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S08.E05: Another Catfishing


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I know similar problems happen in monogamous marriages but theirs just reek of polygamy dysfunction and despair. Meri hasnt been happy since Kodi took a second wife.

What happened to the version of the story Meri was telling where she was threatened by the catfisher and feared for her family's lives and that's why she went along with the pictures and recordingd they have of her?

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I decided to check this out since reading the thread. I saw part of the catfish episode last year, but other than that, haven't watched in a long time. I was struck by how bad everyone looked. They all look like they have aged 20 years. Even the kids didn't look great. Their skin and hair looked poor. I think it could be diet, but with the adults, it also has to be stress. Kody is the worst. His thinning hair, scraggly beard and skin looks like he is pushing 60.

Meri was admitting that she figured out Lindsay was involved somehow, but she continued on for months after that. She is at least admitting she thought there was actually a man. I believe that "Sam" and "Lindsay" did harass her. JO would use a app like Find My Friends to locate Meri's cell phone and make it sound like he was having her followed. If she had spoken to someone about it, she would probably have learned about such apps, but instead she cowered in fear. JO is a sociopath and was actually causing her mental distress. Meri's friend was arguing with people on Twitter about how they were trying to protect her, and people were telling her that it was clearly an app, block her phone number and stop allowing contact from JO. But her friend was apparently an idiot, too.

She did state in that brief catfish show that she contacted the police, but was told there was nothing they could do. Blackmail, which I suspect but no one has actually said yet, and harassment are crimes. My guess is she went to the police and told them JO was threatening to release text messages and voicemails and learned that once she sent them, they belonged to JO. So far, she is still recreating history a bit. 

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10 minutes ago, Morgalisa said:

I know similar problems happen in monogamous marriages but theirs just reek of polygamy dysfunction and despair. Meri hasnt been happy since Kodi took a second wife.

What happened to the version of the story Meri was telling where she was threatened by the catfisher and feared for her family's lives and that's why she went along with the pictures and recordingd they have of her?

you're not supposed to remember that. :)

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11 minutes ago, Morgalisa said:

I know similar problems happen in monogamous marriages but theirs just reek of polygamy dysfunction and despair. Meri hasnt been happy since Kodi took a second wife.

What happened to the version of the story Meri was telling where she was threatened by the catfisher and feared for her family's lives and that's why she went along with the pictures and recordingd they have of her?

I get what you're saying and polygamy would multiply the problems, but when you're married to a narcissist, it doesn't matter if there is one wife or 100. Kody will never take one ounce of responsibility for any problems in their marriage. He is not capable of causing any problems and nothing is his fault. He is perfect and anyone not in line with him is the problem. *vomit*

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Meri mentioned the word "investment" but danced around the my/our business angle...like it was related to MSWC. 

She didn't mention the MLM part where Catfish Sam supposedly sent Catfish Lindsay with an order for the LIV  MLM.

I hope the Catfish SL is finally put to rest. That ass has a mental disorder & crazy is not gonna be fixed reasoned  or understood. 

The Catfish isn't brilliant. She just has a picker for people that make the choice to live in that fantasy world for a certain amount of time.

There were countless red flags that flew every single  step of the way. 

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2 hours ago, wings707 said:

I really don't hate anyone in my real life. I really don't.  I am kind and well liked in my life. What is it about reality TV that brings my hate out?

  I want to meet Robin in a dark alley, with a thug to do my bidding.  I also want to tie Kody to something  and do bad things.  

OK, @wings707, step away from the TV.    Hahahaha.  LOL!!!

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9 minutes ago, Sista Snarky said:

There were countless red flags that flew every single  step of the way.

I think I should send them the old video Stranger Danger.  Good God these people have as much sense as a preschool class.  No offense to preschoolers.  I tell recently divorced people to check with their teenagers in regards to anything on the internet.  

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4 hours ago, Armchair Critic said:

Did that Cheryl say she worked for the space program? Kaching! Maybe Jackie was after her $$$$$?

Yes, she said she worked for NASA, but was vulnerable (to catfisher) because she lost her job when the program ended, so I think she was already done there. 

I don't think catfisher was asking for money - besides, space program jobs weren't super lucrative. Had a family member who worked in the private sector (one of the vendors) of the program.

Does anyone know Cheryl's last name?

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So the counselor apparently reads here, Hi Nancy! because she just told them that they only did the work if cameras are around. I'm pretty frustrated with myself for watching. I know they recreate history all the time, but it sounded like I was going to hear some truth. I hope they do put the catfisher to rest since they aren't going to actually discuss what was going on, and JO gets such a thrill out of any mention.

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I turned it off, because I'm not watching that stupid clip show, but it is telling to me that she was making a big deal about JO knowing what she was wearing and how she had her hair done. Woman posts selfies of herself constantly. I could have told her what she was wearing back then. How clueless could everyone around her be? She obviously wasn't telling her family what was happening, but her Celine Dion impersonator friend was arguing with people about how scared Meri was and how much she and Meri's other friends tried to protect her. Sam didn't exist. JO was a psycho who Meri kept giving power to, and her friends should have recognized that. 

I do not doubt Meri's fear. I doubt her story because it doesn't make sense and she keeps lying. I would hope the people in my life would have sat me down and spoke rationally to me about how JO knew these things, because it so very obvious how she did. Her friends must be stupid, or she was lying to them, too.

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Thing is, I know several polyamorous people (I'm in a super hippie neighborhood/academic circle) who are married and have perfectly functional relationships with multiple spouses. I could never, but it can work. It's the narcissism, creepy religion and fundamental inequality of it all that make it so dysfunctional. As a woman in that religion you literally know that *all* of you is worth *one fourth* (or whatever fraction is relevant) of a dude. Even a pretty losery dude like Kody. No matter what anybody says, that can't just never enter your mind. When he's being a complete asshat or just an average sort of "whatever" guy, you've got to sometimes think, "so I'm worth a fourth of THIS guy's attention and love?" In the poly relationships I've seen work, anyone can have multiple partners, everyone is open and honest about their affection unlike the Browns, and anyone of any gender can have a partner of any gender.

At the same time, I'm so fucking past having any shred of sympathy for Meri. Cheating is cheating no matter the arrangement, and she signed up for this and is a grown ass woman. She was only willing to leave because she thought she had a *rich* man on the line so she wouldn't have to work.

On the other hand, go Mariah. Wish we'd heard more of that instead of so much MareBear and Kodouche. This also explains a lot of her frustration. I can't imagine figuring out I was gay after having grown up in a polygamous fundamentalist family, being at home with my mom for a summer and then watching her ignore me to get catfished by a person I know is a woman. A lot of the coverage of the event was not only embarrassing, but also contained homophobic slurs and claimed Meri had a "lesbian lover," making it sound pornish and salacious. That must have been a mindfuck at a time when you were considering coming out. *Then* Meri kept trying to chat with her endlessly about the catfish and bully her into a good relationship. Bet she feels weird about it now.

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I was happy when Nancy called them out for not being consistent and airing things that should be covered in counseling on air... except she essentially did the same thing by having that confrontation on air. I still think Nancy is shady at best for a therapist (my actual therapist and I always laugh about how she crosses the line of a professional relationship all the time) but she did redeem herself slightly, improved but still subpar in my opinion. Also, as per usual Kody was an asshat with his sputtering after that like he was unsure it was redeemable, I'm not sure it was concious or not, but to me it felt like a dig to humiliate Meri since she just said she would do what it took, now he's all "eh, idk, maybe we can make it work but maybe not. 

He has actually toned down his asshat-ness a little, I was reminded when they showed that clip about the hypocrocity and he had the audacity to expect an apology from Meri.

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So I'm halfway through this episode and I just have to stop and geek-out for a minute. I went to school in Dahlonega, lived there for a couple of yers afterwards and only live 30 minutes from there now!  Get this, there's a  polygamist family living and working in Dahlonega! That family isn't really public in the same way the Browns are but they're not really hiding it either. I figured that would be TLC gold. 

Edited by sucker4reality
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So we had to sit through 2 hours of rehashing the stupid Catfish "scandal" and Mykelti planning her tacky wedding - to get 5 minutes of Mariah's big announcement tacked on at the end? Nice, TLC. Real nice. I do have to say, at least it really WAS what we suspected and not a bunch of overblown drama for Mariah to announce she's changing majors or something. I'm sure that was really hard for her, so kudos. 

Of course, it looks like next week we'll get to see Meri making it all about her. As usual. Look, I get that those two have been estranged lately, so this announcement is leaving Meri feeling like she doesn't even know her own daughter. Mariah didn't even tell her privately before coming out to the rest of the family (similar to how Maddie told her mom, before the others, about her engagement). But, honestly? Meri made this bed. Maybe if she was more invested in her daughter than her online affair (because that's what it was), things would have played out differently. At any rate, this was surely a HUGE thing for Mariah to open up about and she should be thinking of HER, not playing victim. 

Speaking of, if I have to hear about this damn Catfish ordeal one more time....I honestly fell asleep so much during this episode. And I didn't even watch the third hour. Meri is now insisting she's NOT a victim, but she's still acting like one. "It was a very manipulative and threatening situation" - complete with seductive banana selfies and high school love letters. 

Who is she trying to fool??? This was not a friendship. You wanted Sam to meet the whole family? Bahahaha, yea right. You wanted to BAIL on the family, and ride Sam off into the sunset. I don't remember the timeline, but really - she figured out the truth on the Disney trip? Didn't we see pics of her and "Lindsey" smiling and having a grand, ol time? No amount of ominous music is going to make me believe that you were literally in fear for your life the entire time. Give me a break. 

Oh, and now the Catfish was after her money? Her business? Jackie O is crazy, but I don't now that she's that stupid. WRONG person to target if you want money. 

Sigh....I just wasted way too much time on this topic. Meri says she's over it, but then we get 2 hours of her delving into it again. STOP. 

 

I don't have much to say about Mykelti. We just went through wedding planning with Maddie, so I'm quite over it. But, seriously, forcing her family to make centerpieces for SEVENTY tables? Damn. What a brat. 

I did like seeing more of Ysabel and Gwendolyn. I really enjoy Christine's daughters. Ysabel seems so sweet and Gwen is the sassy one. I was a bit skeeved out hearing that Mykelti and Tony showed Ysabel how to French kiss. Yuck.

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2 hours ago, TomGirl said:

 

I may be in a small minority here, but I love Truely, lisp and all.  What a character! 

 

I like her too. I think she's adorable. Many of Christine's children have a real spunk to them, that makes me very happy. I don't know how old Truly is, but her "R" problem can still be corrected. We don't know that she's NOT getting speech therapy in school. I would imagine she is, that's pretty standard these days. I think she's a lot easier to understand now than in the past, a lot of it is just age. But my 6 year old has a lisp and his 8 year old neighbor friend has one as well, and I know she gets help in school. It takes some time to lose it entirely.

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9 hours ago, 3girlsforus said:

I guess I'm a cynic. I just hope it was Mariahs idea to come out on TV. I can just see Kody - hmmm our ratings suck. We've already married off two kids. Awesome - Mariah is gay. That will get viewers. Mariah - let's do this again for the camera.  

Yawn............I was hoping it would be something more interesting (and disappointed I got it wrong). There are so many openly gay people in society nowadays it's not really a big deal, so it was a surprise to me this was amped up as some big reveal (that everyone knew already!)

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Ok, now that I'm finished, I have to say I only watched Meri's Georgia trip because I live here. I fast-forwarded through the therapy sessions. 

Mykelti's wedding decorations were  as asinine as her demanding her family pay for their honeymoon. I'm sure those bouquets were something she found on Pinterest and wanted to do, but I'm also sure whoever put them on Pinterest was having a much smaller wedding than Mykelti is having.

The photoshoot was meh, but omg, how creepy is it that Mykelti and Tony showed Ysabel what a French kiss was?! I think that's borderline inappropriate for two adults to do to a 14-year-old under those circumstances. If she had walked in on them kissing, that would be one thing, but to do it as some sort of sick lesson when a verbal answer would've sufficed? Ugh, no. 

Re Mariah: I agree that for once somebody's announcment on TLC was actually a big deal, but since we kind of all knew that anyway, it wasn't much of surprise. So, since it ended on a somewhat big announcement, is next week the Tell-All?

Edited by sucker4reality
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9 hours ago, Galloway Cave said:

Mariah! Well done. Agree that they already knew, esp after Janelle's comment several weeks ago about her finding the right person to marry. Hate Kodouche's comment about them not being happy she's gay but that she has found herself. PFLAG, it's a wonderful place to start, ya jackass.  

Not to be a Kody defender, but I think he just phrased it oddly. I didn't take him as meaning they were UNhappy that Mariah is gay. But he was trying to explain to Meri that their happiness isn't dependent on who Mariah is, but that SHE knows who she is and is okay with it.

Edited by ghoulina
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9 hours ago, Galloway Cave said:

 

Mariah! Well done. Agree that they already knew, esp after Janelle's comment several weeks ago about her finding the right person to marry. Hate Kodouche's comment about them not being happy she's gay but that she has found herself. PFLAG, it's a wonderful place to start, ya jackass.  

To be fair to Kody, why should they be any happier that she's gay than they should be if she were straight? 

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9 hours ago, leighroda said:

for Meri this is her only child (I know spiritual children blah blah blah, I'm speaking biologically) but for Kody he has several other daughters, so this perceived flaw may not effect him quite like Meri.

Absolutely.  I have a friend dealing with this same thing at this moment.  Her hubby has grandkids from first marriage.  Friend has kids from this marriage.  Hubby's DNA has already been passed along.  It's a biological drive and an emotional desire - nothing abnormal about that at all.  

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50 minutes ago, ghoulina said:

Maybe if she was more invested in her daughter than her online affair (because that's what it was), things would have played out differently

Not sure that's fair.  Meri is just a human and will have human reactions.  She is/was miserable and lonely, and an empty nester after a lifetime of disappointment.  She had been hugely invested in her daughter for Mariah's entire life and now Mariah was living away.  It's not like Mariah was a toddler and Meri was distracted.   Agree, though, that the catfishing storyline has been done to death and needs to stop now.  

Edited by Granny58
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11 hours ago, toodles said:

This made me laugh.  I wouldn't care about the fucking nearly as much as not helping with the sprinkler.  That's a deal breaker to me. :)

I've never liked Kody but something that has come out in the past couple of episodes is that Meri asked Kody to not be around. Not sure of the extent but it sounds like Meri asked him to not come to the house or sleep there. She used her "bugging" concerns as a reason in the past but I think she was all in with Sam and wanted nothing to do with Kody. Obviously, Kody played a role in this and he should have probably fought harder to be with Meri but I feel like Meri has been very deceptive on this point of forcing Kody away. 

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22 minutes ago, mamey2422 said:

I've never liked Kody but something that has come out in the past couple of episodes is that Meri asked Kody to not be around. Not sure of the extent but it sounds like Meri asked him to not come to the house or sleep there. She used her "bugging" concerns as a reason in the past but I think she was all in with Sam and wanted nothing to do with Kody. Obviously, Kody played a role in this and he should have probably fought harder to be with Meri but I feel like Meri has been very deceptive on this point of forcing Kody away. 

OMG the "bugging concerns" were laughable. Yep she was deep into her relationship with the catfish. However I feel like Kody was emotionally pushing Meri away for some time. 

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8 hours ago, 3girlsforus said:

Meri, Atlanta is a nice place. Don't get back on the plane. 

I could see her wheels turning in her head when she said about Atlanta  "I could live here". 

The fact that Meri said in the therapists office with Kody that she had been home for a few days and they had not seen each other until that day in the office tells me everything I need to know about that relationship. Meri was all happy and smiling and Kody shot that down in no time with his sullen pissy expressions and comments. He had her back to tears in no time. 

Edited by bichonblitz
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14 minutes ago, bichonblitz said:

I could see her wheels turning in her head when she said, "Atlanta is really nice, I could live here". 

The fact that Meri said in the therapists office with Kody that he had been home for a few days and had not seen Kody until that day in the office tells me everything I need to know about that relationship. It's dead. It's done. Kaput. 

And Robyn was probably in the waiting room... gunning she wasn't allowed to come into the session.

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I think I am totally annoyed with Kody and the three sister wives.  It took Meri going outside the family to receive the validation that she WASN'T a victim.  Those flashbacks demonstrated their total obsession with the secrecy of how the 'family' operated during that time and how they blamed Meri rather than supported her.  Nowhere in the tape playback did we see any kind of tenderness toward Meri.  Nowhere in the tape playback did they comfort her.  It felt accusatory throughout.  No wonder she went elsewhere for anything resembling affection or even acceptance.  

And Nancy can be replaced by Liza any day of the week and I would be happy.  She did more to help Meri, along with the other woman that was catfished, than any of the so-called 'sister' wives have done in a year and a half.  When someone is in a traumatic situation, sweeping it under the rug is the LAST thing that should be suggested.  I hope nothing traumatic ever happens to any of the kids, who will probably end up in therapy anyway and need no additional push toward it.

ETA:  She's home for a couple of days and the visit with Nancy is the first time they've seen each other????????   I rest my case.  This jackdaw has no passion for Meri and she should go off and make her own life among people who care about her more than they care about themselves.

Edited by b2H
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Catfish scandal - old news, yawn.  Mariah is gay - old news, yawn.  Meri is unhappy - old news, yawn.  Sounds like I didn't miss a thing by sticking with a good book and ignoring this crapfest.

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2 hours ago, ginger90 said:

I didn't watch yet. Meri tagged, or whatever you call it on Twitter, Cheryl. this was an interesting exchange. Editing:

https://mobile.twitter.com/CRC7799/status/815734991552450560?p=v

Tlc is prob very afraid of a lawsuit if they play recordings that Jackie didn't sign a release for...they were all very careful not to use any of her names too. I know most people are sick of this story, but I was riveted. I think Meri is taking closer steps towards the truth. She wasn't totally honest yet, but she's getting there...interesting that she made catfish sign a non-disclosure....who signed it? Lindsey or Sam? Is it binding if it was signed by an alias? The business she talked about Sam being interested in was sisterwivescloset, is that because she isn't allowed to talk about the green goo business on tv? So many new questions! I'm sure Kody wasn't into her going to Georgia because he probably has things he doesn't want Meri talking about too! He's probably controlling the narrative and she's going along-somewhat- because she's scared of more humiliation. But she can only be in control of herself if she's honest. The truth will really set her free...

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That ride Meri described, with Lindsay next to her sounds chilling. She was probably still believing in Sam, or wanting to believe desperately, but knew she was sitting with someone that wasn't right. I'm sure she was scared of her at one point. Creepy.

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17 minutes ago, VedaPierce said:

That ride Meri described, with Lindsay next to her sounds chilling. She was probably still believing in Sam, or wanting to believe desperately, but knew she was sitting with someone that wasn't right. I'm sure she was scared of her at one point. Creepy.

Seriously I would've left her a lt the rest stop or Disney Land.

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8 minutes ago, VedaPierce said:

That ride Meri described, with Lindsay next to her sounds chilling. She was probably still believing in Sam, or wanting to believe desperately, but knew she was sitting with someone that wasn't right. I'm sure she was scared of her at one point. Creepy.

In retrospect Meri feels fear and anxiety over the "what could have happened" but at the time she was giddy, excited and hopeful.  Revisionist history.  Monday morning quarterback.  Hindsight 50/50, etc.

Reminds me of when my brother and I were children in the Bronx 30 years ago.  There was an abandoned furniture factory about a mile from our duplex.  We would break in with the other neighborhood kids (hole was perfect size for kids, but too small for addict adults).  Parts of the factory floor had caved in - it was so dangerous.  We would even stack the furniture left in the factory to climb to other levels of the factory.  We were giddy and excited.  It was so fun.  Now, as an adult and a parent I realize how easy one of us could have been seriously injured - or died.  I'm horrified by my actions.  

Meri is horrified now too - but on the trip she was probably so excited and probably felt alive for the first time.

2 minutes ago, sucker4reality said:

Seriously I would've left her a lt the rest stop or Disney Land.

Meri wasn't referring to the Disney trip.

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Oh that Kody, flailing those sandalled feet around and using those big words, " karmic necessity " , and that furrowed brow he displays  before he gets his thoughts in order,  circles and squares........ 

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11 hours ago, leighroda said:

Also side note, I don't know why but it really bothered me how badly Christine was trying to get Mariah to tell her first... how would she feel if one of her children gave that big of news exclusively to another mom first? I personally think Meri should have been told first/privately... and maybe she was in realtime... but Christine bothered me.

I kind of took this as Christine feeling like she was the "main mom" for all the kids. Meri and Janelle were out of the house when the kids were small and it's been said that Christine did a lot of the child-rearing. We saw Maddie go to her and tell her first about the engagement before. I think she's used to being the one the kids run first to when they have major news. So I gave her a pass on it. But she should have quit when Mariah resisted.

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2 hours ago, ghoulina said:

 

Oh, and now the Catfish was after her money? Her business? Jackie O is crazy, but I don't now that she's that stupid. WRONG person to target if you want money. 

 

I actually believe that JO did think she was in for a big payday, she has a tv personality in very compromising positions on audio and in photos, and this show is centered around a 'religious' family, supposedly wholesome and pious and pure and loving -at least that's how they want to be portrayed. JO had no idea how much they were being payed by tlc, (no matter what it was, it was way more money than she makes living where she is, doing what she does), she also probably thought there was money in that goo business. She scammed lots of money from lots of nobodies for years, in her mind, this was a big mark. She probably thought she had a lot of dirt that either tlc would pay to get rid of or the Browns would themselves. And actually, some of the rags did pay her if I recall correctly, for some of her story that summer....the scandal was all over the place for about a minute. She even wrote a book! Lol lol sure it wasn't a best seller, but I bet she made about $50 bucks on it-and I'm sure in her mind, she thought she would make thousands before she started writing it. JO had big dreams.

Edited by VedaPierce
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