Robyn Brown: She wanted the family, but got stuck with the man.

[Irate Panda]

I have missed big chunks of this show, but Meri is pretty much the only one I actively dislike with Kody close behind.  However, I missed when Robyn first appeared on the show.  I might have asked before if so I’ve forgotten.  Why is Robyn so hated? I mean other than the whining  I’d put her in the middle for likability of the adults (I know that’s not saying much).  My order from most to least likeable would be Christine, Janelle, Robyn, Kody and Meri. 

I have read on other boards Robyn “stole” legal wife position but I always thought Meri really divorced Kody because she still thought Sam was real at that point and seriously wanted to run off with him.  I guess I’m wondering why such the hatred for Robyn.  I’m not saying it’s not warranted but Meri irritates me far more, Kody looks perpetually constipated, Janelle seems blob like (I’m commenting on her personality here), Christine  is ok (as long as she’s not singing), so can someone give me the run down of the rather universal dislike if Robyn?

[neh]

5 hours ago, Irate Panda said:

I have missed big chunks of this show, but Meri is pretty much the only one I actively dislike with Kody close behind.  However, I missed when Robyn first appeared on the show.  I might have asked before if so I’ve forgotten.  Why is Robyn so hated? I mean other than the whining  I’d put her in the middle for likability of the adults (I know that’s not saying much).  My order from most to least likeable would be Christine, Janelle, Robyn, Kody and Meri. 

I have read on other boards Robyn “stole” legal wife position but I always thought Meri really divorced Kody because she still thought Sam was real at that point and seriously wanted to run off with him.  I guess I’m wondering why such the hatred for Robyn.  I’m not saying it’s not warranted but Meri irritates me far more, Kody looks perpetually constipated, Janelle seems blob like (I’m commenting on her personality here), Christine  is ok (as long as she’s not singing), so can someone give me the run down of the rather universal dislike if Robyn?

Panda, I agree with your likeability order. Over the years I came to realize that we just don't know the "true" Browns, we only know what they are putting out there for us to see. However, early on  they published a book about the struggles, which seemed genuine. Mari was a tyrannical bitch to Janelle.

Then Meri put herself out on social media with photos to another "man" that would have made my husband leave me. Kody didn't, most likely for the show. Meri got into Luluaroe and publicly treated her customers terribly...yada, yada, yada, Meri gets no love from anyone. Oh, and the wet bar showed an egregious of entitlement.

Robyn seems very sensible to me. I always thought that the show showed her as an interloper, an intruder, a disruptor but IRL I would like to go to coffee with her. That is not a popular opinion, Panda, but there you go.

Edited February 16, 2019 by neh
Grammar

[Roslyn]

2 hours ago, Irate Panda said:

 Why is Robyn so hated?

I have read on other boards Robyn “stole” legal wife position but I always thought Meri really divorced Kody because she still thought Sam was real at that point and seriously wanted to run off with him.  I guess I’m wondering why such the hatred for Robyn.  ...so can someone give me the run down of the rather universal dislike if Robyn?

Hmm.  It's a big subject actually...but I'll try to condense (I'm not good at condensing tho...)

In the first seasons (before the book came out) we were shown a family living in one house with three apartments doing their best with kinda an "all for one, one for all" mantra.  They show the rundown of their structure and then quietly introduce Robyn to the scene.  However, those three wives have been together for a long time and all the kids are very accustomed to the three mom life since all the wives were together from the birth of the first born (Logan).  Then this really big wrench is thrown in.  A new very younger mom with three kids of her own that had been raised in a very different way from the family as a whole. So yes, the general public easily formed an opinion that Robyn was the proverbial "home wrecker".

Jump a bit to the fact that Robyn gets a LOT of one on one attention from Kody since he had to travel so far away to court her and it left the wives (and I'm sure trickle down to the kids) bitter that Robyn gets special treatment.  Kody didn't just date her but spent weekends away from his family where his time with his own kids is spread pretty thin as it is.  After the wedding Robyn gets a big 10 day honeymoon where the other wives only had random car trips for one night or maybe two or so (we only learned this through their published book).  Just watching the show, and especially watching Kody and his obvious physical attraction (...i.e. horn dog lust) written all over his face during the Honeymoon episode the viewers get a clear impression that Kody is hot and heavy for the new young wife while the other wives stewed at home.  Even stoic Janelle admitted to being so pissed at Kody that she refused to take his calls when he called home.

So Robyn entered the scene with quite a few marks against her.  Then...she seemed to take front and center "explaining" everything constantly to the viewers and its really irritating on this side, I have no idea what it felt like as one of the established wives.  Any time any kind of general polygamy/family type question came up Robyn was front and center to explain it all.  But. She was actually NEW to sister wives because she grew up in the "lifestyle" so to speak, but was new to actually living it.  Looking back, I think she had the romanticised utopia plotted out based on church teachings (indoctrination) of how polygamist lifestyles should be lived, but not actuality by any means.  Robyn was always inserting her perfection of how it should be on camera, yet we the viewers could see that the family wasn't living this fairy tale picture.  The other wives had the real life experience and Robyn blab blab blab about everything, even tho she was completely new to it.  

Add to all of this, the specifics of her divorce.  Deep sigh.  On screen she painted a picture of herself as a abused wife fleeing from a bad marriage.  In all these years her ex has NEVER put himself out either online or in the media in any way shape or form with his side of the story.  However, thanks to savvy online people looking up public documents we learned that HE filed for divorce. We learned that there was a statement within the papers that she is not allowed to consume alcohol in the presence of her children (hmmm. why?) and that she took on debt to "keep the peace" she stated on camera.  Part of that debt was a very large credit card bill to Victoria Secret, like thousands of dollars.  So.  She talks about being so poor that "we didn't have any heat" but she is shopping on credit at Victoria Secret, so yes the judgement is strong from the online community.  However, if you listen carefully..."we didn't have heat" truly meant we didn't have central heating, we had a wood stove.  Which is a viable heat source for a LOT of people living a rural life, and it's a very good and cheap heat source depending on where you live.  It is NOT "no heat".  So yea...she gets a lot of negativity because she is clearly spinning a "woa is me" type of scenario when there was more to the story. 

And then the purity speech.  Oh my....the purity speech.  THAT one really cemented her in a very negative light.  Essentially during one of their home church days, Robyn gets up in front of ALL the kids, even the little ones, and her little ones too.  She holds this large heart shaped trinket looking thing and metaphorically tells this bizarre story of "a girl" which is obviously herself, who "had her purity taken by a boy who begged for it".  And how once "the boy" had her purity he didn't respect it, but threw it away and broke it (add drama of her throwing the trinket box to the floor), because he didn't respect it.  It was hard to watch because we all knew damn well that she was basically saying that her ex-husband coerced her to have sex which resulted in her getting pregnant with her first born son outside of marriage.  Then she says blah blah about picking up her broken purity and being able to give it to the man who deserved it and who would respect it.  So she magickally restored her virginity (after three children) to give her REAL virginity to Kody because "he should have had it in the first place".  Yea...isn't that a great thing to tell your kids!!??  Hey guys...your daddy is an evil manipulating virginity stealing bastard and you need to forget him (but you guys still visit him and love him and stuff) and Kody is the real man who really should be your daddy and all.  And yea...even before she married Kody she was prompting her kids to call Kody "daddy" on camera...

There are lots of little things over time.  The artist picture was another big standout where she took a photo of her three kids when they were little being held by their real father and she physically cut out the portion of their father and gave it to a portrait artist.  Then she gave older photos of Kody (photos of Kody with his kids with other wives no doubt...) and had the artist draw Kody in their real fathers place to make it look like a younger Kody was actually their father.  Creepy as all get out.  I mean super creepy.  She won NO awards with viewers at all with that one!!

The Meri/Kody/Robyn legal divorce is another sketchy thing.  In the actual timeline of the catfish, the legal divorce with Meri and Kody was before the catfish got going in twitter, so when people say that Meri instigated the divorce to run away with the catfish are not true.  The main reason that Meri was so vulnerable to being pulled in by the catfish was she was alone with Mariah off to uni and then gave up her legal marriage either willingly or forced (honestly we can only speculate because the Browns kept it hush hush and under the radar before being discovered by online peoples).  Through public records we know the dates of Meri's divorce and Robyn marriage but this is really it.  They gave a "spin" on camera...but that's just it, it was a spin.  That divorce really shook Meri's world and then about 6 months later the whole catfish thing got rolling.

The whole adoption story line was picked apart and I'm on the side that it was hooey and staged.  Reading what legal people had to say about how difficult it is to just sign a paper and sign your parental rights away for your kids...fishy at best.  The specifics were so shady and the fact that moments after Kody supposedly legally adopted her children to save them from this evil abusive virginity stealing bastard...they all packed the car and went to visit with him for 2 weeks!!?? The man that had zero....ZERO legal ties to them.  Hmmm.

So...that's a bit of the old stuff (lolol) From my perspective I think Robyn is the most online savvy of all of them.  She even stated her online nickname on camera of "Sobbin' Robyn" which lets people know that she had read on here most likely and the other blogs that have been around for a long time.  For a very long time she was the front man, and her kids were front and center, but somewhere along the way she very obviously pulled back.  It's rare to see her kids and she is very subdued, even checked out on camera.  In my opinion being on telly hasn't done her any favors.  Either she is perfecting a poker face or she is honestly haggard from this "utopia perfect divine" lifestyle...who knows. I certainly hope their Celestial Kingdom is worth all the bullshit they are doing in this lifetime.

[Irate Panda]

1 hour ago, Roslyn said:

Hmm.  It's a big subject actually...but I'll try to condense (I'm not good at condensing tho...)

In the first seasons (before the book came out) we were shown a family living in one house with three apartments doing their best with kinda an "all for one, one for all" mantra.  They show the rundown of their structure and then quietly introduce Robyn to the scene.  However, those three wives have been together for a long time and all the kids are very accustomed to the three mom life since all the wives were together from the birth of the first born (Logan).  Then this really big wrench is thrown in.  A new very younger mom with three kids of her own that had been raised in a very different way from the family as a whole. So yes, the general public easily formed an opinion that Robyn was the proverbial "home wrecker".

Jump a bit to the fact that Robyn gets a LOT of one on one attention from Kody since he had to travel so far away to court her and it left the wives (and I'm sure trickle down to the kids) bitter that Robyn gets special treatment.  Kody didn't just date her but spent weekends away from his family where his time with his own kids is spread pretty thin as it is.  After the wedding Robyn gets a big 10 day honeymoon where the other wives only had random car trips for one night or maybe two or so (we only learned this through their published book).  Just watching the show, and especially watching Kody and his obvious physical attraction (...i.e. horn dog lust) written all over his face during the Honeymoon episode the viewers get a clear impression that Kody is hot and heavy for the new young wife while the other wives stewed at home.  Even stoic Janelle admitted to being so pissed at Kody that she refused to take his calls when he called home.

So Robyn entered the scene with quite a few marks against her.  Then...she seemed to take front and center "explaining" everything constantly to the viewers and its really irritating on this side, I have no idea what it felt like as one of the established wives.  Any time any kind of general polygamy/family type question came up Robyn was front and center to explain it all.  But. She was actually NEW to sister wives because she grew up in the "lifestyle" so to speak, but was new to actually living it.  Looking back, I think she had the romanticised utopia plotted out based on church teachings (indoctrination) of how polygamist lifestyles should be lived, but not actuality by any means.  Robyn was always inserting her perfection of how it should be on camera, yet we the viewers could see that the family wasn't living this fairy tale picture.  The other wives had the real life experience and Robyn blab blab blab about everything, even tho she was completely new to it.  

Add to all of this, the specifics of her divorce.  Deep sigh.  On screen she painted a picture of herself as a abused wife fleeing from a bad marriage.  In all these years her ex has NEVER put himself out either online or in the media in any way shape or form with his side of the story.  However, thanks to savvy online people looking up public documents we learned that HE filed for divorce. We learned that there was a statement within the papers that she is not allowed to consume alcohol in the presence of her children (hmmm. why?) and that she took on debt to "keep the peace" she stated on camera.  Part of that debt was a very large credit card bill to Victoria Secret, like thousands of dollars.  So.  She talks about being so poor that "we didn't have any heat" but she is shopping on credit at Victoria Secret, so yes the judgement is strong from the online community.  However, if you listen carefully..."we didn't have heat" truly meant we didn't have central heating, we had a wood stove.  Which is a viable heat source for a LOT of people living a rural life, and it's a very good and cheap heat source depending on where you live.  It is NOT "no heat".  So yea...she gets a lot of negativity because she is clearly spinning a "woa is me" type of scenario when there was more to the story. 

And then the purity speech.  Oh my....the purity speech.  THAT one really cemented her in a very negative light.  Essentially during one of their home church days, Robyn gets up in front of ALL the kids, even the little ones, and her little ones too.  She holds this large heart shaped trinket looking thing and metaphorically tells this bizarre story of "a girl" which is obviously herself, who "had her purity taken by a boy who begged for it".  And how once "the boy" had her purity he didn't respect it, but threw it away and broke it (add drama of her throwing the trinket box to the floor), because he didn't respect it.  It was hard to watch because we all knew damn well that she was basically saying that her ex-husband coerced her to have sex which resulted in her getting pregnant with her first born son outside of marriage.  Then she says blah blah about picking up her broken purity and being able to give it to the man who deserved it and who would respect it.  So she magickally restored her virginity (after three children) to give her REAL virginity to Kody because "he should have had it in the first place".  Yea...isn't that a great thing to tell your kids!!??  Hey guys...your daddy is an evil manipulating virginity stealing bastard and you need to forget him (but you guys still visit him and love him and stuff) and Kody is the real man who really should be your daddy and all.  And yea...even before she married Kody she was prompting her kids to call Kody "daddy" on camera...

There are lots of little things over time.  The artist picture was another big standout where she took a photo of her three kids when they were little being held by their real father and she physically cut out the portion of their father and gave it to a portrait artist.  Then she gave older photos of Kody (photos of Kody with his kids with other wives no doubt...) and had the artist draw Kody in their real fathers place to make it look like a younger Kody was actually their father.  Creepy as all get out.  I mean super creepy.  She won NO awards with viewers at all with that one!!

The Meri/Kody/Robyn legal divorce is another sketchy thing.  In the actual timeline of the catfish, the legal divorce with Meri and Kody was before the catfish got going in twitter, so when people say that Meri instigated the divorce to run away with the catfish are not true.  The main reason that Meri was so vulnerable to being pulled in by the catfish was she was alone with Mariah off to uni and then gave up her legal marriage either willingly or forced (honestly we can only speculate because the Browns kept it hush hush and under the radar before being discovered by online peoples).  Through public records we know the dates of Meri's divorce and Robyn marriage but this is really it.  They gave a "spin" on camera...but that's just it, it was a spin.  That divorce really shook Meri's world and then about 6 months later the whole catfish thing got rolling.

The whole adoption story line was picked apart and I'm on the side that it was hooey and staged.  Reading what legal people had to say about how difficult it is to just sign a paper and sign your parental rights away for your kids...fishy at best.  The specifics were so shady and the fact that moments after Kody supposedly legally adopted her children to save them from this evil abusive virginity stealing bastard...they all packed the car and went to visit with him for 2 weeks!!?? The man that had zero....ZERO legal ties to them.  Hmmm.

So...that's a bit of the old stuff (lolol) From my perspective I think Robyn is the most online savvy of all of them.  She even stated her online nickname on camera of "Sobbin' Robyn" which lets people know that she had read on here most likely and the other blogs that have been around for a long time.  For a very long time she was the front man, and her kids were front and center, but somewhere along the way she very obviously pulled back.  It's rare to see her kids and she is very subdued, even checked out on camera.  In my opinion being on telly hasn't done her any favors.  Either she is perfecting a poker face or she is honestly haggard from this "utopia perfect divine" lifestyle...who knows. I certainly hope their Celestial Kingdom is worth all the bullshit they are doing in this lifetime.

Thank you for such a thorough summary, I missed most of this as I really only watch when nothing else is on and usually I’m doing something else.  It does make the critiques of her make more sense now.  I still highly dislike Meri but that’s a whole other story.  The artist picture is very weird...glad I missed out on the purity speech.  Guess I never got the Robyn lust...she’s more of a handsome woman to me but I guess she was something “new”.  Although none of them are lookers although Christine has great hair and Kody was ok about 30 years ago.

Edited February 16, 2019 by Irate Panda

[Kohola3]

Excellent summary, Roslyn!

[toodles]

13 minutes ago, Roslyn said:

Hmm.  It's a big subject actually...but I'll try to condense (I'm not good at condensing tho...)

In the first seasons (before the book came out) we were shown a family living in one house with three apartments doing their best with kinda an "all for one, one for all" mantra.  They show the rundown of their structure and then quietly introduce Robyn to the scene.  However, those three wives have been together for a long time and all the kids are very accustomed to the three mom life since all the wives were together from the birth of the first born (Logan).  Then this really big wrench is thrown in.  A new very younger mom with three kids of her own that had been raised in a very different way from the family as a whole. So yes, the general public easily formed an opinion that Robyn was the proverbial "home wrecker".

Jump a bit to the fact that Robyn gets a LOT of one on one attention from Kody since he had to travel so far away to court her and it left the wives (and I'm sure trickle down to the kids) bitter that Robyn gets special treatment.  Kody didn't just date her but spent weekends away from his family where his time with his own kids is spread pretty thin as it is.  After the wedding Robyn gets a big 10 day honeymoon where the other wives only had random car trips for one night or maybe two or so (we only learned this through their published book).  Just watching the show, and especially watching Kody and his obvious physical attraction (...i.e. horn dog lust) written all over his face during the Honeymoon episode the viewers get a clear impression that Kody is hot and heavy for the new young wife while the other wives stewed at home.  Even stoic Janelle admitted to being so pissed at Kody that she refused to take his calls when he called home.

So Robyn entered the scene with quite a few marks against her.  Then...she seemed to take front and center "explaining" everything constantly to the viewers and its really irritating on this side, I have no idea what it felt like as one of the established wives.  Any time any kind of general polygamy/family type question came up Robyn was front and center to explain it all.  But. She was actually NEW to sister wives because she grew up in the "lifestyle" so to speak, but was new to actually living it.  Looking back, I think she had the romanticised utopia plotted out based on church teachings (indoctrination) of how polygamist lifestyles should be lived, but not actuality by any means.  Robyn was always inserting her perfection of how it should be on camera, yet we the viewers could see that the family wasn't living this fairy tale picture.  The other wives had the real life experience and Robyn blab blab blab about everything, even tho she was completely new to it.  

Add to all of this, the specifics of her divorce.  Deep sigh.  On screen she painted a picture of herself as a abused wife fleeing from a bad marriage.  In all these years her ex has NEVER put himself out either online or in the media in any way shape or form with his side of the story.  However, thanks to savvy online people looking up public documents we learned that HE filed for divorce. We learned that there was a statement within the papers that she is not allowed to consume alcohol in the presence of her children (hmmm. why?) and that she took on debt to "keep the peace" she stated on camera.  Part of that debt was a very large credit card bill to Victoria Secret, like thousands of dollars.  So.  She talks about being so poor that "we didn't have any heat" but she is shopping on credit at Victoria Secret, so yes the judgement is strong from the online community.  However, if you listen carefully..."we didn't have heat" truly meant we didn't have central heating, we had a wood stove.  Which is a viable heat source for a LOT of people living a rural life, and it's a very good and cheap heat source depending on where you live.  It is NOT "no heat".  So yea...she gets a lot of negativity because she is clearly spinning a "woa is me" type of scenario when there was more to the story. 

And then the purity speech.  Oh my....the purity speech.  THAT one really cemented her in a very negative light.  Essentially during one of their home church days, Robyn gets up in front of ALL the kids, even the little ones, and her little ones too.  She holds this large heart shaped trinket looking thing and metaphorically tells this bizarre story of "a girl" which is obviously herself, who "had her purity taken by a boy who begged for it".  And how once "the boy" had her purity he didn't respect it, but threw it away and broke it (add drama of her throwing the trinket box to the floor), because he didn't respect it.  It was hard to watch because we all knew damn well that she was basically saying that her ex-husband coerced her to have sex which resulted in her getting pregnant with her first born son outside of marriage.  Then she says blah blah about picking up her broken purity and being able to give it to the man who deserved it and who would respect it.  So she magickally restored her virginity (after three children) to give her REAL virginity to Kody because "he should have had it in the first place".  Yea...isn't that a great thing to tell your kids!!??  Hey guys...your daddy is an evil manipulating virginity stealing bastard and you need to forget him (but you guys still visit him and love him and stuff) and Kody is the real man who really should be your daddy and all.  And yea...even before she married Kody she was prompting her kids to call Kody "daddy" on camera...

There are lots of little things over time.  The artist picture was another big standout where she took a photo of her three kids when they were little being held by their real father and she physically cut out the portion of their father and gave it to a portrait artist.  Then she gave older photos of Kody (photos of Kody with his kids with other wives no doubt...) and had the artist draw Kody in their real fathers place to make it look like a younger Kody was actually their father.  Creepy as all get out.  I mean super creepy.  She won NO awards with viewers at all with that one!!

The Meri/Kody/Robyn legal divorce is another sketchy thing.  In the actual timeline of the catfish, the legal divorce with Meri and Kody was before the catfish got going in twitter, so when people say that Meri instigated the divorce to run away with the catfish are not true.  The main reason that Meri was so vulnerable to being pulled in by the catfish was she was alone with Mariah off to uni and then gave up her legal marriage either willingly or forced (honestly we can only speculate because the Browns kept it hush hush and under the radar before being discovered by online peoples).  Through public records we know the dates of Meri's divorce and Robyn marriage but this is really it.  They gave a "spin" on camera...but that's just it, it was a spin.  That divorce really shook Meri's world and then about 6 months later the whole catfish thing got rolling.

The whole adoption story line was picked apart and I'm on the side that it was hooey and staged.  Reading what legal people had to say about how difficult it is to just sign a paper and sign your parental rights away for your kids...fishy at best.  The specifics were so shady and the fact that moments after Kody supposedly legally adopted her children to save them from this evil abusive virginity stealing bastard...they all packed the car and went to visit with him for 2 weeks!!?? The man that had zero....ZERO legal ties to them.  Hmmm.

So...that's a bit of the old stuff (lolol) From my perspective I think Robyn is the most online savvy of all of them.  She even stated her online nickname on camera of "Sobbin' Robyn" which lets people know that she had read on here most likely and the other blogs that have been around for a long time.  For a very long time she was the front man, and her kids were front and center, but somewhere along the way she very obviously pulled back.  It's rare to see her kids and she is very subdued, even checked out on camera.  In my opinion being on telly hasn't done her any favors.  Either she is perfecting a poker face or she is honestly haggard from this "utopia perfect divine" lifestyle...who knows. I certainly hope their Celestial Kingdom is worth all the bullshit they are doing in this lifetime.

Great post!  I would like to add a couple of other things about Sobbin and Kody's marriage. Right after the "legal reshuffling" Sobbin and kody took for a 10 day trip to Hawaii with what she said was grocery money Sobbin had saved. This trip was discovered by online sleuths.  This was after Christine was shown on camera begging Kody for more grocery money (and more of his time with her kids) in exchange for storing wrestling mats in her garage.  And don't forget Sobbin and Kody kissing ON CAMERA when Christine was in active labor with Truley.  This is supposedly against all the courtship rules.

Reruns are not the Brown' friend.

[Gothish520]

9 minutes ago, Irate Panda said:

Thank you for such a thorough summary, I missed most of this as I really only watch when nothing else is on and usually I’m doing something else.  It does make the critiques of her make more sense now.  I still highly dislike Meri but that’s a whole other story.  The artist picture is very weird...glad I missed out on the purity speech.  Guess I never got the Robyn lust...she’s more of a handsome woman to me but I guess she was something “new”.  Although no of them are lookers although Christine has great hair and Kody was ok about 30 years ago.

2 hours ago, neh said:

Panda, I agree with your likeability order. Over the years I came to realize that we just don't know the "true" Browns, we only know what they are putting out there for us to see. However, early on  they published a book about the struggles, which seemed genuine. Mari was a tyrannical bitch to Janelle.

Then Meri put herself out on social media with photos to another "man" that would have made my husband leave me. Kody didn't, most likely for the show. Meri got into Luluaroe and publicly treated her customers terribly...yada, yada, yada, Meri gets no love from anyone. Oh, and the wet bar showed an egregious of entitlement.

Robyn seems very sensible to me. I always thought that the show showed as an interloper, an intruder, a disruptor but IRL I would like to go to coffee with her. That is not a popular opinion, Panda, but there you go.

Good summary @Roslyn! 

I agree with you and neh, panda, and I think Robyn is pretty ok now. When she first came into the family, I didn't loathe her like others did, but she did bring a lot of baggage and certainly spun things to make herself seem like a perpetual victim of circumstances and other people's bad misdeeds. And she cried a LOT, lol. I think she has settled down and is the voice of reason, tolerance, and sensibilty in the family. I don't begrudge her and Kody for being swept up in the romance, I mean, a couple should be in love and be happy to be together, but of course that must've been tough for the other wives to see. 

Of all the wives, I've always liked Christine the most, and Robyn is my second favorite. I bet they'd be fun to hang out with for a day of shopping and lunch.

[smarty]

9 minutes ago, Gothish520 said:

Of all the wives, I've always liked Christine the most, and Robyn is my second favorite. I bet they'd be fun to hang out with for a day of shopping and lunch.

Me too!  Christine and Robyn seem down to earth and the type you could easily be friends with.  Janelle does as well, but she seems a little standoffish and maybe harder to get to know.  

[toodles]

42 minutes ago, toodles said:

Great post!  I would like to add a couple of other things about Sobbin and Kody's marriage. Right after the "legal reshuffling" Sobbin and kody took a 10 day trip to Hawaii with what she said was grocery money Sobbin had saved. This trip was discovered by online sleuths.  This was after Christine was shown on camera begging Kody for more grocery money (and more of his time with her kids) in exchange for storing wrestling mats in her garage.  And don't forget Sobbin and Kody kissing ON CAMERA when Christine was in active labor with Truley.  This is supposedly against all the courtship rules.

Reruns are not the Brown' friend.

[Kyanight]

1 hour ago, Irate Panda said:

Thank you for such a thorough summary, I missed most of this as I really only watch when nothing else is on and usually I’m doing something else.  It does make the critiques of her make more sense now.  I still highly dislike Meri but that’s a whole other story.  The artist picture is very weird...glad I missed out on the purity speech.  Guess I never got the Robyn lust...she’s more of a handsome woman to me but I guess she was something “new”.  Although none of them are lookers although Christine has great hair and Kody was ok about 30 years ago.

I'm glad someone else answered this.  All I could think of was - "You have GOT to watch the show from the beginning."   People dislike Robyn for how Robyn has come across all these years.  And she used to ALWAYS be crying over some stupid thing.   Always.

[Roslyn]

3 hours ago, toodles said:

Great post!  I would like to add a couple of other things about Sobbin and Kody's marriage. Right after the "legal reshuffling" Sobbin and kody took for a 10 day trip to Hawaii with what she said was grocery money Sobbin had saved. This trip was discovered by online sleuths.  This was after Christine was shown on camera begging Kody for more grocery money (and more of his time with her kids) in exchange for storing wrestling mats in her garage.  And don't forget Sobbin and Kody kissing ON CAMERA when Christine was in active labor with Truley.  This is supposedly against all the courtship rules.

Reruns are not the Brown' friend.

That's right!!  The Kiss!! On the couch they have Christine saying how the only time an incoming wife should kiss is over the altar, yet Kody and Robyn were very comfortable in each other's presence long before the wedding vows were made.  I don't believe they went "all the way" to use the old fashioned phrase, but they were very comfortable with each other.  The look on Kody's face on the Honeymoon was all you needed to know about his "divine connection" with his newest wife. And yes...I truly thought his horn doggedness was chalked up to new, fresh, exciting. 

Honestly there are just so many layers to their story.  Thanks to many, MANY online sleuths and tid bits dug up we have been privy to more than what they state on the camera.  So if someone is coming into viewing JUST on camera in the past few seasons there is SO much that you have missed. I've been online from the beginning and just the year before their show first aired I had a spark interest in the Mormon religion and their history as a whole.  Since I have an odd trait (curse) of high retention this stuff just sticks like glue and due to circumstances in my own life I guess I fell down the (distractionary) rabbit hole of polygamy in general and then stumbled upon Sister Wives from the beginning on telly as well as online.  Goodness, that was 10 years ago now....oh my...what a truly strange journey it has been. 

...so....so....SO many of us wish we could "unsee" the purity speech, consider yourself lucky Irate Panda!

[xwordfanatik]

Love Roslyn's summary of the interloping Robyn.  On a superficial level, it bugs the crap out of me when she flips her hair in every talking head couch scene, along with picking her eye boogers and wiping them on her jeans, even when she's not sobbin'.  

I'd really enjoy Kootie taking a fifth wife, and watching Robyn get all pissy about it.  At this point, I don't see it happening (too bad.)

[deirdra]

When Robyn first came on the show, she was friendly with Meri, who thought she might be a good fit for the family.  I suspect Meri was looking for someone to side with her against Janelle & Christine.  J&C saw Robyn and her 3 spawn as taking time and resources away from their children.  Kody was hot for Robyn and Meri was probably looking forward to 30 fewer nights per year with the horndog.

[lookeyloo]

20 minutes ago, deirdra said:

When Robyn first came on the show, she was friendly with Meri, who thought she might be a good fit for the family.  I suspect Meri was looking for someone to side with her against Janelle & Christine.  J&C saw Robyn and her 3 spawn as taking time and resources away from their children.  Kody was hot for Robyn and Meri was probably looking forward to 30 fewer nights per year with the horndog.

Hmm. I think Meri wanted all of Kody she could get.  

[LilWharveyGal]

1 hour ago, lookeyloo said:

Hmm. I think Meri wanted all of Kody she could get.  

Totally agree. I think the worst I've ever felt for Meri was during the episode when Kody and Robyn got married. She was helping him dress beforehand and said something like, "I wish it was my wedding night," very wistfully. I can't imagine helping my husband get ready to go marry someone else...and that was her 3rd time! The mind boggles.

[Kyanight]

25 minutes ago, LilWharveyGal said:

Totally agree. I think the worst I've ever felt for Meri was during the episode when Kody and Robyn got married. She was helping him dress beforehand and said something like, "I wish it was my wedding night," very wistfully. I can't imagine helping my husband get ready to go marry someone else...and that was her 3rd time! The mind boggles.

And Meri LIKED Robyn.  Imagine if Meri and Robyn couldn't stand each other......

[Gothish520]

2 hours ago, LilWharveyGal said:

Totally agree. I think the worst I've ever felt for Meri was during the episode when Kody and Robyn got married. She was helping him dress beforehand and said something like, "I wish it was my wedding night," very wistfully. I can't imagine helping my husband get ready to go marry someone else...and that was her 3rd time! The mind boggles.

I get the feeling that Meri never really felt as threatened by Janelle or Christine, because I don't think Kody was really in love with either of them when they got married. I think he grew to have real affection and love for them, but not in the beginning. As for Meri, I think she and Kody were in love, and I think they had a pretty decent wedding, from what I remember of their backstory. Janelle and Christine, on the other hand, never had a nice romantic wedding with friends and loved ones in attendance.

Robyn was a different story, because Kody was clearly smitten with her. They were "in love", and Meri even says she was surprised at the feelings of jealousy that she experienced over their relationship. But for Meri to say she wished it was her wedding night - well, you had yours, and you've had Kody for 20+ years, and you are a willing participant in a polygamous relationship - what were you expecting, Meri?

[Awfarmington]

1 hour ago, Gothish520 said:

I get the feeling that Meri never really felt as threatened by Janelle or Christine, because I don't think Kody was really in love with either of them when they got married. I think he grew to have real affection and love for them, but not in the beginning. As for Meri, I think she and Kody were in love, and I think they had a pretty decent wedding, from what I remember of their backstory. Janelle and Christine, on the other hand, never had a nice romantic wedding with friends and loved ones in attendance.

Robyn was a different story, because Kody was clearly smitten with her. They were "in love", and Meri even says she was surprised at the feelings of jealousy that she experienced over their relationship. But for Meri to say she wished it was her wedding night - well, you had yours, and you've had Kody for 20+ years, and you are a willing participant in a polygamous relationship - what were you expecting, Meri?

Back when the show first aired, I only caught episodes when I remembered it was going to be on. So recently started watching the show from season one on Hulu.

So many comments I  want to add, but this is the Robin group so I’ll stick to her. She went on about the sisterwives being so kind, not wanting to hurt them by disrupting the family unit they have etc. Fast forward to talking heads and she and Kody went on a secret dress shopping date and he picked hers out. Wives are mad and Kody’s point is it’s a big day, that he’s part of and wants to be involved in the dress choosing. Christine makes a comment that he didn’t give a crap about her wedding dress, and I’m guessing same for the other two. Janelle and Christine also didn’t have a lavish reception (or maybe none at all?). Back then, they were completely enamored with each other. Fast forward to now...Robyn gets more excited over her food. Kody doesn’t seem to be so hot to trot for her either. 

[Kyanight]

12 hours ago, Roslyn said:

The Meri/Kody/Robyn legal divorce is another sketchy thing.  In the actual timeline of the catfish, the legal divorce with Meri and Kody was before the catfish got going in twitter, so when people say that Meri instigated the divorce to run away with the catfish are not true.  The main reason that Meri was so vulnerable to being pulled in by the catfish was she was alone with Mariah off to uni and then gave up her legal marriage either willingly or forced (honestly we can only speculate because the Browns kept it hush hush and under the radar before being discovered by online peoples).  Through public records we know the dates of Meri's divorce and Robyn marriage but this is really it.  They gave a "spin" on camera...but that's just it, it was a spin.  That divorce really shook Meri's world and then about 6 months later the whole catfish thing got rolling.

The whole adoption story line was picked apart and I'm on the side that it was hooey and staged.  Reading what legal people had to say about how difficult it is to just sign a paper and sign your parental rights away for your kids...fishy at best.  The specifics were so shady and the fact that moments after Kody supposedly legally adopted her children to save them from this evil abusive virginity stealing bastard...they all packed the car and went to visit with him for 2 weeks!!?? The man that had zero....ZERO legal ties to them.  Hmmm.

I thought it was obvious that Meri's heart was breaking over the divorce.  She did it for the kids - but in the end, I don't believe this was EVER about the kids.  Watch that episode again.  The hurt was written all over her face and her hands shook while she signed the papers.  Meanwhile Robyn was beaming from ear to ear.  But then again, I just can't look at this objectively.

[neh]

8 hours ago, Kyanight said:

I thought it was obvious that Meri's heart was breaking over the divorce.  She did it for the kids - but in the end, I don't believe this was EVER about the kids.  Watch that episode again.  The hurt was written all over her face and her hands shook while she signed the papers.  Meanwhile Robyn was beaming from ear to ear.  But then again, I just can't look at this objectively.

Oh my gosh, you are so right. It was never about the kids. The scene in the lawyers office was so hard to watch. I felt that it was one of the few times we got to see something authentic from the Browns.

[AZChristian]

No one has mentioned the scene right after the marriage when Robyn walked into the room with a stack of mail and asked, "Where do I put my bills?"

I'm surprised three women didn't shout back simultaneously, "We'd LOVE to tell you where to shove your bills!"

[Roslyn]

10 hours ago, Kyanight said:

I thought it was obvious that Meri's heart was breaking over the divorce.  She did it for the kids - but in the end, I don't believe this was EVER about the kids.  Watch that episode again.  The hurt was written all over her face and her hands shook while she signed the papers.  Meanwhile Robyn was beaming from ear to ear.  But then again, I just can't look at this objectively.

Oh yes!  Who can remember when Meri and Kody were walking out of the house to go to the lawyers office for the whole signing and Meri had a dizzy spell and caught herself with the wall.  Kody standing there like a dolt not offering ANY kind of sympathy let alone an arm to steady her.

Way back when, during a different conversation about this day I capped some screen caps of the signing...

Body language says it all.

[Roslyn]

OH!  Also when seeing these, you have to keep in mind the fact that the REAL divorce happened under the radar and was hush hush.  Only after the information was outed during that season that was currently showing at the time the production company tweeted a picture of their "all night editing session" as they scrambled to put this at the end of the season as if it had just happened, when it was actually tagged on at the last minute, so this lawyer office visit was more than a little likely a re-enactment and Meri was obviously shook to her toes, while Robyn sits with (what looks like to me) a Cheshire Cat smile on her face.

[smarty]

The pictures above are why I have sympathy for Meri.  Kody should have been giving her support instead of sitting there enjoying her pain.

[Kyanight]

Just now, smarty2020 said:

The pictures above are why I have sympathy for Meri.  Kody should have been giving her support instead of sitting there enjoying her pain.

Exactly!  From day one that the season aired, you never saw Kody even TOUCH Meri.  I don't even remember seeing a hug - but it's very possible I've forgotten after all these years.  The catfishing episode was sleazy and gross and yes - you don't do that when you are married.  But I have no doubt that Meri felt unloved and unwanted, regardless of whether she brought this on herself or not.  We ALL reap what we sow, that's a given.  But we ALL need and want love, no matter how unlovable we tend to be at times.   It only APPEARED (pure speculation on my part) that Kody loved Robyn, and that ship has sailed.

[LilWharveyGal]

Ugh, I'd almost forgotten Robyn's blonde period. Not a good look.

[smarty]

I don't remember why Robyn was there when Kody and Meri signed their divorce papers.  She didn't need to be there.

[Kyanight]

7 minutes ago, smarty2020 said:

I don't remember why Robyn was there when Kody and Meri signed their divorce papers.  She didn't need to be there.

Exactly!  How insensitive is THAT?  

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

23 minutes ago, smarty2020 said:

I don't remember why Robyn was there when Kody and Meri signed their divorce papers.  She didn't need to be there.

to gloat

[AZChristian]

32 minutes ago, Kyanight said:

Exactly!  How insensitive is THAT?  

IIRC, they also wanted Meri to be a witness at their legal wedding in LV.  She declined.  I think Robyn's presence at the signing of the papers and the expectation Meri should be there for their legal wedding were K&R's attempts to punish Meri for the catfishing episode.

[Kyanight]

1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

IIRC, they also wanted Meri to be a witness at their legal wedding in LV.  She declined.  I think Robyn's presence at the signing of the papers and the expectation Meri should be there for their legal wedding were K&R's attempts to punish Meri for the catfishing episode.

Wrong time line.  This happened prior to the catfishing.

[AZChristian]

7 minutes ago, Kyanight said:

Wrong time line.  This happened prior to the catfishing.

You're right . . . I stand corrected.  

[Kyanight]

3 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

12 minutes ago, Kyanight said:

Wrong time line.  This happened prior to the catfishing.

You're right . . . I stand corrected.  

I've NEVER excused the catfishing because I think it is SOOOO gross - but I always understood Meri's need for attention and love because of this crap with Robyn and Kody.

[Galloway Cave]

3 hours ago, Roslyn said:

OH!  Also when seeing these, you have to keep in mind the fact that the REAL divorce happened under the radar and was hush hush.  Only after the information was outed during that season that was currently showing at the time the production company tweeted a picture of their "all night editing session" as they scrambled to put this at the end of the season as if it had just happened, when it was actually tagged on at the last minute, so this lawyer office visit was more than a little likely a re-enactment and Meri was obviously shook to her toes, while Robyn sits with (what looks like to me) a Cheshire Cat smile on her face.

Exactly. Who knows, the recreation we saw may not have even happened in the first place. It could have gone down a lot differently but we were spoon-fed the storyline we saw. It wasn't "for the kids"; that explanation made no sense legally. My opinion- Robyn planted the idea she needed to be the legal wife, then Kody "made" the decision to do just that. Meri was expected to come on board, no matter what her fillings. Meri was obviously upset during the filming. Could have been for a variety of reasons- Being humiliated that she was played by Kody and Robyn in real life and they had to make up a more palatable story, upset she lost First Wife Status, or upset she lost Kody's affection for good. In the end, Robyn did what she does best- took a wrecking ball to other people's lives and came out with what she wanted.

[Kohola3]

3 hours ago, smarty2020 said:

I don't remember why Robyn was there when Kody and Meri signed their divorce papers.  She didn't need to be there.

She may not have been at all. The dramatic scene depicting the paper signing was a total fake;  the actual event had taken place long before that. So all of the sad face, hand shaking, tearful eyes (complete with inspecting eye boogers) paper signing shtick was all for TV.

It's like the whole faux courtroom scene where the adoptions supposedly happened.  We knew at the time it was aired that it was fake - filming is not allowed in those courtrooms so it was just another Brown Family shell game for ratings.

[Kyanight]

6 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

Exactly. Who knows, the recreation we saw may not have even happened in the first place. It could have gone down a lot differently but we were spoon-fed the storyline we saw. It wasn't "for the kids"; that explanation made no sense legally. My opinion- Robyn planted the idea she needed to be the legal wife, then Kody "made" the decision to do just that. Meri was expected to come on board, no matter what her fillings. Meri was obviously upset during the filming. Could have been for a variety of reasons- Being humiliated that she was played by Kody and Robyn in real life and they had to make up a more palatable story, upset she lost First Wife Status, or upset she lost Kody's affection for good. In the end, Robyn did what she does best- took a wrecking ball to other people's lives and came out with what she wanted.

I totally agree.   Did want to add my two cents, though.  Not sure where everyone got the idea that "first wife" status is actually a thing.  It actually all boils down to each woman's personality.  If you get a second or third (or even beyond that) wife who is very opinionated, strong-willed, possibly selfish and out for her best-interest(s) and a first wife who is going along with the flow, other than the legality of the marriage, the first wife doesn't have much.  I PROMISE you that in a LOT of these situations, the husband is infatuated with the new wife and the spicy new sex life, and the squeaky wheel and all that.  If she whines and cajoles to get her way, the first wife is asked to help her "adjust" to the family, that second (third, whatever) wife feels "out of place", and she "needs" this (whatever it is) to feel happier and that she "belongs".  The first wife HAS to be a bit compliant to allow her husband other wives (without throwing fits and making everyone miserable)....and first wives definitely don't "call all the shots".   A strong-willed husband has the status.... and beyond that it is the most dominant and demanding wife, not necessarily the first.  And in a few lucky plural marriages, ALL of the wives take turns with having status when life dictates.   I hope that made sense.  I made liberal usage of quotations - wow!!    "WOW!"  lol

[Galloway Cave]

1 minute ago, Kyanight said:

Not sure where everyone got the idea that "first wife" status is actually a thing.

Agree with what you said. My "first wife status" comment was simply that Meri loved shoving her first-in-line status in everyone's face, and she lost the ability to do that when Kody divorced her. In some of the plyg families I know, the first wife actually left the family once the patriarch started favoring another wife (or wives). 

[Kyanight]

1 hour ago, Galloway Cave said:

Agree with what you said. My "first wife status" comment was simply that Meri loved shoving her first-in-line status in everyone's face, and she lost the ability to do that when Kody divorced her. In some of the plyg families I know, the first wife actually left the family once the patriarch started favoring another wife (or wives). 

I agree.  I think MAYBE that's all Meri had.  The other wives started popping out lots of babies and Meri was lucky to have her one kid.. so that was her "weapon". (Flaunting her status.)  Then Robyn nipped that right in the bud and Meri had diddley squat.

And Edit:  My post was DEFINITELY not directed to you, Galloway!  I've seen the "first wife status"  written by a bunch of different posters and I was just running off on a tangent of thought as I like to do!  ha ha

Edited February 17, 2019 by Kyanight

[Kyanight]

I feel badly for Meri about the divorce, but other than that farce, she brought this on herself.  Kody didn't suddenly decide to court a new wife and then go out and find one.  Meri introduced Robyn to Kody as a love interest and prospective new wife.  Like I said elsewhere, you reap what you sow.   I'm sure she didn't expect that stab in the back, but plural marriage is a box of chocolates.  Isn't that what Forrest said?  Well whatever.  Close enough.

[Roslyn]

4 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

She may not have been at all. The dramatic scene depicting the paper signing was a total fake;  the actual event had taken place long before that. So all of the sad face, hand shaking, tearful eyes (complete with inspecting eye boogers) paper signing shtick was all for TV.

It's like the whole faux courtroom scene where the adoptions supposedly happened.  We knew at the time it was aired that it was fake - filming is not allowed in those courtrooms so it was just another Brown Family shell game for ratings.

Yes, I think it was re-enacted...however I think that emotion from Meri is real.  She uses her hair for "privacy" on camera.  VERY often she places herself so that she is sideways from the camera and a turn of the head puts her face out of easy view.  It's an easy mostly subtle masking.  I think this shows that even re-enacted months later, her emotion is strong and can't be hidden even during a fake set up.

[Roslyn]

7 hours ago, AZChristian said:

IIRC, they also wanted Meri to be a witness at their legal wedding in LV.  She declined.  I think Robyn's presence at the signing of the papers and the expectation Meri should be there for their legal wedding were K&R's attempts to punish Meri for the catfishing episode.

Robyn wanted Meri at the legal Kody/Robyn wedding because of Meri's "sacrifice" as a way of including her, but Kody was loud and clear against anyone even knowing the date of it happening.  Honestly it was one of the first times that I agreed with him.  He stated that his anniversary with Robyn was their original sealing and he didn't want her getting two anniversaries while everyone else got one.  However...he said that on camera and all, and then he and Robyn quietly (off camera) went skipping off on another 10 honeymoon to the beaches of Hawaii. 

5 hours ago, Galloway Cave said:

Exactly. Who knows, the recreation we saw may not have even happened in the first place. It could have gone down a lot differently but we were spoon-fed the storyline we saw. It wasn't "for the kids"; that explanation made no sense legally. My opinion- Robyn planted the idea she needed to be the legal wife, then Kody "made" the decision to do just that. Meri was expected to come on board, no matter what her fillings. Meri was obviously upset during the filming. Could have been for a variety of reasons- Being humiliated that she was played by Kody and Robyn in real life and they had to make up a more palatable story, upset she lost First Wife Status, or upset she lost Kody's affection for good. In the end, Robyn did what she does best- took a wrecking ball to other people's lives and came out with what she wanted.

My inner accountant has always wondered this scenario.... this is from my own head and I have zero on show or off show info to back this up.  However.  Meri and Kody would file taxes together with one daughter.  Mariah is off to uni and that's now zero children.  Then there is Robyn right next door with four or five (I can't remember exactly how many at the time of the divorce) children under the age of 18 and a business.  Kody marries Robyn and takes on all her children as dependents and is aligned with her business through marriage to set things up for a some time in a future bankruptcy that covers Robyn's house (he was quickly added on the deed to her house according to online savvies) and business.  Since all the wives have declared the big B in the past, but not Robyn, it made the most sense to me. Nothing to back it up past the fact that the Browns to have a tendency for creative financial juggling.

[deirdra]

Your inner accountant sounds right, Roslyn, and it is surprising Janelle didn't think of this when she still had 6 living at home.  Robyn has 5 kids and some of Christine's 5 have already left home … though she used them as single-mother welfare pawns in the past.

Edited February 18, 2019 by deirdra

[Gothish520]

17 hours ago, Roslyn said:

Robyn wanted Meri at the legal Kody/Robyn wedding because of Meri's "sacrifice" as a way of including her, but Kody was loud and clear against anyone even knowing the date of it happening.  Honestly it was one of the first times that I agreed with him.  He stated that his anniversary with Robyn was their original sealing and he didn't want her getting two anniversaries while everyone else got one.  However...he said that on camera and all, and then he and Robyn quietly (off camera) went skipping off on another 10 honeymoon to the beaches of Hawaii. 

My inner accountant has always wondered this scenario.... this is from my own head and I have zero on show or off show info to back this up.  However.  Meri and Kody would file taxes together with one daughter.  Mariah is off to uni and that's now zero children.  Then there is Robyn right next door with four or five (I can't remember exactly how many at the time of the divorce) children under the age of 18 and a business.  Kody marries Robyn and takes on all her children as dependents and is aligned with her business through marriage to set things up for a some time in a future bankruptcy that covers Robyn's house (he was quickly added on the deed to her house according to online savvies) and business.  Since all the wives have declared the big B in the past, but not Robyn, it made the most sense to me. Nothing to back it up past the fact that the Browns to have a tendency for creative financial juggling.

I never thought of the financial aspects of it and I think you're right and that may be the main reason. 

[ginger90]

Putting this here, since Dayton is being discussed elsewhere.

Regarding Dayton, this is from Robyn’s blog: (January 2018)

When Dayton was little he struggled with balance, coordination and knowing how to use his body.  When he was excited he would flap his arms and jump around the room.  He would sit for hours setting up cars around the edge of a table or lining up his dinosaurs according to size.  If anyone messed any of it up he would fall apart.  He wouldn’t eat certain foods due to the texture - this included any vegetables.  He would throw up if he had the wrong texture in his mouth.  He struggled with loud noises and lights.   Dayton didn’t give good eye contact in a conversation and struggled to know what was appropriate and okay as far as making friends with other kids. He could talk to adults though, usually about whatever subject he was obsessing about at the time.  There was the elephant phase, the dinosaur phase, (Yea, I became a temporary paleontologist) the alphabet and three letter word phase, the Pokémon phase, the car phase and several others.  He knew more about his favorite subjects or current interests then about everyday life.  He could talk your ear off about his current phase for hours if you let him.  During the dark and scary Pokémon years I felt like his main language was Pokémon and I struggled to speak it.  We would go into a store and he would find one of his “fellow tribesmen” wandering down the toy aisle and they would have a discussion that I did not follow or understand.  Yea, that was a tough phase.  I still shudder at the memory.

I remember trying and trying to teach him how to ride his bike and then gave up.  Somehow he got the impression that in order to go to kindergarten, he would need to know how to ride his bike so he went outside and taught himself how in an afternoon.  At this point, I knew my buddy had something going on with him but I just didn’t know what. I remember when he was in kindergarten, the school was recommending that he be taken out of class to get special help because his testing was so bad.  His teacher was confused by this.  She said she had never had a student come in that knew all the alphabet so well, could spell so many words, or had so much knowledge about dinosaurs. 

“He could end up being a doctor or engineer with how smart he is!” 

Little did I know that this would be the dichotomy that is Dayton his whole life.  When Dayton was in 2nd grade, the school counselor and psychologist brought me in and told me that he wanted to do some tests on Dayton.  I said yes and we started the long process.  This was when I was told that Dayton has Asperger Syndrome.  I was told it is a high functioning form of Autism.  Dayton had a lot of the behaviors.  It made sense to me because although he was amazing he also struggled with some things quite a bit.  He was artistic, intelligent, had an amazing memory and a sweet disposition, but he also really struggled in school, didn’t understand how to make friends, or how to deal with stress and didn’t have mind-body connection.  The more I learned and researched the more I started to understand what challenges were ahead for him and what I had to do as a mom to support him and advocate for him.  It was my job as his mother to help the world open their eyes to the amazing person before them, help fight for him to get the support he needed and help eliminate stress for him as much as I could.  You see, when someone with Autism or Asperger Syndrome is stressed out, the behaviors that make them stand out are more prevalent.  It has been a long journey but I have been determined to make sure he has every opportunity to be successful and happy.  I have been accused of being a helicopter parent but unless you have been in my shoes you don’t get it.

[Pickleinthemiddle]

22 hours ago, Roslyn said:

Yes, I think it was re-enacted...however I think that emotion from Meri is real.  She uses her hair for "privacy" on camera.  VERY often she places herself so that she is sideways from the camera and a turn of the head puts her face out of easy view.  It's an easy mostly subtle masking.  I think this shows that even re-enacted months later, her emotion is strong and can't be hidden even during a fake set up.

Yes I think Meri was still very upset even if it was just done for the filming purpose.  You could tell the hurt on her face.

[sharkerbaby]

3 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Putting this here, since Dayton is being discussed elsewhere.

Regarding Dayton, this is from Robyn’s blog: (January 2018)

When Dayton was little he struggled with balance, coordination and knowing how to use his body.  When he was excited he would flap his arms and jump around the room.  He would sit for hours setting up cars around the edge of a table or lining up his dinosaurs according to size.  If anyone messed any of it up he would fall apart.  He wouldn’t eat certain foods due to the texture - this included any vegetables.  He would throw up if he had the wrong texture in his mouth.  He struggled with loud noises and lights.   Dayton didn’t give good eye contact in a conversation and struggled to know what was appropriate and okay as far as making friends with other kids. He could talk to adults though, usually about whatever subject he was obsessing about at the time.  There was the elephant phase, the dinosaur phase, (Yea, I became a temporary paleontologist) the alphabet and three letter word phase, the Pokémon phase, the car phase and several others.  He knew more about his favorite subjects or current interests then about everyday life.  He could talk your ear off about his current phase for hours if you let him.  During the dark and scary Pokémon years I felt like his main language was Pokémon and I struggled to speak it.  We would go into a store and he would find one of his “fellow tribesmen” wandering down the toy aisle and they would have a discussion that I did not follow or understand.  Yea, that was a tough phase.  I still shudder at the memory.

I remember trying and trying to teach him how to ride his bike and then gave up.  Somehow he got the impression that in order to go to kindergarten, he would need to know how to ride his bike so he went outside and taught himself how in an afternoon.  At this point, I knew my buddy had something going on with him but I just didn’t know what. I remember when he was in kindergarten, the school was recommending that he be taken out of class to get special help because his testing was so bad.  His teacher was confused by this.  She said she had never had a student come in that knew all the alphabet so well, could spell so many words, or had so much knowledge about dinosaurs. 

“He could end up being a doctor or engineer with how smart he is!” 

Little did I know that this would be the dichotomy that is Dayton his whole life.  When Dayton was in 2nd grade, the school counselor and psychologist brought me in and told me that he wanted to do some tests on Dayton.  I said yes and we started the long process.  This was when I was told that Dayton has Asperger Syndrome.  I was told it is a high functioning form of Autism.  Dayton had a lot of the behaviors.  It made sense to me because although he was amazing he also struggled with some things quite a bit.  He was artistic, intelligent, had an amazing memory and a sweet disposition, but he also really struggled in school, didn’t understand how to make friends, or how to deal with stress and didn’t have mind-body connection.  The more I learned and researched the more I started to understand what challenges were ahead for him and what I had to do as a mom to support him and advocate for him.  It was my job as his mother to help the world open their eyes to the amazing person before them, help fight for him to get the support he needed and help eliminate stress for him as much as I could.  You see, when someone with Autism or Asperger Syndrome is stressed out, the behaviors that make them stand out are more prevalent.  It has been a long journey but I have been determined to make sure he has every opportunity to be successful and happy.  I have been accused of being a helicopter parent but unless you have been in my shoes you don’t get it.

Thank you @ginger90 I had read this previously so I was aware but I am glad you posted it for everyone else. 

And, I can relate!

[Awfarmington]

I’m starting over and watching from beginning (I’ve seen most, but I know when it first started, I wasn’t a loyal viewer). This is a long shot but does anyone remember which episode Robin dropped her bills on the counter for everyone to pay and explained why her long legs required VS bottoms? 

[ginger90]

2 hours ago, Awfarmington said:

I’m starting over and watching from beginning (I’ve seen most, but I know when it first started, I wasn’t a loyal viewer). This is a long shot but does anyone remember which episode Robin dropped her bills on the counter for everyone to pay and explained why her long legs required VS bottoms? 

In The Price of Polygamy, Season 2, Episode 3, she asks if that’s what she’s supposed to do. Perhaps she actually did in a different episode. 

[Awfarmington]

1 hour ago, ginger90 said:

In The Price of Polygamy, Season 2, Episode 3, she asks if that’s what she’s supposed to do. Perhaps she actually did in a different episode. 

Okay, I did just see that episode and thought for sure it was it. But didn’t see the part where she mentioned VS bills unless that was discusssd in SM perhaps? 

[ginger90]

1 hour ago, Awfarmington said:

Okay, I did just see that episode and thought for sure it was it. But didn’t see the part where she mentioned VS bills unless that was discusssd in SM perhaps? 

That bill was disclosed online, not by her, as part of her debt when she got divorced. She did acknowledge it later, and explained she has long legs, and there was no Walmart in her town. 😂 I think the credit card  bill was around $1,000..