.

Quoting @Rabbit Hutch from the episode thread. 

I can see how much Christmas meant to Meri, and that even with all her faults, she is a human being too who longs for family and intimacy (I dont mean sexual intimacy, but emotional intimacy). Gwen spoke on her YouTube channel regarding Meri and how special the Christmas pjs were, and how she made them by hand when she was little and how much it meant. Those memories DO mean something to the kids and it wasnt all for nothing (not to think that it was), but as many people here have noted, when kids get older, the elders die, family traditions change. There can still be magic and joy but it's not the same. 

Bringing over what @ChristmasJones said regarding Meri's struggles with secondary infertility- of course I can have sympathy for Meri because that is a hard road, but she DOES have a biological child who loves her very much. Her pain regarding infertility wasn't an excuse to treat Janelle and Christine like crap and DEMAND equal GROCERY MONEY, not per person, but per WIFE, when they had 6x as many kids to feed! That was some petty shit, and you reap what you sow. 

Christine and Janelle arent perfect people, but I think if Christine had only one biological child, being the nurturer she is, she still would've been the caregiver of the family and had great bonds with all the kids because she wouldve been the one with them day in and day out. Of all the wives I think Janelle wouldve been the most suited to only have one biological child, in Meri's spot she wouldve been glad her kid had tons of siblings but glad she didnt have to be pregnant more than once or devote her youth to caregiving. I dont think either Christine or Janelle wouldve pulled that shit asking for equal grocery money either.

[General Days]

16 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Bringing over what @ChristmasJones said regarding Meri's struggles with secondary infertility- of course I can have sympathy for Meri because that is a hard road, but she DOES have a biological child who loves her very much. Her pain regarding infertility wasn't an excuse to treat Janelle and Christine like crap and DEMAND equal GROCERY MONEY, not per person, but per WIFE, when they had 6x as many kids to feed! That was some petty shit, and you reap what you sow. 

 

Do you/does anyone remember in which earlier episodes the family discussed the household budgets? Whenever it is discussed (not just here, but everywhere) I feel like I must have misunderstood the particulars. I would like to watch it again, but I can't figure out where to begin.

[Scarlett45]

26 minutes ago, General Days said:

 

Do you/does anyone remember in which earlier episodes the family discussed the household budgets? Whenever it is discussed (not just here, but everywhere) I feel like I must have misunderstood the particulars. I would like to watch it again, but I can't figure out where to begin.

Many of the logics were discussed seasons 1-4(all the way through buying the Las Vegas houses). 
 

When the show started Janelle/Kody were the major earners and handled most of the household bills, Meri had a part time job. They pooled money together for family things (vehicles, home maintenance, kid needs), each wife got a bit of the pie for needs (like groceries/household expenses), and some personal money. 
 

Once they had show income they kept the big pot but each wife (and Kody) got a larger stream of personal money for their own discretion- this helped Christine qualify for the house in Las Vegas, Meri used this money to buy her B&B. There was a big discussion in season 12 or maybe 13, where Meri was interested in the B&B and Janelle’s stance was “I get it, but that needs to come out of your personal money it doesn’t work as a family business.” Meri has also sold Lularoe for years which has been her independent income. 

[General Days]

Dang. I was afraid that might be the answer (that it was spread out over multiple seasons). Thank you for explaining it.

I asked because you said this in that prior post:

Quote

Her pain regarding infertility wasn't an excuse to treat Janelle and Christine like crap and DEMAND equal GROCERY MONEY, not per person, but per WIFE, when they had 6x as many kids to feed! 

And my recollection is that each wife got an equal amount of money for some stuff, but then a custom amount depending on how many kids. It wasn't worded like that at all, though, and I can't remember which episode it would have come up in. 

It doesn't matter. They're all grifters anyhow.

[ginger90]

I believe the division of equal shares was the sharing of show income. This would be fair, so perhaps I’m wrong! 🤣🤣

[xwordfanatik]

Pre-show, at least, had Meri getting the same amount to spend as Janelle and Christine.  That's why she could afford better food, for one thing, even though Leon often ate at Christine's, to visit with their siblings.  This was pre-Sobbyn, in the Lehi house.  

[Scarlett45]

On 9/5/2023 at 7:31 PM, xwordfanatik said:

Pre-show, at least, had Meri getting the same amount to spend as Janelle and Christine.  That's why she could afford better food, for one thing, even though Leon often ate at Christine's, to visit with their siblings.  This was pre-Sobbyn, in the Lehi house.  

And we all know that Christine welcomed Leon to her table with open arms as she loved ALL the kids, and she didn’t run to Meri “your biological child eats at my table 70% of the week, hand over x in grocery money.” Also never mind that Christine (along with Logan and Aspyn) probably did 90% of the planning, cooking and clean up for those meals. 

So when it comes to Meri saying she and Janelle/Christine aren’t friends, well this is why. 

[zamp33]

On 9/5/2023 at 9:15 AM, General Days said:

 

Do you/does anyone remember in which earlier episodes the family discussed the household budgets? Whenever it is discussed (not just here, but everywhere) I feel like I must have misunderstood the particulars. I would like to watch it again, but I can't figure out where to begin.

There was an early episode where Kody specifically said they divided up the money equally among the wives, it was per wife not per child - I can try and figure that one out it was in one of the early seasons. I remember being surprised and angry because feeding one child vs six children is a HUGE difference. And explains why Leon had a nice room with a huge bed and Meri and Kody took trips to Mexico.

Then when they were in Vegas talking about the rentals, Janelle talked about Meri getting a bigger rental with one child and also how she watched Meri spend money when she was struggling and worrying about feeding her kids. That was in Season 4. And Meri said "I am sorry Janelle for taking what you thought was yours." And again, if she was about "the family" then she would have been more equitable and made sure the other kids had enough.

[RazzleberryPie]

44 minutes ago, zamp33 said:

There was an early episode where Kody specifically said they divided up the money equally among the wives, it was per wife not per child - I can try and figure that one out it was in one of the early seasons. I remember being surprised and angry because feeding one child vs six children is a HUGE difference. And explains why Leon had a nice room with a huge bed and Meri and Kody took trips to Mexico.

Then when they were in Vegas talking about the rentals, Janelle talked about Meri getting a bigger rental with one child and also how she watched Meri spend money when she was struggling and worrying about feeding her kids. That was in Season 4. And Meri said "I am sorry Janelle for taking what you thought was yours." And again, if she was about "the family" then she would have been more equitable and made sure the other kids had enough.

Key words “what you THOUGHT was yours.” Learning about how they split resources pre Robyn is what made me initially despise any scene with Meri.

[RazzleberryPie]

Janelle should’ve given Meri some Monopoly money for her imaginary babies. Give the real money to real humans who are hungry.

[xwordfanatik]

1 hour ago, RazzleberryPie said:

Janelle should’ve given Meri some Monopoly money for her imaginary babies. Give the real money to real humans who are hungry.

There was a story about a friend of our's brother who owed $ to the IRS, and sent them Monopoly money.  He (the brother) was kind of out there.  Well, it was the 70's!  😁

I too thought that Meri was incredibly selfish to get the same money as Janelle and Christine.  I mean, I realize she was HBIC at the time, but her audacity floored me in the early seasons, especially.  Then along comes Sobbyn, and she topped Meri in selfishness, which I didn't think was possible.  And she stole the HBIC status, too.  ☹️

[Tuxcat]

9 hours ago, zamp33 said:

Then when they were in Vegas talking about the rentals, Janelle talked about Meri getting a bigger rental with one child and also how she watched Meri spend money when she was struggling and worrying about feeding her kids. That was in Season 4. And Meri said "I am sorry Janelle for taking what you thought was yours." And again, if she was about "the family" then she would have been more equitable and made sure the other kids had enough.

Well they are all "KULL PABLE" here to be honest. If Janelle is this logical intellectual financial wizard she could have figured out a way to convince her "best friend" to allow equal assets to each wife with itemized groceries based on mouths. It's not rocket science.

I'll also say that I have no problem with Meri wanting an equal size house in Vegas. A) she wanted a house big enough to host the family because by their public premise -"they were all moms of all the kids" and she wanted to entertain and run Kody's MLM's which were already happening when they moved to Vegas B) Christine used money to landscape her RENTAL's backyard...

These people were NOT hurting. Janelle is complaining about "mouths to feed," while they sign on the dotted line to purchase four brand new 4320 square feet (they were all the exact same size btw as designed by the developer when they bought the lots - they could only change the inside configuration) homes in a gated community. Cry me a river. 

I'm starting to think in the early days that Meri was the smarter one. Claiming assets in case she left one day? Good for her. Un fortunately her wits declined as time went on.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Tuxcat

[General Days]

23 hours ago, zamp33 said:

There was an early episode where Kody specifically said they divided up the money equally among the wives, it was per wife not per child - I can try and figure that one out it was in one of the early seasons. I remember being surprised and angry because feeding one child vs six children is a HUGE difference. And explains why Leon had a nice room with a huge bed and Meri and Kody took trips to Mexico.

Then when they were in Vegas talking about the rentals, Janelle talked about Meri getting a bigger rental with one child and also how she watched Meri spend money when she was struggling and worrying about feeding her kids. That was in Season 4. And Meri said "I am sorry Janelle for taking what you thought was yours." And again, if she was about "the family" then she would have been more equitable and made sure the other kids had enough.

Thank you. I do remember that, but I guess what I've misremembered (or don't know where to look) is additional information, because while I know what you say above is true, I vaguely recall that there were details that made their household/family/wife finances more nuanced than that.

It doesn't matter. I was just hoping someone here would be like, "Oh, they talked about that in Episodes A, C, and M, of season X," and that I could go check it out.

[ginger90]

If the equal division of money was the money from the show I think that would be fair. I don’t know if this was the case, just a thought.

 

I feel like I may have previously said this. If so I apologize. Sometimes I think things but don’t comment.

[xwordfanatik]

31 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

If the equal division of money was the money from the show I think that would be fair. I don’t know if this was the case, just a thought.

 

I feel like I may have previously said this. If so I apologize. Sometimes I think things but don’t comment.

Same here!  

[Midwestern Lady]

  I am enjoying her THs this season very much.  I wonder when they filmed those because she seems so much happier.   

[Joan of Argh]

Good thing Janelle didn’t have the same greedy attitude as Meri, she wouldn’t have used her inheritance to put a roof over everyone’s head in Lehi… including Meri and her kid.

Edited September 15, 2023 by Joan of Argh
Autocorrect

[Sandy W]

3 hours ago, Joan of Argh said:

Good thing Janelle didn’t have the same greedy attitude as Meri, she wouldn’t have used her inheritance to put a roof over everyone’s head in Lehi… including Meri and her kid.

Then turned around and added Kody to the title. I guess the Queen Bee threw a fit and shortly thereafter added Meri's name to title.

[xwordfanatik]

Janelle, being a recent convert then, was all about sharing everything.  She must have many regrets about that, now.  HBIC Meri was clearly not suited to be a poly wife.  Just like Sobbyn wasn't, and isn't ever going to be.  Those two selfish bitches wanted it all, sharing be damned.

[Joan of Argh]

5 hours ago, xwordfanatik said:

Janelle, being a recent convert then, was all about sharing everything.  She must have many regrets about that, now.  HBIC Meri was clearly not suited to be a poly wife.  Just like Sobbyn wasn't, and isn't ever going to be.  Those two selfish bitches wanted it all, sharing be damned.

And Kody points to Meri as tricking him and pretending to want plural marriage in order to get him to marry her but in reality she was a greedy, jealous shrew who caused all the problems and fights in the family.

that’s why Meri hates it when Kody says he brought in Christine to settle things down and put Meri in her place.

meanwhile princess Robyn is the greediest of all and destroyed whatever family there was but Kody is blind to that cuz he’s a horny toad and Robyn can do no wrong.

[LilyD]

Well, Meri was the one who wanted polygamy and kept pushing Kody to find a second wife (per the admissions in their book and the things they've said on the show)

For whatever reason, it never occurred to her how hard it could be until it was too late. She was consumed by jealousy (and I suspect overcome by all the energy and noise that comes with 13 kids and four adults in one house back then. She was, like most people, totally unsuited for a plural lifestyle. 

Don't get me wrong, there is something unpleasant and selfish in her character, but polygamy brings out the worst in people. In this case, it made her flaws 10 times bigger!

[Joan of Argh]

2 hours ago, LilyD said:

Well, Meri was the one who wanted polygamy and kept pushing Kody to find a second wife (per the admissions in their book and the things they've said on the show)

For whatever reason, it never occurred to her how hard it could be until it was too late. She was consumed by jealousy (and I suspect overcome by all the energy and noise that comes with 13 kids and four adults in one house back then. She was, like most people, totally unsuited for a plural lifestyle. 

Don't get me wrong, there is something unpleasant and selfish in her character, but polygamy brings out the worst in people. In this case, it made her flaws 10 times bigger!

Ya I think the only reason Meri acted all GungHo for plural marriage was because Kody was interested and it pleases him, she was insanely jealous from the minute Janelle joined the family and hated sharing Kody so I’m never gonna believe she wanted it no matter what BS she wrote in their book.

the only reason Meri was all happy about bringing Robyn onboard is because it made Kody happy to sneak around with Meri and plan the arrival of his new fuck toy.

Meri expected Robyn would be her Buddy against the other two but Robyn had other plans and once Kody had Robyn he didn’t need his little sneaky pal Meri anymore so he kicked her jealous dumb ass to the curb.

[Elizzikra]

2 hours ago, LilyD said:

Well, Meri was the one who wanted polygamy and kept pushing Kody to find a second wife (per the admissions in their book and the things they've said on the show)

For whatever reason, it never occurred to her how hard it could be until it was too late. She was consumed by jealousy (and I suspect overcome by all the energy and noise that comes with 13 kids and four adults in one house back then. She was, like most people, totally unsuited for a plural lifestyle. 

Don't get me wrong, there is something unpleasant and selfish in her character, but polygamy brings out the worst in people. In this case, it made her flaws 10 times bigger!

I didn't watch the earlier seasons and I haven't read the book - neither of which (as usual) prevents me from posting a theory. I think that her secondary infertility also made plural marriage much more difficult for Meri. My understanding is that the entire point of plural marriage is for a man to have as many children as possible and Meri could not contribute to that beyond just one child. She would also be first wife but she wasn't a "top producer" and as she learned, being the only legal wife was also not permanent. 

Of course, if things were different, they wouldn't be the same. We'll never know. But it does seem certain that plural marriage wasn't really what any of them thought it would be, and it didn't improve in the difference.

[altopower]

1 hour ago, Elizzikra said:

I think that her secondary infertility also made plural marriage much more difficult for Meri.

This. I think this tops everything else. She loves her child but longed to have more. Wives 2 and 3 had six kids each. You know that had to burn every time one of them got pregnant and she didn't. Even being First Wife didn't make up for that.

[onatrek]

7 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

I didn't watch the earlier seasons and I haven't read the book - neither of which (as usual) prevents me from posting a theory.I think that her secondary infertility also made plural marriage much more difficult for Meri. My understanding is that the entire point of plural marriage is for a man to have as many children as possible and Meri could not contribute to that beyond just one child. She would also be first wife but she wasn't a "top producer" and as she learned, being the only legal wife was also not permanent. 

<snip>

Aside from not having more children being hard on its own, in the Brown family, it also would have meant Meri "needed" Kody less practically speaking in his eyes.

She only had one child and could really manage everything, whereas the others just kept having new babies who needed more initial attention, plus (once onto kid #3 each) had multiple other kids pulling them in different directions so I'm sure they were seen as more "outnumbered" and just need hands on help more often.

I'd think from just that sort of practical level that Meri likely had less time with Kody from pretty early on, which I'd imagine also didn't help make plural marriage any easier for her. She didn't get the same "share" of Kody (not that I really think he was likely much help, but I think he was more present as new babies came and she just never had that again)

[Scarlett45]

3 hours ago, onatrek said:

I'd think from just that sort of practical level that Meri likely had less time with Kody from pretty early on, which I'd imagine also didn't help make plural marriage any easier for her. She didn't get the same "share" of Kody (not that I really think he was likely much help, but I think he was more present as new babies came and she just never had that again)

I can see what you’re saying, but I think Meri played into her home/wing being Kody’s “escape from chaos”. Pre-Robyn I think Meri met Kody’s emotional needs, Janelle let his partnership needs and Christine was his “worker bee”. Once Robyn came into the picture and he fell in love with her, he had no more use for Meri. Classic case of “alienation of affection”. 

[Joan of Argh]

7 hours ago, onatrek said:

Aside from not having more children being hard on its own, in the Brown family, it also would have meant Meri "needed" Kody less practically speaking in his eyes.

She only had one child and could really manage everything, whereas the others just kept having new babies who needed more initial attention, plus (once onto kid #3 each) had multiple other kids pulling them in different directions so I'm sure they were seen as more "outnumbered" and just need hands on help more often.

I'd think from just that sort of practical level that Meri likely had less time with Kody from pretty early on, which I'd imagine also didn't help make plural marriage any easier for her. She didn't get the same "share" of Kody (not that I really think he was likely much help, but I think he was more present as new babies came and she just never had that again)

I don’t agree, it’s well documented that Kody used Meri’s area of the house as his sanctuary to get away from all the chaos in Christine and janelles areas plus Meri regularly went along on business trips with Kody.

he used every excuse to hang out at Meri’s even saying she had the best shower so he took all his showers there, which pissed off Christine.

Kody was never daddy of the year helping out with the kids.

when Truely was born he quickly turned ALL of his attention to his new wife Robyn.

Edited September 16, 2023 by Joan of Argh

[Scarlett45]

5 hours ago, Joan of Argh said:

I don’t agree, it’s well documented that Kody used Meri’s area of the house as his sanctuary to get away from all the chaos in Christine and janelles areas plus Meri regularly went along on business trips with Kody.

he used every excuse to hang out at Meri’s even saying she had the best shower so he took all his showers there, which pissed off Christine.

Kody was never daddy of the year helping out with the kids.

when Truely was born he quickly turned ALL of his attention to his new wife Robyn.

This is true, I remember. And perhaps Meri hangs around because she remembers what it was like to be the legal wife and the favorite. I also think she has affection for Robyn’s kids, and that provides her with the community environment she longs for (I think Leon and Audrey are childfree).

[BnJJ]

12 hours ago, onatrek said:

Aside from not having more children being hard on its own, in the Brown family, it also would have meant Meri "needed" Kody less practically speaking in his eyes.

She only had one child and could really manage everything, whereas the others just kept having new babies who needed more initial attention, plus (once onto kid #3 each) had multiple other kids pulling them in different directions so I'm sure they were seen as more "outnumbered" and just need hands on help more often.

I'd think from just that sort of practical level that Meri likely had less time with Kody from pretty early on, which I'd imagine also didn't help make plural marriage any easier for her. She didn't get the same "share" of Kody (not that I really think he was likely much help, but I think he was more present as new babies came and she just never had that again)

I don't think so.  As recent as the first or second episode this season Christine said that his refusal to help her was what caused the real downturn in their marriage and she's talked about that many times over the course of the show.  This refusal to help happened when they lived in Utah.  His TH reply to her comments is always that she was asking for things that plural marriage just didn't allow for and that she could not have more of his time than any of the others.

She specifically spoke of asking him to tuck their small kids in while she was working nights - after homeschooling, cooking, doing housework, and keeping ALL of the kids healthy and happy all day - and he refused to even go to the basement for a few minutes to tuck their kids in when a young Aspyn was babysitting if it was another wife's night.

He's a total garbage human.

Edited September 16, 2023 by BnJJ

[Elizzikra]

Quote

Once Robyn came into the picture and he fell in love with her, he had no more use for Meri. Classic case of “alienation of affection”. 

Or really, for any of them except perhaps for the ones who brought in income...

[suomi]

When Meri's thread is due for a new title I could get behind "Peace out. Sayonara, bitches".

[BnJJ]

2 hours ago, suomi said:

When Meri's thread is due for a new title I could get behind "Peace out. Sayonara, bitches".

I like this!

[General Days]

I would support changing the name of this thread to "Peace Out. Sayonara, Bitches." right this instant.

I love it.

[General Days]

Importing from the S18.E05 episode thread.

 

1 hour ago, MamaMax said:

Meri, I take it back. Wet bar and 5 bedrooms for 2 people was just her insurance policy.  If I gotta leave, I can sell this place and actually walk away with something perhaps.   as for her big rental in Flagstaff, is she maybe air bnb-ing it LOL? Pay the rent out of "general fund" and then pocket the air bnb proceeds? Just spitballing!

 

And

 

59 minutes ago, Rabbit Hutch said:

Houses are assets, and Meri understood that she should have the same share in assets as the other wives, no matter the number of kids each wife had. Look at Janelle, she gave so much in money to the family via inheritanceand 401K funds, where I've heard that Robyn stated she was leaving her assets to her kids.  No assets for you, Janelle!

Where Meri gets my goat is going OVER the preset house budget in Vegas, private college for Leon,  I BELIEVE a car for Leon, and the Flagstaff McMansion, aka the rennal.  Although she most likely paid for that out of her Lulano grift.  

 

And

 

47 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

I will always remember Meri blubbering about NEEDING! THAT! WETBAR! which for architectural reasons that escape me meant that a 5th (?) bedroom would also need to go into her house, and her mumbling that it would be her hobby room or some such nonsense. 

 

I feel like this gets lost a lot (and it's one of the reasons I would be all for changing Meri's thread name to, "Peace Out. Sayonara Bitches."). 

The Browns were selling products from the LIV International MLM back in those days.

They did their demos at Meri's house.

Later, Meri also did LulaRoe demos at her Vegas house and stored her inventory there. People like to recognize that Janelle worked for a lot of years, but since the move to Vegas, Meri is the Brown wife who brought in the most money, the most consistently (at least since they moved out of Lehi).

MLM demos make up much of the "entertaining" that Meri did back then. I'm sure it was in part because she didn't have to work around the schedule (and just natural mess and disruption) of six children. She only had one mostly grown child. But also, I think Meri is more naturally organized and tidy than either Janelle or Christine (not calling them dirty or disorganized, just saying Meri strikes me as the most disciplined and orderly). I also think they stowed their inventory in some of Meri's extra rooms.

Meri could only get that wet bar, if she got the larger house. They didn't just buy the lots of land. They bought from a builder/developer who would only sell them specific house plans (they might have been pre-fabs, but I'm not certain about that). The developers were making a more upscale development. The Browns couldn't have put a modest house (like a bungalow or casita) on one of those lots.

I'd bet folding money that the reason Kody asked Christine if she had any budget left, if she could give it to Meri, wasn't out of some overwhelming fondness for Meri over Christine, at that point. It was because he knew Meri needed the space, in order to keep lining his pocket.

And, in my opinion, one of the reason Meri got so teary about this, is that she wasn't allowed to talk about the MLM. She was frustrated that she couldn't justify her need/desire for the wetbar on camera, and she knew Janelle and Christine were going to make her look bad.

Look, I love Janelle and Christine, but they were not only innocent victims all of those years. All of the wives played into Kody's headgames.

Edited September 20, 2023 by General Days
added omitted word "she" in 2nd to last paragraph

[Elizzikra]

1 hour ago, General Days said:

I would support changing the name of this thread to "Peace Out. Sayonara, Bitches." right this instant.

I love it.

My favorite thread title has always been Kody’s because it’s just so spot on, but this one really gives it a run for its money.

[laurakaye]

Great insight, @General Days.  My impression was always that Meri wanted the wet bar for entertaining the family, which was an eye-roller, since no one usually stepped foot in Meri's house unless they absolutely had to.  I forgot that she hosted the MLM parties, which is where "Sam" first met her, if I'm not mistaken.

I guess in a family of shillers, someone has to have a large and clean space for snagging in more down-liners.  It would also explain why we never saw her actually doing anything with the wet bar, since no one could talk about their MLMs on tv.

Edited September 20, 2023 by laurakaye

[General Days]

28 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

Great insight, @General Days.  My impression was always that Meri wanted the wet bar for entertaining the family, which was an eye-roller, since no one usually stepped foot in Meri's house unless they absolutely had to.  I forgot that she hosted the MLM parties, which is where "Sam" first met her, if I'm not mistaken.

I guess in a family of shillers, someone has to have a large and clean space for snagging in more down-liners.  It would also explain why we never saw her actually doing anything with the wet bar, since no one could talk about their MLMs on tv.

I do think Meri hosted (and wanted to host) some of the family gatherings, too. I think it's likely she also didn't want a house so small that the common areas of it wouldn't accommodate the whole gang. And, in theory (less so, in practice), if/since they're all supposed to be recognized as mothers of all the kids in some respects, that seems fair to me.

In S18.04 (or maybe 03), Meri talked about how she had always hosted Christmas Eve. When they did home church in Las Vegas, it seems to me that they did it in Meri's house, too. We know she made the Thanksgiving turkey, until Robyn took it over.  

But I think Kody took her side on the wet bar, and tried to get the money from Christine's budget, because the house model that included the wet bar was better for their MLM purposes. If it didn't benefit Kody, I can't see him trying to help her on that. Instead, I imagine he would have called her out for being selfish.