S07.E06: Meri Makes Amends and Kody: Behind the Scenes

[Normades]

7 hours ago, Lm2162 said:

I agree, but they raised her in a Kody-worshipping patriarchal cult since birth. You reap what you sow. 

Also, Meri hasn't actually asked forgiveness. She's a lying liar who plays the victim and pretends to have been stalked by a catfish rather than to have planned to leave the family, but also isn't strong enough to leave. I'd be SO fucking over my insufferable bitch of a lying mother at this point. It's not infidelity they chose to work out, according to Meri. In her version, she's the innocent victim of everyone else. 

I totally agree with this.  I've found Mariah to be bratty at times, but in this case I think she is right.  Sitting there while her mother gives these silly paintings out as if that makes everything okay must have been infuriating.  Meri needs to OWN what she did and sincerely apologize.  Some people feel Mariah has received an apology, but I don't.  Until Meri admits that she was complicit in this and not a complete victim, I can't see why Mariah or anyone else in that matter would accept it and move on.  She was a victim of this catfish and I would feel more sympathy if she would own up to her part in things and really apologize.  I have to think Mariah must feel that way.

[notnowimbusy]

Mariah's reaction seems to be more than just Meri getting catfished.  I think Meri tried to blame the entire thing on Mariah.   Somehow as if Mariah was involved initially and thought it was ok.  That's why during Mariah's TH she kept saying "it's not my fault".  

[laurakaye]

15 hours ago, Kiss my mutt said:

Why do janelle and meri have to have a "project"?  Projects are not janelles thing so let's move on. How about a day tour they could do in Hawaii or visit a tourist attraction together?

 

Right on...because who takes a vacation to Hawaii to do a "project?"  This annoys me almost more than Kody's hair.  What are they going to do, find a Hobby Lobby in Maui and tye-dye some t-shirts, or get some latch-hook rugs, or what?  Why do they have to have a "project" at all, ever?  Meri likes doing crap like that.  Janelle does not.  Janelle should throw some bills and a checkbook on Meri's wetbar and say, "Here you go, here's my project - figuring out how we're going to pay $14,000 worth of bills this month when we're bringing in $10,000.  GO!" or some such thing.  And for Meri to even suggest that she wants to do some dare-devil type stuff in Hawaii is laughable - she's only saying that because she knows Janelle would be both unwilling and probably unable to do anything of the sort (now, if I see Meri bungee-jumping in the next episode, I'll eat my words, but I think Meri is pretty skilled at being a big-shot when she knows nothing will come of it).

And I also kind of hate the word "project," so I wish they'd quit using it.

 

9 hours ago, LotusFlower said:

Find love outside of Kody?  But they're her parents.  And putting aside legal vs. spiritual/religious, they're still married, so from Mariah's perspective, her mother was cheating on her father.  I think that if this family pushes and promotes the polygamous lifestyle on viewers and constantly whine about how unfair it is to criticize them for choices they make to live this life on their own free will, then they can't have it both ways.  Meri chose this life, and it came with a husband dividing his time and his attention with other women.  

I have to wonder if this keeps any of the kids up at night...I understand that they were raised this way.  But either they are blindly loyal to the faith and to Kody, or they have to question why it's okay that Kody has four wives but Meri is getting blasted for "cheating."  I wonder if they see it as black and white (Meri is 100% wrong) or if they see it in shades of gray.  Given that so far, none of the older kids are choosing to live polygamy, it makes me wonder what they truly think about Kody and the lifestyle in which he raised his children.

Edited June 14, 2016 by laurakaye

[Janc]

1 hour ago, MV713 said:

Took the liberty of finding the B&B on Tripadvisor and wow, what a dump.

 

Not surprised - please share!

[sucker4reality]

9 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

I have to wonder if this keeps any of the kids up at night...I understand that they were raised this way.  But either they are blindly loyal to the faith and to Kody, or they have to question why it's okay that Kody has four wives but Meri is getting blasted for "cheating."  I wonder if they see it as black and white (Meri is 100% wrong) or if they see it in shades of gray.  Given that so far, none of the older kids are choosing to live polygamy, it makes me wonder what they truly think about Kody and the lifestyle in which he raised his children.

I have to wonder if the other kids care at all. Mariah's really the only person on the show who's being honest about the whole catfish thing: in their world, Meri was cheating on her dad. I can't explain why, but I don't see Logan, Maddie, Aspyn or Hunter buying the Meri-as-victim spin either, but then again, they're not Meri's children and may not be close enough to Meri (or their dad) to be as hurt by it.

[sucker4reality]

24 minutes ago, notnowimbusy said:

Mariah's reaction seems to be more than just Meri getting catfished.  I think Meri tried to blame the entire thing on Mariah.   Somehow as if Mariah was involved initially and thought it was ok.  That's why during Mariah's TH she kept saying "it's not my fault".  

Good point. Meri kept saying  she was lonely and isolated after Mariah left for college, so Meri was essentially telling Mariah that if she stayed at home, Meri wouldn't have had an online affair.

[MV713]

http://molokai-bnb.com/

On one of the very smaller Islands.

[LilWharveyGal]

Except they were on the Big Island.  I think this is the place.

[Absolom]

Ratings:  1.276 M viewers and a .34 rating.  Still acceptable for TLC, but not really good.  They need the wedding.

[Nowhere]

I'm still really confused about the adoption. Does anybody know if the father actually gave up ALL parental rights? 

[SongbirdHollow]

21 hours ago, Coffee Girl said:

I wondered myself what Mary was concocting in that little tiny frying pan, whatever it was, there was hardly enough to feed 23 people, and I can't stand to watch Mary talk, her mouth never moves, and her tongue darts in and out like a lizard.

For me it's how she over enunciates her t's at the end of sentences. 

[kimaken]

13 minutes ago, Nowhere said:

I'm still really confused about the adoption. Does anybody know if the father actually gave up ALL parental rights?

I don't think so--right after the adoption the kids were sent off to spend a couple of weeks with their bio dad. I'm not sure how often they visit, so it could be that they only go once a year for a few weeks (like a summer vacation) just to maintain contact with him. I think he's now free of child support, too, because of the adoption. I thought it was weird with all the stuff Robyn was saying to discredit her ex pre-adoption, and then sends the kids to him afterwards.

[Nowhere]

1 minute ago, kimaken said:

I don't think so--right after the adoption the kids were sent off to spend a couple of weeks with their bio dad. I'm not sure how often they visit, so it could be that they only go once a year for a few weeks (like a summer vacation) just to maintain contact with him. I think he's now free of child support, too, because of the adoption. I thought it was weird with all the stuff Robyn was saying to discredit her ex pre-adoption, and then sends the kids to him afterwards.

And if I remember correctly, the kids were excited to see him. I wish he would come forward and tell us his side but the show probably made him sign a confidentiality agreement. I mean, has he or any member of his family spoken to the media at all? It's just odd. It's like they don't exist. 

[3girlsforus]

56 minutes ago, kimaken said:

I don't think so--right after the adoption the kids were sent off to spend a couple of weeks with their bio dad. I'm not sure how often they visit, so it could be that they only go once a year for a few weeks (like a summer vacation) just to maintain contact with him. I think he's now free of child support, too, because of the adoption. I thought it was weird with all the stuff Robyn was saying to discredit her ex pre-adoption, and then sends the kids to him afterwards.

Robyn said all that stuff to help prime the pump to unseat Meri as the legal wife. She had to sell the story that her ex was evil and negligent to the kids so it would become imperative that Kody dumped Meri to marry Robyn and adopt the kids. Once that was done she could send the kids back to visit their dad. 

[truelovekiss]

On 6/13/2016 at 10:08 AM, riverblue22 said:

And it wasn't just Logan.  I think Aspyn filled a similar role in her home, and now wants no part of Christine's chaos.

I agree with that. I'm sure Madison just felt it more for Logan, because he's her full blood brother who took care of her and their younger siblings. I'm sure Aspyn's siblings feel the same about her.

[kassa]

15 hours ago, Nowhere said:

Meri made it Mariah's business by telling her shit she shouldn't know. I get that. For that she is owed an apology and it seems like she's gotten that. She is not owed an apology for the choice Meri made to find love outside of Kody. It's not like she's 10. She's a grown woman now and she needs to accept that life is sometimes hard and sometimes the people you worship turn out to be imperfect like the rest of us. 

Mariah could have stopped speaking to her mother, not come home from school, gone to visit her sister at the pawn shop place, moved in with Robyn (the more the merrier) -- any number of things, if she truly had hardened her heart against her.  But she didn't.  She's home.  She's filming.  

What she's NOT doing is performing a forgiveness ritual on national television for Meri's benefit.  

Just because you've apologized doesn't mean that relationships go back to square one.  When people are hurt, they need time to heal.  Hectoring them into rushing the process isn't a sign of true regret that you've caused the harm in the first place. Sincere regret usually takes the form of "I know you need time. Thank you for not closing the door." And then you do what the person needs -- in this case, stop forcing the issue.

[laurakaye]

1 hour ago, SongbirdHollow said:

For me it's how she over enunciates her t's at the end of sentences. 

For me, it's saying "dill" for "deal," and "fillings" for "feelings."  I realize this is just dialect, and normally it wouldn't bother me, except that she uses one or both of these words repeatedly in so many of her talking heads - and not only that, she is NOT dilling with her fillings at all.

47 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

Robyn said all that stuff to help prime the pump to unseat Meri as the legal wife. She had to sell the story that her ex was evil and negligent to the kids so it would become imperative that Kody dumped Meri to marry Robyn and adopt the kids. Once that was done she could send the kids back to visit their dad. 

Under the category "Robyn's Manipulative, Hypocritical Ways," this is the grand finale, double-bonus question.  HOW do she and Kody justify the fact that they've painted Robyn's ex as an awful person, given her children Kody's last name, sketched Kody's face into a family portrait (in effect, removing the actual parentage of her ex) - and yet, hey - adoption's done!  Divorce and re-marriage complete!  Ink's almost dry on all the papers, so let's ship the kids off to their mean old dad's house for a few weeks of fun!  If we don't ever bring it up again, surely our fans will forget all about the fact that we made it seem like the guy was the worst father on the planet.  SHEESH, in the lying lies these liars tell, this one MIGHT just be the cherry on top of the Ice Queen sundae.  I cannot stand Robyn.

 

34 minutes ago, kassa said:

What she's NOT doing is performing a forgiveness ritual on national television for Meri's benefit.  

 

That's the best line about Meri that I've read in quite some time.  Preach.

Edited June 14, 2016 by laurakaye

[MarysWetBar]

3 hours ago, sucker4reality said:

I have to wonder if the other kids care at all. Mariah's really the only person on the show who's being honest about the whole catfish thing: in their world, Meri was cheating on her dad. I can't explain why, but I don't see Logan, Maddie, Aspyn or Hunter buying the Meri-as-victim spin either, but then again, they're not Meri's children and may not be close enough to Meri (or their dad) to be as hurt by it.

I think the other kids have lives and don't want their personal family bullshit all over the internet. I also get a different vibe from Janelles kids towards all of it. They show up for filming but don't appear to be all about being  on camera. Nice little supplement to their incomes hopefully but intelligent enough to know it won't last forever. 

They are also used to being sent to the back burner as far as finances and cars and healthy meals are concerned. Their mother was never one of the prized breeding sows so they have known since birth their place on the priority list. 

I see Kody and Meri as the original grifters...the dynamic duo who always made sure they were put first. And their entitled brat.

I'm over Meri and her kid and for sure Kody. None of us know that Meri and her spawn haven't discussed this privately. 

Most of what they do is for the show. 

Also..Christine looks lovely. She's definitely getting Meri's share of the D now. 

Edited June 14, 2016 by MarysWetBar

[beeziebee]

Quote

Also..Christine looks lovely. She's definitely getting Meri's share of the D now. 

Christine does indeed look lovely.  In fact, she's never looked better.  When you say "D" do you mean "dick" or "douchebag"?  

I'd prefer to think that she's just happy with life in general.  It really doesn't seem like Kody really throws her much of a bone (pardon the pun) anyway.  That replay of the building exercise just further reinforces how he really feels about her.  If you truly love someone, you'd never have such utter disregard for her, her ideas, and her fillings.

[3girlsforus]

39 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

 

Under the category "Robyn's Manipulative, Hypocritical Ways," this is the grand finale, double-bonus question.  HOW do she and Kody justify the fact that they've painted Robyn's ex as an awful person, given her children Kody's last name, sketched Kody's face into a family portrait (in effect, removing the actual parentage of her ex) - and yet, hey - adoption's done!  Divorce and re-marriage complete!  Ink's almost dry on all the papers, so let's ship the kids off to their mean old dad's house for a few weeks of fun!  If we don't ever bring it up again, surely our fans will forget all about the fact that we made it seem like the guy was the worst father on the planet.  SHEESH, in the lying lies these liars tell, this one MIGHT just be the cherry on top of the Ice Queen sundae.  I cannot stand Robyn.

 

They justify it because they only care about themselves. Other people are only actors in the play that is Robyn and Kody. If they need to demonize Robyn's kids' father, including basically calling him a rapist,  to further their plan, then they do it. They don't consider the effect it will have those kids to get the mixed message of 'dad is evil and must be removed' and 'gee we want a break from you so we are shipping you to dad's house'. If they want to be legally married, even if legal marriage isn't supposed to matter to them, then they don't mind guilting Meri. They don't mind making up a bunch of crap about the adoption to force Meri to give into the divorce. They claim it's no big deal for Meri to give  up her status as legal wife, after all it's no different than a spiritual marriage. Unless of course it's Robyn and Kody. Then the legal marriage is so important it requires another honeymoon. 

[Featherhat]

Yeah it's no real surprise that Meri went off the deep end with the world's least convincing catfisher when she'd just watched her "noble sacrifice for the family" leave on (another) long honeymoon (sans kids). I do think Robyn wanted her kids to be as much Brown as possible (because of her purity feels and "baggage" the creepiest picture in the world that she had made shows that, but it was also about the kid that she promised Kody after he put a (legal) ring on it, not to mention that all important "bit of paper" that was just a technicality with Kody and Meri.

I don't think Jessop or his family have ever spoken out about his side of the story. He may have dealings that he doesn't want the media investigating (anything kind), he might not be interested in TV audiences enough to comment or he and his family may be the traditional plyg/ plyg associated who just doesn't talk to the media (ala Christine's often shown paranoia). Their Church wasn't very pleased when they started doing the TV show were they?

[Celia Rubenstein]

15 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I didn't think Meri was bitchy when Janelle said nothing adventurous; she was simply saying she thought it was fun. Why does Janelle always have to be right and Meri wrong? I'm pretty sure if Janelle said she wanted to do something like zip lining and Meri said no, everyone would post on how horrible Meri was for saying no. What if they both are right? Meri finds it fun and Janelle does not. What is wrong with that?

For me, it's not that either woman is right or wrong.   What bugs me is that Meri seems to think she is so much better than Janelle.  The snotty way Meri talks to Janelle, the way she looks at her with barely-concealed contempt.  She has a superior attitude that is completely unjustified in my opinion, and she has real balls to get imperious because her idea of fun (F-U-N, fun!) is not Janelle's idea of having a good time, or get huffy and impatient because Janelle doesn't approach crucial life issues (like wreath shopping and Thanksgiving decorating) the way she does. 

Why Meri thinks she is any better than Janelle is a mystery to me.  Janelle has worked and contributed to the family as much as Meri has, if not more. Last time I checked, all of Janelle's kids were still speaking to her and she was getting along fine with Kody.  I don't think Meri could make the same claim. Janelle has certainly never publicly humiliated herself like Meri did, nor has she brought he shame and scandal on the family the way Meri has.  It wasn't Janelle who fell for a preposterous story from an obvious catfish.  She didn't send out pictures of herself sucking on a banana to someone she'd never met.  She hasn't had hundreds of pathetic voice mails plastered on the internet, revealing her to be the doormat of some psycho. She isn't the one who was plotting behind everyone's back to sneak off in the night to be with her lover.  But I guess to Meri, her own mistakes and misdeeds are nothing compared to Janelle being hesitant to blow money on yet another ugly item to stick on the wall of her house.  So bring on the scorn, by all means.  I guess her sense of superiority over Janelle is all Meri has any more, now that Mariah is gone, she's on the outs with Kody, Robyn has assumed her throne, Christine has surpassed her in the pecking order, and her gorgeous millionaire boyfriend turned out to be an ugly middle-aged woman who lives with her mother.  It must really suck to be her, lol. 

As far as I am concerned, Meri could have the market cornered on being right about a hundred subjects and Janelle could be wrong on every count, but Meri would still earn my disapproval due to her foul attitude alone. 

Edited June 14, 2016 by Celia Rubenstein

[Nowhere]

1 hour ago, kassa said:

Mariah could have stopped speaking to her mother, not come home from school, gone to visit her sister at the pawn shop place, moved in with Robyn (the more the merrier) -- any number of things, if she truly had hardened her heart against her.  But she didn't.  She's home.  She's filming.  

What she's NOT doing is performing a forgiveness ritual on national television for Meri's benefit.  

Just because you've apologized doesn't mean that relationships go back to square one.  When people are hurt, they need time to heal.  Hectoring them into rushing the process isn't a sign of true regret that you've caused the harm in the first place. Sincere regret usually takes the form of "I know you need time. Thank you for not closing the door." And then you do what the person needs -- in this case, stop forcing the issue.

I guess I'm just thinking, if it were me, I'd just stay away instead of sitting around acting like a bitch. But honestly, she's not acting terrible in light of all I've learned within the past few posts. And plus, she probably got sick of being offscreen. I'm sure she's loving her 15 minutes and it doesn't matter who or what she has to deal with as long as she gets them.

Furthermore, as much as I can't stand Meri, my dislike for Kody and Robyn runs deeper. This whole thing is their fault in my opinion. People on this forum have said that Robyn knew about the catfishing too and it was her friend who "victimized" Meri. So setting aside my personal feelings toward Meri as a person, I still don't think she should have to beg forgiveness, and I'm seeing that she is trying really hard, going to counseling, painting pictures and shit. She's probably on meds as well. The absolute only person I can feel sorry for in this situation is Mariah because she was involved and she shouldn't have been, but even then, her story is not that bad. it's like someone else here said, she's Kody's daughter so she's making it about her.

[Madding crowd]

But none of that happened or it is your interpretation. Janelle said "nothing adventurous " and said she didn't like it and Meri said she finds it F-U-N. It's your interpretation that the word fun shows contempt. To me it is just a word and since she was smiling when she said it, I saw no secret meaning. You admitted yourself that you hate Meri and will consider everything she does wrong and everything Janelle does as right. I don't hate either of them and look at it as a neutral conversation. 

[Nowhere]

11 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

But none of that happened or it is your interpretation. Janelle said "nothing adventurous " and said she didn't like it and Meri said she finds it F-U-N. It's your interpretation that the word fun shows contempt. To me it is just a word and since she was smiling when she said it, I saw no secret meaning. You admitted yourself that you hate Meri and will consider everything she does wrong and everything Janelle does as right. I don't hate either of them and look at it as a neutral conversation. 

Can you quote the post you're replying to? I'm still interested in this topic and can't find it on the feed.

[Madding crowd]

33 minutes ago, Celia Rubenstein said:

For me, it's not that either woman is right or wrong.   What bugs me is that Meri seems to think she is so much better than Janelle.  The snotty way Meri talks to Janelle, the way she looks at her with barely-concealed contempt.  She has a superior attitude that is completely unjustified in my opinion, and she has real balls to get imperious because her idea of fun (F-U-N, fun!) is not Janelle's idea of having a good time, or get huffy and impatient because Janelle doesn't approach crucial life issues (like wreath shopping and Thanksgiving decorating) the way she does. 

Why Meri thinks she is any better than Janelle is a mystery to me.  Janelle has worked and contributed to the family as much as Meri has, if not more. Last time I checked, all of Janelle's kids were still speaking to her and she was getting along fine with Kody.  I don't think Meri could make the same claim. Janelle has certainly never publicly humiliated herself like Meri did, nor has she brought he shame and scandal on the family the way Meri has.  It wasn't Janelle who fell for a preposterous story from an obvious catfish.  She didn't send out pictures of herself sucking on a banana to someone she'd never met.  She hasn't had hundreds of pathetic voice mails plastered on the internet, revealing her to be the doormat of some psycho. She isn't the one who was plotting behind everyone's back to sneak off in the night to be with her lover.  But I guess to Meri, her own mistakes and misdeeds are nothing compared to Janelle being hesitant to blow money on yet another ugly item to stick on the wall of her house.  So bring on the scorn, by all means.  I guess her sense of superiority over Janelle is all Meri has any more, now that Mariah is gone, she's on the outs with Kody, Robyn has assumed her throne, Christine has surpassed her in the pecking order, and her gorgeous millionaire boyfriend turned out to be an ugly middle-aged woman who lives with her mother.  It must really suck to be her, lol. 

As far as I am concerned, Meri could have the market cornered on being right about a hundred subjects and Janelle could be wrong on every count, but Meri would still earn my disapproval due to her foul attitude alone. 

I was replying to the first paragraph here. On the show, it was a pleasant conversation between Meri and Janelle and they were both smiling. I saw no sinister context.

[fountain]

I used to like Janelle and would take her "side" over Meri but at the end of last season and this season just aren't showing a good side of Janelle.  This week they went to therapist and talked about the project with Thanksgiving.  I don't know why Janelle gets so upset that someone else takes over as she doesn't seem to participate at all, she is just so annoyingly passive, sorry but of course you come to a braining storming meeting with full on ideas/samples like Meri did.  How useful is a meeting where you don't prepare?.  Sorry but in life others will take the lead if you don't and if she wants to be a follower that is fine just don't complain that others took over it is because you just don't take initiative or participate.  I used to think Janelle was probably the one that worked hard but now I can see in her personality she is no way a leader so I don't think she would have had that much career success as she cannot decide and take control of anything.  The bloom is off the rose for me there and I can see more of Meri's side in the whole "kitchen fighting" thing.

Now Christine is great, I am not sure why Kody seems to like other wives better as she is the best looking, the most smiley and seems to be the most fun out of the four of them.

[Madding crowd]

Christine does seem like a very positive person. She deserves someone better than Kody.

[Nowhere]

@Madding crowd I have to agree with you. It was nothing I wouldn't have said to a friend as a joke. 

[Celia Rubenstein]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

But none of that happened or it is your interpretation. Janelle said "nothing adventurous " and said she didn't like it and Meri said she finds it F-U-N. It's your interpretation that the word fun shows contempt. To me it is just a word and since she was smiling when she said it, I saw no secret meaning. 

If course it is my interpretation, just as your opinion is based on your interpretation.  

That being said, I am basing my interpretation not just on the word "fun" but also on the tone of her voice and the look on Meri's face, both of which seem to me to once again be expresses impatience and frustration with Janelle.  Her smile doesn't fool me, nor does the little laugh she gave.  People do that kind of thing all the time to mask the contempt in a comment so it can be argued "but she smiled" or "but she laughed." It's a form of passive aggression imo, and very condescending.   I don't believe that her laugh meant she was making a joke any more than I believe that Janelle's wimpy passive laugh when Meri said it means she really found it funny.  It's just another of example of the pattern Meri herself acknowledged, where she is the assertive one and Janelle always backs down.  

Meri's eye rolling and the exasperation she expresses about Janelle's idea they do a project during her talking heads is also a factor in my opinion.  She is just overflowing with arrogant contempt for Janelle and it's tiresome to watch. 

I admit my opinion of Meri is a cumulative thing, built up from watching multiple scenes of her dealing with Janelle. It's not just this one scene alone.  I've recently been reading the book they wrote, and it seems like this hostility and contempt for Janelle is a long-standing pattern with Meri, who has basically treated Janelle like a second-class interloper since she married Kody.  I realized some people in the world might say something like Meri said as a joke, but given the history between the two women and their current relationship, it didn't seem like a joke to me.  It was just more of Meri correcting Janelle who basically can't do anything right in her opinion, not even judge what she feels is a pleasurable activity.  

 

Quote

You admitted yourself that you hate Meri and will consider everything she does wrong and everything Janelle does as right. I don't hate either of them and look at it as a neutral conversation. 

I never said anything of the sort.  I do not "hate" Meri and never said everything she does is wrong.   I said Meri would earn my disapproval whether right or wrong due to her attitude.  That is entirely different from what you claimed I said.  

Edited June 14, 2016 by Celia Rubenstein

[ginger90]

I would like to read the book Meri is seen writing in. She closes it and covers it with her hands when someone walks in the house.

[ghoulina]

22 hours ago, Nowhere said:

 

is anybody else annoyed with Mariah? I really don't think the girl has the right to be angry and it's not her place to forgive or not forgive. Meri didn't do anything to HER except perhaps spoil the hell out of her. What Meri did, the mistakes she makes in her relationship as a grown woman, is absolutely none of Mariah's business. It really sucks that it's all public knowledge but I don't see any of the other adult children whining about it. It's like she wants Meri to kiss her ass forever because of the catfishing. But really Meri doesn't owe her anything. Mariah is milking the hell out of this. She needs to get the hell over it like everyone else did.

 

I disagree. I've always been of the opinion that when you cheat on your spouse, you're sort of cheating on your children. More so when they're little and still live at home, though. You're risking ruining the relationship, and that does affect the children. In Mariah's case, I can understand her being pissed. As much of a doofus as he is, Mariah loves her dad and I can understand her being upset that Meri betrayed him. Also, allegedly Meri involved Mariah with her chicanery to an extent and lied to her. Mariah probably feels made a fool of. Another reason to be upset. 

I tend to see Mariah as a petulant brat 90% of the time. But I get her on this. I don't really think she's going on and on about it either. There was one episode where it was addressed with her. MERI is the one who keeps bringing up Mariah being upset. Mariah has the right to get over it in her own time. She's there, she's involved, she doesn't have to be all bosom buddies with Meri again. Meri made her bed, now she has to eat bananas...I mean...lay in it. 

20 hours ago, Lm2162 said:

What do you guys think about Michelle wanting to be engaged to Logan right away? Is he freaked out?

They've been dating for a year now. I don't think that's "right away" or an unreasonable time frame with which to get engaged. She mentioned engagement because he's considering school somewhere else and she's thinking, "If I'm going to relocate, I need more of a commitment than we currently have". I don't think it's anything to get freaked out about, and I think Logan really loves her. 

[lookeyloo]

I totally agree that Meri shows such contempt for Janelle - for me it would be hard to overcome.  Meri really does that a lot, looks down, looks away, looks up from downward cast eyes.  I want to slap her.  I am surely not an expert on body language, but she comes across to me as someone I'd like to avoid.  For all of Janelle's passivity, she is at least articulating something. It would take more, in my opinion, than the counseling they show on TeeVee to change the dynamic, especially when one of the parties doesn't seem all that interested.  And why is Christine so happy and looking so good.  Maybe she is the one with a side piece!!  Nah, I don't really think so, but something is going on.  Mood enhancers?  Her mother living with her?  

[Adeejay]

4 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

And why is Christine so happy and looking so good.  Maybe she is the one with a side piece!!  Nah, I don't really think so, but something is going on.  Mood enhancers?  Her mother living with her?  

I believe Christine is happy because she is the only wife who is getting Kody's "attention". Kody said that at the moment, there is an "emotional disconnect" with Robyn; Meri is in the dog house and Janelle doesn't seem "romantically" interested in him.  Christine seems to be a kind and decent person; she deserves to be happy. 

[lookeyloo]

I agree about Christine being a kind and decent person.  I thought Kody wasn't all that invested in Christine.  But maybe since she is positive and accepting, he is enjoying the connection.  But, when Robyn comes around, he will ditch Christine again, no? 

[Kohola3]

Quote

But, when Robyn comes around, he will ditch Christine again, no? 

I don't think Robun is coming around again.  She got what she wanted, she's done having kids, and she and the Asshat are at odds.  However, when wifey #5 shows up, Christine will be shoved aside in a heartbeat.

 

 

 

 0

[3girlsforus]

1 hour ago, ghoulina said:

I disagree. I've always been of the opinion that when you cheat on your spouse, you're sort of cheating on your children. More so when they're little and still live at home, though. You're risking ruining the relationship, and that does affect the children. In Mariah's case, I can understand her being pissed. As much of a doofus as he is, Mariah loves her dad and I can understand her being upset that Meri betrayed him. Also, allegedly Meri involved Mariah with her chicanery to an extent and lied to her. Mariah probably feels made a fool of. Another reason to be upset. 

 

I get this but she's completely ignoring what her dad is doing to her mom. I know the whole 'cheating' concept is complicated when you are talking about polygamists. I think we have to accept that Kody isn't cheating even though he's involved with three other women. But in my opinion, Kody has abandoned his marriage to Meri. Whatever you call their relationship, he has responsibilities to her. Look back at the relationship they used to have. He was still married to other women then too and it was not a relationship I'd every want, but there was affection and care. Now she is just a pawn in the Robyn/Kody game. He gives her nothing emotionally and I can just about guarantee they aren't having sex. He gives her nothing. Robyn is a manipulative bitch, but Kody is actively participating in the manipulation.  Meri went to look for attention outside of the cult-de-sac and Kody decided to take all of the "love multiplied' from Meri and give it only to Robyn. They both betrayed the relationship. Mariah claims to have had an epiphany about polygamy which spawned the anger but she has yet to recognize that her father has played a role in the nightmare that is the Meri/Kody marriage. Until she does I will continue to believe that her primary reason for being angry is that Meri embarrassed her publicly by doing something stupid and agreed to the divorce which downgraded her position in the family.  It's about how it affected Mariah, not the actual issues themselves.

[athousandclowns]

Just trying to figure out in a 4,000 square home if I could find a place to hang one of  Meri's creations.  Nope. Oh maybe the garage or under a sink.  On the refrig for a couple of weeks then take it down?  Why didn't she design an apology necklace bracelet or ring for sisters closet.   I forgot it was kodys birthday present to hang in each of his houses infringing on the other sisters homes/ walls/ taste.   One of them said you did good.  Pat on  head. 

[ReadMeLattice]

@3girlsforus, the entire family--not just Kody--taught Mariah since birth that that was morally and spiritually correct. Men are (literally) gods in fundamentalist Mormonism.They can't act surprised if their kids were brainwashed enough to believe it. Also, Meri isn't critiquing Kody either, just the catfish. If she was, it'd be different, but she's just bitching about the evil catfish and praising Kody and their religion. But Mariah, a 21-year-old (or so) college kid, is supposed to magically understand that and ignore her mother's actual words and what she professes to believe? If Mariah were to say, "Oh, I see that this is partly Dad's fault," MERI would be the first to disagree with her and say no, how dare you, Kody is wonderful and he is my eternal husband (another one of their beliefs), it's all the awful catfish and I only left voicemails and sent sexts and fake blow job photos because I was being THREATENED. Mariah knows better. She knows she wasn't 'threatened,' and from her feminist, uber-progressive ideals she shares on social media (sometimes directly contradicting her dad), it seems she very much knows their religion is a misogynistic crock of shit. But she's certainly not going to say that to her mom because that's not what her mom says she believes.

Meri is VERY clearly arrogant towards Janelle and wants to sell this idea of herself as fun-loving, adventurous, strong, bold, and a go-getter, while Janelle, who worked her entire life, is a lazy slug because she doesn't want to do decorating projects. That "F-U-N" comment had very clear subtext. It wasn't a joke.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Lm2162

[absolutelyido]

12 minutes ago, athousandclowns said:

Just trying to figure out in a 4,000 square home if I could find a place to hang one of  Meri's creations.  Nope. Oh maybe the garage or under a sink.  On the refrig for a couple of weeks then take it down?  Why didn't she design an apology necklace bracelet or ring for sisters closet.   I forgot it was kodys birthday present to hang in each of his houses infringing on the other sisters homes/ walls/ taste.   One of them said you did good.  Pat on  head. 

And you just know that Meri is going to be checking out where each of the others hang it to ensure they are paying it the appropriate homage.

[JenMcSnark]

3 hours ago, ginger90 said:

I would like to read the book Meri is seen writing in. She closes it and covers it with her hands when someone walks in the house.

I'm hoping we WILL see that book someday.  Something tells me that Meri uses it to make notes on things that are happening "in the moment" so she can write a tell-all in a few years after the tv deal goes away and she has no more reasons ($$ + Kodouche) to stay. 

[Celia Rubenstein]

I can totally see Meri writing an incredibly self-serving tell-all once she has nothing left to gain by keeping sweet (or bittersweet in her case).  I think she would LOVE the opportunity to tell her side of things without the other wives or Kody having their say (which is the way it is done in the original sister wives book ... they take turns writing chapters describing their different takes on the same events).  And she won't have to write things like "I'm not telling the whole story because I want to protect Janelle" (in my opinion you don't mention you are leaving bad things about someone out of a story to "protect" them, you do it to stick it to them without making yourself look quite as shitty as if you told all).   If she writes her own book, Meri will be able to drop the passive aggressive acts of generosity she pretends to engage in and unload all the vitriol pent up inside her.  It would probably add years to her life, lol. 

Maybe the sister wives will do it the way the members of KISS did, with each band member releasing an autobiography one after the other.  I wonder which wife will be smart and patient enough to wait and go last so they get the final say, the way Paul Stanley did. He got to remark upon the things everyone else said in their books before his and have the final word.  My guess is Robyn.  She's stealthy and a long-term planner.  And I think she is smart enough to not carry around a little book taking notes for the whole world to see.  It wouldn't surprise me if she arranges for Meri's little notebook to pull a disappearing act!  

It wouldn't be the first time she out-Meried Meri.

ETA: kadooze to the person who coined that expression, "out Meried Meri" it's perfection! 

Edited June 15, 2016 by Celia Rubenstein

[toodles]

On 6/13/2016 at 3:18 PM, notnowimbusy said:

The confusion Kody expressed about the paintings is easy to explain.  Meri said it was a birthday present for him, and in his small mind, he was picturing watches, cars, hair care products, tech gadgets, etc.  All he got was four crummy paintings - one to hang in each wives house, and what about him????  He was expecting something for himself - not just some symbolic BS present for the wives.  Where was his cake?  Where were his candles?  Nope that confusion was a let down because it wasn't really about him at all.  Well, that and he glanced over and saw the disgusting refried beans on the stove.  

Like an assault rifle, which they gave him for either Christmas or his birthday.  Or a new laptop.  Oh wait.  He didn't like it because it wasn't fun enough.  Asshat.

Edited June 15, 2016 by toodles

[seasick]

On 6/13/2016 at 6:18 PM, notnowimbusy said:

The confusion Kody expressed about the paintings is easy to explain.  Meri said it was a birthday present for him, and in his small mind, he was picturing watches, cars, hair care products, tech gadgets, etc.  All he got was four crummy paintings - one to hang in each wives house, and what about him????  He was expecting something for himself - not just some symbolic BS present for the wives.  Where was his cake?  Where were his candles?  Nope that confusion was a let down because it wasn't really about him at all.  Well, that and he glanced over and saw the disgusting refried beans on the stove.  

It totally served Kody right after making his relationship with Christine all about the family in the rock challenge. I hope Christine and .hell,.... all of them give everyone else except Kody a gift for his birthday.

[Christina]

If we look at this through Mariah's eyes, she has always seen her dad divide his time between his wives. Meri, Janelle and Christine only lived in that three-unit home for a few years, before that Janelle lived away from the others, and Kody traveled to spend time with her. She was in her early teens when Robyn joined the family, so while it is clear to us that Robyn gets more time, and Christine even said so on the show, it may not have been as obvious to a teenager who was used to her dad rotating homes and probably didn't think twice about her parent's more personal time, with the exception of what her mom told her.

Enter the psycho catfisher who appeared at Meri's multi-level marketing party as Lindsey, and began a flirtatious twitter banter with Meri. I think Meri relished in the attention, in part, in an effort to get Kody's attention. Mariah says she told her not to get in that relationship and according to the texts, Meri told her it was just a friendship. When the discussion of the twitter flirtations came to light, it certainly seemed clear, to me, that Sam was a con-artist. Some people tweeted to Meri that Sam was a catfisher, so they went to direct messages. In an effort to reel in her prey, psycho used $10k she conned from another victim to buy into Meri's MLM, and Meri was able to convince herself "he" existed, and that he was into her.

The psycho's book details the mind games she was playing, pouting about Meri spending time with Kody, and Meri eventually asked Kody to move out. On the episode where they had the group therapy session, Kody discussed Meri pushing him away. So, Mariah would return from college for breaks and at some point probably learned Meri asked Kody to move out, unless she was completely oblivious to his stuff being gone and him not coming around. Who knows what Meri said to her as the reason, but I think we can be certain it wasn't that she decided to leave the family for a rich billionaire. Mariah got to read about online like the rest of us, and Meri insists that she was being threatened. Mariah saw the early flirtations, at the minimum, and knows Meri was a willing participant from the get go. I think she is aware of a lot more than the rest of us, and Meri probably never said to her that polygamy had crushed her soul.

None of these older kids seem to have much respect for Kody, and I think that at this point, that includes Mariah. If she realizes her parents marriage wasn't the best, it still seems reasonable that it would take some time accept her mother's choice to run off with another man. I've known grown adults who are surprised and upset by infidelity and the divorce of their parents. Even if Mariah doesn't view it as infidelity, her mom was lying to her for six months, and it kind of sounds like she was using her as an unwilling accomplice. She was going to introduce Sam at Disneyland after he invited himself along on a trip they had planned, but she also planned on meeting him in Utah once and used visiting Mariah as an excuse, and another meeting had to be cancelled because Mariah either returned home or didn't go away with her friend like she had planned. Mariah has always been spoiled and seemed to take things personally, and her saying that this wasn't her fault and she didn't do anything wrong may actually show growth.

[ReadMeLattice]

I just didn't see any bad behavior at all from Mariah this episode. What, because she didn't salivate over the paintings and sob openly at their beauty? She was fine. I just don't get it.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Lm2162

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎6‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 8:33 PM, Lm2162 said:

Giving credit where credit is due: It's wonderful that Logan was a substitute dad for the kids (well, wonderful for the kids, not for Logan/polygamy), but Aspyn, as some of you pointed out, was 100% a mom/second parent to Christine's children. Sometimes guys are given more credit because it's more unusual, but Aspyn shouldn't have had to be a child-mother any more than he should have had to be a dad at 10.

I understand what you're saying, but there was a difference between Aspyn and Logan.  Christine was a stay at home mom.  She was at home and getting the children up, feeding them, getting them ready for school, etc.  I'm sure Aspyn helped her.  Logan, on the other hand, did all of this on his own.  They showed it in the first season.  Janelle was gone early and Logan got the kids up, fed them, etc.  I remember him carrying around Savannah, and she was so small.

On ‎6‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 6:25 PM, Nowhere said:

Yeah, you're right. She has always acted like a spoiled brat. Forgot about the house thing. it just shows that they aren't all as much of a cohesive family as they portray. None of the other children act like such brats. Mariah is an only child. As much as they want us to think they were all raised as one family,  Meri had her own separate "family" with princess Mariah probably being treated like some miracle child. It seems like Mariah doesn't want to be challenged by either sibling or parent and when she is she throws a fit.

"None of the other children act like such brats."  I pretty much agree with you - at least from what we've seen on camera.  And while many think Meri is a monster, I disagree.  I've seen most if not all of the children show affection for Meri.  In fact, that's one of the reasons I think Meri's "abuse" of Janelle was either very short-lived, or greatly exaggerated.  I don't think Logan and Maddie would care so much for Meri if they ever witnessed her abusing their mother.  Maddie has given Meri credit for some of her own positive attributes.  And Meri is always loving on one of the children.  In the flash back to Lehi when the children were crying over news of the move, it was Meri who was comforting Paedon.  His head was on her chest and she was hugging him while he cried.  The children are just as loving with Christine, but she actively raised most of them.  Janelle is the one I've rarely seen touching or talking to a child that wasn't hers.  I saw her hold the last three at birth, but never again.  I get it's not her thing, but it's unusual when the children are even physically affectionate with Robyn now.

[RedheadZombie]

15 hours ago, Normades said:

I totally agree with this.  I've found Mariah to be bratty at times, but in this case I think she is right.  Sitting there while her mother gives these silly paintings out as if that makes everything okay must have been infuriating.  Meri needs to OWN what she did and sincerely apologize.  Some people feel Mariah has received an apology, but I don't.  Until Meri admits that she was complicit in this and not a complete victim, I can't see why Mariah or anyone else in that matter would accept it and move on.  She was a victim of this catfish and I would feel more sympathy if she would own up to her part in things and really apologize.  I have to think Mariah must feel that way.

I don't think we truly have any idea what Mariah and Meri have said to each other off camera.  In fact, I think it's pretty clear that a great deal has been said that we aren't privy to.

Personally, I feel no need to have Meri apologize to anyone on camera.  A private apology is more genuine.  Instead of embracing her anger and making nasty cracks at Meri's appearance, Mariah should be kissing her feet for finally showing her the truth of polygamy.  I feel that Mariah's anger and lashing out are more rooted in the destruction of her polygamy paradise fantasies than anything.

15 hours ago, notnowimbusy said:

Mariah's reaction seems to be more than just Meri getting catfished.  I think Meri tried to blame the entire thing on Mariah.   Somehow as if Mariah was involved initially and thought it was ok.  That's why during Mariah's TH she kept saying "it's not my fault".  

I haven't seen anything that indicates this is true.  In my opinion, Mariah's "it's not my fault", is nothing more than disavowing the entire situation.  She specifically said she was pissed because she told Meri to stop it, and Meri did not obey.  That right there spoke volumes about their relationship.

[ReadMeLattice]

*Abusing* her mother? Jesus. If Meri lied to me like this and dragged my whole family through the fallout of her humiliating, banana filled affair by playing the poor-me victim and starring in a TV special about the emotional abuse of catfish and then expected her hundreds of voicemails about loving and wanting to fuck Sam and sexy bath photos to be swept under the rug because of some paintings, while still professing to love and adore the misogynistic cult she raised me in, I'd say a lot more than some BS about her eyebrows. 

I don't think it was about *obeying* her. Meri claims over and over that no one knew about it and how was she to know this was fake and she was all alone, etc. But Mariah saw and warned her, so she knows that's patently untrue. 

Edited June 15, 2016 by Lm2162

[MV713]

On ‎6‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 11:05 AM, LilWharveyGal said:

Except they were on the Big Island.  I think this is the place.

Maybe - both places have the same name - Halu mala.  When they said they were in the smallest airport like a foreign country - it made sense to me that they were in Moolaki not the Big Island.