S08.E05: Another Catfishing

[smores]

To be fair, Mariah might just think crayoning on your eyebrows is a grown up thing.  Ever take a look at Meri's eyebrows?  That's some wax pencil realness right there.

[Armchair Critic]

7 hours ago, CofCinci said:

The Browns troll Vegas for dummies to 'invest' in LIV.  JO happened to be in Vegas with another Victim and happened upon an invite by chance.  LIV gave Kody that convertible, so I figure he just drives around to where tourist/fans flock??? JO/Lindsey and Victim were invited to Meri's -- to be in awe of the wetbar and write a check on Sam's behalf.  The rest is history.  If they didn't try to scam people, they would have never welcomed this loser into their lives.

Meri was scared to be in the car with Lindsay but yet she isn't leery to have strangers in her home? I wouldn't do that and I am not in the public eye like they are.

[NotEatingKale]

9 hours ago, sucker4reality said:

About Mariah being not matching their faith and losing her entrance to Heaven or whatever, I dated an LDS guy in college (secretly, because I was not Mormon ) and he explained the LDS belief in Heaven as having layers. I forgot the words now but he said there was a really bad place where really bad people go. Then there was kind of an ok place or places where people who are generally good people go when they are not Mormon or particularly good Mormons. Then there was a Celestial Kingdom (or something like that) where LDS go if they follow the tenets of their faith. He never used the word "planet," for good reason probably , but he made it sound like the people in the middle levels would be able to interact with the people on the higher levels.

 

 

I have no idea if any of that is true or whether it applies to AUB/ The Browns' Church of the Holy Wetbar but if it is true and they do share those beliefs, could it be that they believe Mariah will still fall somewhere in the middle ground of Heaven and just be all right for eternity?

The levels of heaven are called Degrees of Glory. Outer darkness is where the really awful people go, like Hitler, but it is not a level of heaven.

There is the Telestial kingdom, the lowest of the heavens. This is reserved for bad people on earth, but not the truly awful. You get to experience the holy spirit, but not Jesus or God (Kolob).

Up another rung is the Terrestrial kingdom. I believe this is reserved for bad Mormons and good non-Mormons. These people experience Jesus, but not God. 

Then the highest level is the Celestial kingdom. This is where all Mormons want to end up. This is the level where you receive a planet when you die (the guys do, at least). You also get to interact with others (i.e. children, parents, friends) who also made it to the Celestial kingdom.

As far as I know, you cannot move from one level of heaven to another once assigned. That is, if you're a bad Mormon and you get put into the Terrestrial Kingdom, you will never, ever see your good Mormon family or friends in the afterlife. That's why Mormons take their religion and remaining pure (from sex, drugs, alcohol, deception) sooooo seriously - if their kid smokes pot or drinks alcohol, doesn't repent, then dies soon thereafter, they seriously believe they will never see their son again. 

If I said anything wrong above, please correct me!!! It's been awhile since I read Mormon theology. Was obsessed with it when I was younger.

[NotEatingKale]

Finally watched the new episode this evening. I've been saying Mariah was going to come out for weeks (as per her tumblr), so I'm glad to see it play out on TV.

I wonder when that coming out scene was filmed. It's possible it could've been filmed live & for the first time in April 2016 (that's when Mariah came out as really gay on Tumblr with her posts and whatnot), but as another poster mentioned, maybe it was filmed at the last minute in November? I believe Meri's outfit during the big reveal matched a picture she posted in November. If I had the energy, I would look through LuluRoe's website (Lularoe? No idea how to spell this cracked out Mormon modesty company) and their catalog to see if any of the clothing items worn during the big reveal were released either in April of 2016 or earlier. If that's the case, then maaaaaybe--and this is a big maybe!--that this was filmed live in April 2016. The reactions looked genuine. I played it back a few times to look at Kody's stupid face. 

[Rainflower]

I need to go back and read all the wonderful posts. Been busy with preparing for the arrival of my second child due next month (and the arrival of my mother-in-law at the end of this month. *cringe* I love her but she has serious OCD issues. Had to make sure the apartment was cleaned top to bottom but don't know why I did it. Last birth she re-cleaned the entire place by herself.).

Just wanted to post that I am shocked that Kody allowed Mariah to reveal that she is gay on TV.  I know I shouldn't be shocked because he allowed the cameras to film his children being born, him being an ass, etc. but seems like a child being gay would be one of those things he wouldn't want made public through his TV show. I wonder how much money TLC had to offer him to allow Mariah to reveal her orientation (like double the amount of his daughter's recreated filmed wedding?).

Anyhoo, I'll go back and have fun reading the forum and catching up with all the snarks and facts while dreading the "I'm here" phone call from my MIL.

[jacksgirl]

Rainflower, congrats on baby 2, exciting! I have learned not to be surprised at anything these famewhore grifters do. Kody will stop at nothing to keep the Gravy Train rolling including sex and scandal.  The only thing he may draw the line at is his own vanity. 

[CofCinci]

5 minutes ago, jacksgirl said:

Rainflower, congrats on baby 2, exciting! I have learned not to be surprised at anything these famewhore grifters do. Kody will stop at nothing to keep the Gravy Train rolling including sex and scandal.  The only thing he may draw the line at is his own vanity. 

Yes. His own vanity - which is why he isn't filming the problems within his marriage to Robyn. 

[mamey2422]

3 hours ago, NotEatingKale said:

Finally watched the new episode this evening. I've been saying Mariah was going to come out for weeks (as per her tumblr), so I'm glad to see it play out on TV.

I wonder when that coming out scene was filmed. It's possible it could've been filmed live & for the first time in April 2016 (that's when Mariah came out as really gay on Tumblr with her posts and whatnot), but as another poster mentioned, maybe it was filmed at the last minute in November? I believe Meri's outfit during the big reveal matched a picture she posted in November. If I had the energy, I would look through LuluRoe's website (Lularoe? No idea how to spell this cracked out Mormon modesty company) and their catalog to see if any of the clothing items worn during the big reveal were released either in April of 2016 or earlier. If that's the case, then maaaaaybe--and this is a big maybe!--that this was filmed live in April 2016. The reactions looked genuine. I played it back a few times to look at Kody's stupid face. 

 Do you have a link to her Tumblr? It's been mentioned a few times I can't find it anywhere. 

[crazycatlady58]

Rainwater ,  congratulations  on baby  #2. Hope you have an easy  labor, and try to enjoy  your MIL it could be worse . 

[sucker4reality]

4 hours ago, NotEatingKale said:

The levels of heaven are called Degrees of Glory. Outer darkness is where the really awful people go, like Hitler, but it is not a level of heaven.

There is the Telestial kingdom, the lowest of the heavens. This is reserved for bad people on earth, but not the truly awful. You get to experience the holy spirit, but not Jesus or God (Kolob).

Up another rung is the Terrestrial kingdom. I believe this is reserved for bad Mormons and good non-Mormons. These people experience Jesus, but not God. 

Then the highest level is the Celestial kingdom. This is where all Mormons want to end up. This is the level where you receive a planet when you die (the guys do, at least). You also get to interact with others (i.e. children, parents, friends) who also made it to the Celestial kingdom.

As far as I know, you cannot move from one level of heaven to another once assigned. That is, if you're a bad Mormon and you get put into the Terrestrial Kingdom, you will never, ever see your good Mormon family or friends in the afterlife. That's why Mormons take their religion and remaining pure (from sex, drugs, alcohol, deception) sooooo seriously - if their kid smokes pot or drinks alcohol, doesn't repent, then dies soon thereafter, they seriously believe they will never see their son again. 

If I said anything wrong above, please correct me!!! It's been awhile since I read Mormon theology. Was obsessed with it when I was younger.

Thanks for clearing that up! He only gave me a cursory overview.

[Christina]

A public service announcement from someone who photographed weddings: fake flowers look fake. They are not pretty and do not photograph well. People will see things online and think they are beautiful, and wonder why the photographer's camera make them look fake. Uh, because they are fake. Also, those photos online are typically photoshopped to soften them, and no one wants to pay to have their wedding photos worked on like that.

While reading this thread, I realized I know waaaaay to much about this catfish debacle, and I gave up on it about 20 days in when the Twitter trolls had taken their obsession with JO to a disturbing level. Meri may have said on the show that she wants these people to leave JO alone, but she retweeted and communicated with some of them in the first place.

I had also forgotten that All About The Tea claimed they had first reported it, but they didn't. By the time their first article was written, Cynical Jinx had already asked us to not talk about it until Meri or TLC confirmed it, because JO is insane and a known liar. A man named Nick was the first person I saw that reported JO was threatening to release info about Sam's affair with Meri. 

Nick and Cheryl absolutely stalked and harassed JO. Anytime one of JO's alter egos tweeted to someone new, they would contact that person and let them know about JO. Nick had a blog that detailed all of her known aliases, stories from some of her victims, photos she used, etc. After JOs arrest, Nick changed his Twitter avatar to her mug shot. JO reported him to Twitter and his account was removed for a Terms of Service violation. He was allowed, and did, create a new account.

With Cheryl, JO got tricky. She is not bright enough to think this up herself, so I think she must have read about it somewhere. I think I read the tweets on Nick's blog, but it could have been AATT. This is all from memory, because I don't remember anything about Nick to look him up again, and my computer hates AATT. They have a code on the site to prevent copying their text, and my firewall hates it. 

JO created an account for a new user. That woman was a grandmother who had a grandchild create it for her. She would tweet kind things to people, like "I saw your adopted puppy on my feed. He's adorable. Adopted dogs are the best!" ect. Then, she purposely tweeted to a college sport team that JO is a huge fan of, but I don't remember what it was. There would be no doubt when Cheryl read the tweets that it was JO. That kindly grandmother then tweets Sam, asking for advice on a vegan restaurant in Chicago, because she and her granddaughter were going there for a college trip. Sam sends her a recommendation for a restaurant that had a multiple course tasting menu, and of course, kindly grandma couldn't afford that, so it was going to be Sam's treat. Cheryl originally tweeted to kindly grandma that Sam was not real, would not show up, and she would be on the hook for the bill. Then, kindly grandma tweeted how great dinner was, how great Sam was, and how she believed him regarding Meri. Realizing it was JO, Cheryl pounced and kindly grandma reported her for abuse. Cheryl's account was suspended, she started a new one, and at that time, several of JOs accounts were also removed.

Meri said that Cheryl had tweeted her, but made it sound like it was at the end. It wasn't, it was right away and Meri ignored her. She also caught herself from saying the green goo business and changed it to My Sisters Wives Closet. Sam was never interested in that business. Sam convinced a newly divorced woman that they should go into business together with this health supplement. He was a multimillionaire and they would both put in $10k into it and he would sell the supplements to his construction employees. He was going to help her grow this business. When that victim arrived in Las Vegas thinking she was going to finally meet Sam, only for her and Lindsay (another JO alterego) to learn he was in the hospital in ICU for some reason that I've now forgotten. Lindsay takes Sam's $10k and the victim's $10k to Meri's for the green goo open house. From my memory, the victim sat at the hotel waiting for a call that they could go visit Sam, and Lindsay went alone. Meri said that Lindsay made her feel weird when she first met her, and couldn't figure out why Sam would have her around. The Lindsay personality was brash and abrasive and an alcoholic. But Meri ignored those red flags because she was handing her a $10k check from Sam (given by the victim). She was trying to make it sound like it was in the car, but the editing of that part wasn't very good. I don't think she was actually saying it was in the car, it was just bad editing.

That victim was devastated when she ran out of money for JO to steal and Sam cut off contact. I don't remember how that actually happened. After the people on Twitter started an army to go after JO, after the Meri debacle was disclosed, and they turned on that victim too. They wanted answers from her, demanded she clarify things, and wanted to know why she was still covering for JO since she has to know Sam doesn't exist. I think that it was the Cheryl who appeared on this episode also reached out to her, telling her she knows the mind games JO plays and would offer her support if she wanted to talk. 

JO is a psychopath who gets pleasure out of screwing with people. She does it to men, she does it to women, and she has several going at the same time, keeping the facts straight on all of them. If she used her gifts for good and not evil, there is no telling what she could do with her life. The mind games and mental abuse she inflicts on people should be illegal, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be. If you want to give someone $10k to purchase a product for resale, and they do but don't resell it, that apparently is not a crime. That victim made a few additional trips to Vegas with Lindsay still hoping to meet Sam, and on one of those trips, JO took photos of the inside of Meri's home as proof of their affair. Only neither Meri nor Sam appeared in them. Her photoshop skills must not have been that good.

Meri is working overtime to not say what really happened, even though the truth does not really make her look bad. She figures Lindsay is involved somehow in the car ride, but involved in what? She still thought Sam was real. She thought there was a man involved. She was putting up with Lindsay because Sam wanted her to hang out with her. She didn't like her immediately, but brushed it off because she had a check for $10k. It was probably the only large purchase they were able to make in that MLM. Linsday showed up again and purchased more, and they made a trip to Disneyland together. 

Edited January 3, 2017 by Christina
missing necessary words

[VedaPierce]

15 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

I get so tired of the endless whining about Meri "being lonely" and "unfulfilled" and all of those bullshit excuses.

You make your own destiny.  If you are waiting for others to do it for you then you get what you deserve.  Get this:  you do not need a man to be fulfilled.  

Get your ass out of the house, meet other people, do volunteer activities, help in a soup kitchen or in a hospital, join a group that supports deployed troops, be a docent at a museum, help out at a daycare or a women's shelter, make home visits for hospice, do the hell something.  There are a million activities out there to keep you from being lonely, for God's sake.  

Abso-freakin-lutely! 

In one of her talking heads after Meri was seen telling Robyn she can't help out at the online website because she's going back to school, Meri says something like, "well, it turned out that I didn't go back to school after all because I was just SO DARN BUSY"...!, um, say what now???? Busy. Doing. What????

Imigrants come to this country, go to school FULL TIME, work at night, AND have a four -year-old and one in diapers (my parents did just that!!) and this lazy cow can't take TWO classes and drive some packages over to the post office for Robyn ?!? I have occasional moments of empathy for Meri, but for the most part, she makes me sick.

Edited January 3, 2017 by VedaPierce

[Granny58]

11 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

Here's the timeline in real time, as I understand it. 

Sept 2014: Meri files for divorce from Kody (in retrospect we now have determined it wasn't what she wanted - the adoption story is the official reason but I think it's because Kody made her do it, to "save the show".

Dec 2014: Robyn and Kody legally marry and go to Hawaii. Meanwhile Meri goes on a LIV cruise (a tactic by many MLMs to whip the consultants into a frenzy to buy more product and sign up new suckers) and upon her return, tweets that she's going to focus on her LIV "business" 

Dec/Jan 2014/15: using the Sam persona, JO persuades her mark Stacey to finance the first of three trips to Vegas. During this trip, they gain entrance to Meri's home as JO in her Lindsay persona goes to a LIV event. Based on photos the two of them might have been the only ones there. (Around the same time Meri went to Arizona to do a LIV event at a restaurant and the only people there were the employees.)

If memory serves it was around Feb 2015 that some fan checked Clark County records and found the divorce and the remarriage. 

In the beginning of March 2015, the Sam persona contacted Meri through Twitter and the mess began. Google the Bullshit Book Club for info. 

thanks for this.  it is VERY EASY to understand how vulnerable Meri was at the time.  

[laurakaye]

@Christina...wow.  I have read through your post three times and I'm still not sure I can follow all the various trails of deceit, but what I can say is, how ridiculously exhausting and time-consuming it had to be for JO to create and monitor so many different accounts.  So if I have this straight, JO was creating fake people who supposedly met and vouched for "Sam" (who was actually JO)?  And the 10K came from a different victim who handed Lindsey/Sam/JO the cash, and then Lindsey handed that cash to Meri, saying it was from "Sam?"  Did Meri actually hand over 10k as well?  Where would she have gotten it?

This all does my brain in.  Props to those of you who have actually been able to follow this mess.

 

12 hours ago, Galloway Cave said:

Just remembered I was also ticked off at Kody INSISTING Meri tell Cheryl how he felt about how Meri was handling the Catfish situation (if you ignore it, it doesn't exist). 

This has been Kody's MO from Day One.  When confronted with the unpleasant and messy emotions of his women-folk, he goes into his frozen-caveman mode, as in: "if I sit here real still, and make my expression as blank as possible, and tune out whichever wife is talking to me, maybe she'll get frustrated and go away, and then I can take a nap on whichever wife's couch I will find the least amount of stress/noise/children/household tasks."  He is the King of Avoidance, and his wives are paying the price for marrying this overgrown pretty-boy who fancies himself a highly desirable, free and easy, laid-back surfer dude.  Jerk.

 

10 hours ago, Alapaki said:

Catfish-wise, Meri started out talking about how the Sam relationship was purely platonic and how she hoped to introduce "him" to Kody, et al.  But not 15 minutes later she's commiserating with Cheryl about how Lindsay was gushing to her about how much Sam had "fallen" for her.  And, of course, who sends sexual pix to prospective business partners?  

Then, when Meri and Cheryl were talking to hot-therapist, and they were discussing "Sam"'s m.o. of preying on lonely, divorced, women with no support system who were all alone, Meri was nodding along checking off all the boxes ("me, me, me . . . ").  But . . . isn't the loneliness, divorce, lack of support system, isolation the exact thing that plural marriage boasts about eliminating?  I can't decide if Meri is a worse salesperson for that multi-level-scam or for polygamy!

And finally, during that meeting with Nancy, they both tried to sell the idea that plural marriage is what prevented their marital discord from coming to a head sooner.  But the only reason it did so, to the extent that it actually did, was because it gave Kody an outlet to completely ignore Meri and thus avoid the conflict.  What they are, or should be if they really cared for each other, going through right now is what they should've been dealing with apparently more than a decade ago.  Any arrangement that allows a marriage to fester in that sort of limbo for so long is not something to brag about.

Ultimately, these folks are trying to spin the unspinnable.  

I kind of love everything about this post, especially the bolded parts.  This is so spot-on, it almost needs its own thread.  Polygamy, as we've been told over and over by the Brown wives, makes each of them better.  Is awesome.  Fam'ly, not just man.  Shoulda always been this way.  Multiplied, not divided.  And then, as we all sit on our couches on Sunday nights with our glasses of wine, we are systematically shown that not one of these statements is true.  I could not agree more that ignoring marital issues for 12+ years is not something to brag about.  The facts are, Kody simply danced off to another wife's bed, and Meri, still pathetically in love, waited for him to see her and her sacrifices and come back.  But he never did, and I don't think he ever will.

Edited January 3, 2017 by laurakaye

[FakeJoshDuggar]

11 hours ago, seasick said:

 

I wish Mariah's big secret was about changing her major--I think doing a whole deep-breath "big announcement" about it was strange.   It made a bigger deal about it than it is. and I don't think the show could force them to do it that way if the girl wanted to relay it in a low-key manner.  It's so common and accepted now, it's pretty much of a big 'so what'.  She knows her family is going to accept her for it.   To me,  ELLEN was "brave'".  The fight is over now.  These days she's just another kid who is gay.   And frankly I think the whole thing has a little odor to it.  I'm not one who usually would doubt someone's sexual orientation, but in this case I think it may be a  premature call.  Two sisters taking over the family with their weddings, and Mariah's lost in the shuffle.  Mariah discovers her mother could be wrapped up in someone other than Mariah and decides to reject mom and  punish her ad infinitum for not being perfect and having a human failing.  Wonder where she learned to withhold affection from those who crossed her  (real or imagined). Guess she's managed to get Herself the dominant, upper hand there.   So I'm sure she has a need to distinguish herself somehow and to have another reason to distance herself from Mom and claim now that Mom can never understand or relate to her.  I hope she's always 'free to be' whatever that turns out to be but this smells of more rebellion, shock value and punishment.  I think she's a cruel kid.  

Tell that to the millions of kids who run away (or the family kicks them out) or to the ones who commit suicide every year because they come out as gay and in turn their families shun them. The fight is far from over.

Edited January 3, 2017 by FakeJoshDuggar

[Granny58]

5 hours ago, NotEatingKale said:

Was obsessed with it when I was younger.

It was because of Donny Osmond, wasn't it?  Yeah, me too.  LOL. 

[laurakaye]

29 minutes ago, Granny58 said:

It was because of Donny Osmond, wasn't it?  Yeah, me too.  LOL. 

My first crush.  I was 6 years old.  He's still swoony.:)

[Christina]

There is really no way to explain how JO was able to operate and mislead so many people. She is really good at what she does and she has chosen to be evil. She has a knack for telling people the right thing at the right time, when they are at their most vulnerable, and turning their worlds inside out. Its disgusting and disturbing and she keeps getting away with it.

Meri never gave any money to JO. She didn't have anything for JO to take. I think it was in part a trophy on her part, but also think she always planned to blackmail the Browns and TLC with the affair. The Browns couldn't pay to make it go away, and TLC probably wasn't willing to work with a con man. JO took a win with embarrassing Meri. She is truly disturbed.

The only money that transferred hands was Stacey to Meri. Thanks to Dakota Justice for providing her name. I could not for the life of me remember it when I started my response. JO made it sound like Sam was also going to contribute $10k, but never intended to, she always only planned to use Stacey's money to draw Meri into her web.

I really, really, really want to give Meri sympathy here, because JO is such a vile person, but she won't own up to her part. She had sent "Sam" her copy of the TLC contract for "his" lawyers to review and get her out of it because she wanted to move to Chicago to be with him. She was taken advantage of by a psychopath, yet keeps lying about her involvement and downplaying her actions in the matter. Should I believe that she was uncomfortable with "Lindsay" from the beginning, or only after the trip to Disneyland? I just don't know why she keeps beating around the bush about it, when the truth doesn't really hurt her, and she actually deserves some compassion for being preyed upon.

[TurtlePower]

54 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

This has been Kody's MO from Day One.  When confronted with the unpleasant and messy emotions of his women-folk, he goes into his frozen-caveman mode, as in: "if I sit here real still, and make my expression as blank as possible, and tune out whichever wife is talking to me, maybe she'll get frustrated and go away, and then I can take a nap on whichever wife's couch I will find the least amount of stress/noise/children/household tasks."  He is the King of Avoidance, and his wives are paying the price for marrying this overgrown pretty-boy who fancies himself a highly desirable, free and easy, laid-back surfer dude.  Jerk.

 

I kind of love everything about this post, especially the bolded parts.  This is so spot-on, it almost needs its own thread.  Polygamy, as we've been told over and over by the Brown wives, makes each of them better.  Is awesome.  Fam'ly, not just man.  Shoulda always been this way.  Multiplied, not divided.  And then, as we all sit on our couches on Sunday nights with our glasses of wine, we are systematically shown that not one of these statements is true.  I could not agree more that ignoring marital issues for 12+ years is not something to brag about.  The facts are, Kody simply danced off to another wife's bed, and Meri, still pathetically in love, waited for him to see her and her sacrifices and come back.  But he never did, and I don't think he ever will.

You could see it on his face when he and Meri were in the therapy session. He seemed engaged for a little bit and then when confronted with trying to repair their emotions towards each other, he blanked out and looked uncomfortable. What makes me sad is Meri has such high hopes and wants to be wanted (don't all women?). 

What Meri wants from Kody she may not get, hasn't BEEN getting. It's like they're just occasional roommates. How can a woman remain in what appears to be a loveless situation for so long? I don't see how she can remain in the family if Kody doesn't respond to her. She truly wants his affection and it doesn't look like he has it in him to give to her. And again, he's trying to avoid saying what he's thinking because he knows it will be hurtful so here we go again, Kody and Meri fake mending their relationship.

I know Meri can seem difficult at times, but I feel bad for her in this case. 

[Lsk02]

6 hours ago, NotEatingKale said:

Finally watched the new episode this evening. I've been saying Mariah was going to come out for weeks (as per her tumblr), so I'm glad to see it play out on TV.

I wonder when that coming out scene was filmed. It's possible it could've been filmed live & for the first time in April 2016 (that's when Mariah came out as really gay on Tumblr with her posts and whatnot), but as another poster mentioned, maybe it was filmed at the last minute in November? I believe Meri's outfit during the big reveal matched a picture she posted in November. If I had the energy, I would look through LuluRoe's website (Lularoe? No idea how to spell this cracked out Mormon modesty company) and their catalog to see if any of the clothing items worn during the big reveal were released either in April of 2016 or earlier. If that's the case, then maaaaaybe--and this is a big maybe!--that this was filmed live in April 2016. The reactions looked genuine. I played it back a few times to look at Kody's stupid face. 

I think Meri's Instagram and other social media shows the LLR sales starting in October. She could have already been wearing the weird double layered cardigans before she bought in, so who knows. I don't remember when Mykelti got engaged, but it seems like it was after both that and Maddie's wedding. 

[Granny58]

32 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

My first crush.  I was 6 years old.  He's still swoony.:)

he really is!  Good for him.  

[DakotaJustice]

@Christina spot on. 

As for the AATT "timeline" they're spinning it from their own angle. It was at CJ's that folks first picked up on the weird ass tweets between Sam and Meri.  I don't know CJ personally, but from what I've gleaned my own personal opinion is that she isn't about to get into a pissing contest over who noticed first.  CJ has class.

One thing I strongly disagree with AATT is their statement that Meri was looking for love.  I do think she was lonely and in pain. Meri is not one of my favorite people, none of the Browns are. She was in love with Kody still and missing physical intimacy with him. She doesn't get along well with Janelle or Christine, and I'm sure her BFF with Robyn ended in September or Dec 2014.  I think she was looking for empathy. Yeah, she should have volunteered or kept busy with something but she was raised and has lived her life in a bubble as the party line is that they're persecuted. Plus she's not really a nice person. 

I remember early on, "sam" sent Meri and some kid who he promised to finance her big break on some online reality show (which he flaked on) cheap carnations. Meri promptly tweeted a selfie with said carnations. That's when things really started getting weird. My thought then, and now, is that Meri was trying to make Kody jealous, as well as a dig at Robyn.  

Meri was/is very naive and was blindsided. I think she was bleeding inside and looking for empathy, sympathy, and validation. JO knew just how to play her.

[DakotaJustice]

23 minutes ago, Lsk02 said:

I think Meri's Instagram and other social media shows the LLR sales starting in October. She could have already been wearing the weird double layered cardigans before she bought in, so who knows. I don't remember when Mykelti got engaged, but it seems like it was after both that and Maddie's wedding. 

Her sister has been doing LLR for awhile (not sure how long) and roped Meri into it. Mykelti's engagement was announced in July in People Mag (actually their website). I think Meri was waiting in the LLR "queue" to be onboarded but started getting involved before she received her initial inventory which I think was in late Oct/early Nov. 

[zenme]

I feel sorry for Meri only in this respect: she's a monogamous woman living a plural lifestyle. She's not built for that life, but she's been basically been brainwashed to believe this is her salvation. I think she really does believe it makes her a better person.  Where she loses me is that she's tried to sell the viewers this bullshit about how great the lifestyle is and how they've got it better than monogamous women. If it was so great she wouldn't be so lonely in her family of 20, and so desperate and needy to be loved by her husband that she'd seek out something just for her. Yes. She tells us that she was lonely, but no one says the truth about WHY she's lonely. Girl, get out of that life!

[islandgal140]

Okay, true confession when I saw that the run time of this episode was 3 hours I thought: somebody better be coming out of something. I don't care if it is a closet, clothes hamper or dresser drawer! TLC needs to stop trying to commandeer my entire Sunday night. In the beginning weren't the episodes 1/2 hour? After watching I realized that the last hr was a Meri retrospective and I deleted that mess with extreme prejudice. 

Can this episode be the last of the last of the last with this Catfish mess? I feel like we have had what? 2 (or more) entire episodes devoted exclusively to this situation. Not to mention all the times it has been talked about.  No more. And these episode titles are starting to sound like bad movie sequels. We have had Catfish and now Another Catfish. Whats next?

- I Still know you were Catfished last summer

- Catfish: The Revenge, This times its Personal

- Catfish 3: Electric Boogaloo

It is beyond obvious that Meri will never come completely clean. I did notice that she made one confession. Whereas in previous episodes she has said she never had any intention of leaving, this time she admitted she was gonna leave. Funny, because Mariah said as much a few episodes ago and Kody denied it. LOL! Other than that Meri will never admit to being attracted to Sam, looking for emotional/sexual fulfillment elsewhere and wanting to ride Sam like a bucking bronco. NEVER! So please let this episode be the end of it.

In the therapist's office Kody was looking at Meri like a dog would look at a calculus problem. 

I really see the inequities of the plyg life when Kody was the only one that thought that the watering down of their problems due to their bigly (tm Trump) family and all their distractions was a positive thing.

Congrats to Mariah. 

Watching Tony and Mykelti french kiss sounds like a gateway to asexuality. 

23 hours ago, Lm2162 said:

I guess I don't get why the sister wives should have been comforting and tender towards *Meri?* We can judge the inequality of the marriage according to our own standards all we like, and I do, but at the same time Meri chose this, is an adult, professes to still believe in polygamy and is a supposedly devout fundie Mormon. Her beliefs may have changed but her marriage arrangement hasn't. In any other cheating situation, isn't the person being cheated on the one who deserves comfort and tenderness, not the lying cheater involving her kid in her affair and embarrassing her family? Meri doesn't consider herself divorced and she still appears on the show, where she's accepted paychecks for defending her religion and marriage for multiple seasons...In any other situation we might feel bad that their marriage wasn't going well, but it's still not Kody's *fault* she cheated rather than leaving. And he deserves to be left, he's a douchebag supreme. But Meri as victim worthy of tender care? Nah.

Frankly, I think Meri as divisive, graspy and entitled as she has been to Janelle and Christine (Robyn don't count), Meri is lucky that she didn't reap what she sowed during the catfish debacle.

[3girlsforus]

42 minutes ago, Runnergirl said:

You could see it on his face when he and Meri were in the therapy session. He seemed engaged for a little bit and then when confronted with trying to repair their emotions towards each other, he blanked out and looked uncomfortable. What makes me sad is Meri has such high hopes and wants to be wanted (don't all women?). 

What Meri wants from Kody she may not get, hasn't BEEN getting. It's like they're just occasional roommates. How can a woman remain in what appears to be a loveless situation for so long? I don't see how she can remain in the family if Kody doesn't respond to her. She truly wants his affection and it doesn't look like he has it in him to give to her. And again, he's trying to avoid saying what he's thinking because he knows it will be hurtful so here we go again, Kody and Meri fake mending their relationship.

I know Meri can seem difficult at times, but I feel bad for her in this case. 

So much this!!! There is no way a competent therapist doesn't see this and start laying it out for her. This relationship is irrevocably broken because Kody doesn't want it.  There is no mending it but she's so desperate for affection/attention that she can't/won't see it. I think you are giving Kody a lot of credit to say he is avoiding saying it because it's hurtful. I don't really think he cares that much. But maybe he does. Either way, he's in the therapy for the cameras and only for the cameras. He knows he doesn't have to deal with the relationship on a day-to-day basis because he has 3 other wives so why should he bother to put any effort into it. 

[FakeJoshDuggar]

13 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

So much this!!! There is no way a competent therapist doesn't see this and start laying it out for her. This relationship is irrevocably broken because Kody doesn't want it.  There is no mending it but she's so desperate for affection/attention that she can't/won't see it. I think you are giving Kody a lot of credit to say he is avoiding saying it because it's hurtful. I don't really think he cares that much. But maybe he does. Either way, he's in the therapy for the cameras and only for the cameras. He knows he doesn't have to deal with the relationship on a day-to-day basis because he has 3 other wives so why should he bother to put any effort into it. 

I agree. He told Meri, Nancy, and America that he has no interest in even starting the process of repairing his relationship with his first wife. Meri needs to be getting her ducks in a row to officially leave Kody. They've already gotten a divorce... check! She can at least rent out the McMansion and find a small apartment. At this point, staying is further humiliation in an already embarrassing situation.

Edited January 3, 2017 by FakeJoshDuggar

[ginger90]

https://mobile.twitter.com/realkodybrown/status/811729755414200320?p=v

[laurakaye]

Two observations:

Now that I am better informed on the whole catfish story, it makes some sense...but I thought it was hysterical when Meri told us that "Sam" was interested in investing in My Sisterwife's Closet.  Even I didn't believe that.  @Christina pointed out that Meri substituted "MSWC" for "Green Goo" for - I don't know, legal reasons, I guess?  But expecting the viewers to believe that anyone would want to throw money at Robyn's failing joolry business is a laugh.

And why did Kody bring his backpack to Therapist Nancy's office?  Is he just so used to schlepping his crap from house to house that he mistakenly thought he was spending the night with Nancy?

[3girlsforus]

6 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/realkodybrown/status/811729755414200320?p=v

It's not like it hasn't been said before but it bears repeating. What an asshat. 

[Sista Snarky]

That visit with Cheryl was one of the few  times Meri wasn't crying her eyes out or spinning her wheels as a tortured soul. Instead of the never-ending quest for love &  blood from a stone with Kody (when she knows the drill after 25+ years) get up &  DO SOMETHING ELSE.

However here's another online friend with issues of her own. If Meri moves on from Cheryl...Cheryl could easily do a Kendra or Cheryl could do a Cheryl & stalk/spill all the behind-the-curtain information she knows...if Meri ever jumps off of the troll bandwagon & drops Cheryl.

Edited January 3, 2017 by Sista Snarky

[AZChristian]

12 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/realkodybrown/status/811729755414200320?p=v

Can you tell us what he said?  I'm blocked.

[Jellybeans]

1 minute ago, AZChristian said:

Can you tell us what he said?  I'm blocked.

"When I validate a wife's feelings and concerns, it is NOT a confession of my own guilt. ?"

In other words, some bullshit.

[DakotaJustice]

3 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

Two observations:

Now that I am better informed on the whole catfish story, it makes some sense...but I thought it was hysterical when Meri told us that "Sam" was interested in investing in My Sisterwife's Closet.  Even I didn't believe that.  @Christina pointed out that Meri substituted "MSWC" for "Green Goo" for - I don't know, legal reasons, I guess?  But expecting the viewers to believe that anyone would want to throw money at Robyn's failing joolry business is a laugh.

And why did Kody bring his backpack to Therapist Nancy's office?  Is he just so used to schlepping his crap from house to house that he mistakenly thought he was spending the night with Nancy?

I think it's in their contract with tlc not to mention any outside business including MLMs which is why you won't see a story line on Meri's LLR business. However, a few years back, they DID have an episode featuring Kody earning the "free" car for his "marketing business". And they had a ton of episodes where Kody and others were drinking the signature green goo. They just never mentioned the company itself. 

So the producers COULD have said "Meri's supplement business" or "marketing business" since it was already alluded to in the show. However, since MSWC exists purely as a plot device, just like Strive with Janelle does, they lied outright. That kind of makes this whole episode - at least the part about the catfish - inauthentic. 

[ginger90]

2 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Can you tell us what he said?  I'm blocked.

[Sista Snarky]

2 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Can you tell us what he said?  I'm blocked.

When I validate a wife's feelings and concerns, it is NOT a confession of my own guilt. ? #SisterWives

4:27 PM - 21 Dec 2016

3 RETWEETS121 LIKES

[ginger90]

When I validate a wife's feelings and concerns, it is NOT a confession of my own guilt. ? #SisterWives

 

4:27 PM - 21 Dec 2016

[islandgal140]

17 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/realkodybrown/status/811729755414200320?p=v

What an asshat!  Seriously, I don't expect anything less from someone who once stated that he isn't responsible for his wives mental/emotional well-being. Kody said this in response when they were interacting a few seasons back with that other plyg family and the man stated he felt responsible for his wives emotional well-being and fulfillment.

Edited January 3, 2017 by islandgal140

[AZChristian]

Thanks, all.

[SnappleApple]

For all of you who have posted the catfish timelines, I appreciate it! It's also important to note that Jackie as Sam first tried to reel in Janelle months prior to contacting Meri.  

[hisbunkie]

23 minutes ago, zenme said:

I feel sorry for Meri only in this respect: she's a monogamous woman living a plural lifestyle. She's not built for that life, but she's been basically been brainwashed to believe this is her salvation. I think she really does believe it makes her a better person.  Where she loses me is that she's tried to sell the viewers this bullshit about how great the lifestyle is and how they've got it better than monogamous women. If it was so great she wouldn't be so lonely in her family of 20, and so desperate and needy to be loved by her husband that she'd seek out something just for her. Yes. She tells us that she was lonely, but no one says the truth about WHY she's lonely. Girl, get out of that life!

With all due respect.....

My parents were married for FIFTY years, my father was unfaithful numerous times we knew it, their circle of friends knew it.  Many in my parents circle of friends had husbands who were unfaithful yet they stayed.  And yes, she was brainwashed that there is salvation in that lifestyle. The Catholic Church still preaches that if you re-marry (without an annulment) you go to hell.  

My parents and their friends celebrated their anniversaries and looked down their noses at those couples who "gave up" and divorced.  When I painfully told my parents I was divorcing after 16 of marriage because I was not happy (and lonely) my mother told me I was "crazy" and my father said, " who ever told you you're supposed to be happy in a marriage".  

My father has been dead 16 years now and my mother remembers him as a saint!   

[islandgal140]

Just now, SnappleApple said:

For all of you who have posted the catfish timelines, I appreciate it! It's also important to note that Jackie as Sam first tried to reel in Janelle months prior to contacting Meri.  

Janelle probably felt too overwhelmed to respond. 

[Roslyn]

1 minute ago, islandgal140 said:

Seriously, I don't expect anything less from someone who once stated that he isn't responsible for his wives mental/emotional well-being. Kody said this in response when they were interacting a few seasons back with that other plyg family and the man stated he felt responsible for his wives emotional well-being and fulfillment. What an asshat! 

And that is why they won't have a "successful" and "fulfilling" polygamous family.  At the heart is the man and how he juggles all the women and children.  Kody has never been successful, and he doesn't care about their womanly emotions.  The biggest and most glaring thing wrong with the family is Kody.  He isn't a leader, he's as AssHat.

I didn't care much for that other polygamous man either, but when he said that if his wives were jealous, then it was his issue and he is failing them somehow...I did agree with him.  That statement shot holes through Kody and showed him for the selfish narcissist that he is. Even his show opening line "love should be multiplied, not divided" is a huge joke!!  For him the love and adoration is multiplied.  Wives, children.  Everyone wants Daddy's attention when he arrives (until they are old enough to get what everything is about anyway), yet the love that the wives and children RECEIVE...that is divided and divided some more.  I guess he should have paid more attention in that class...you know..the one with plusing and minusing.

[Jellybeans]

I FF'd most of this episode because I am so DONE with the catfish crap.  Mainly because no one is telling the truth and I can watch Netflix if I want fiction.  

Mariah coming out gay would have made an interesting episode.  So would have the second wedding. 

Truley is adorable.  

[gunderda]

Didnt Meri say on this episode that she DID seriously consider leaving?? 

I feel like maybe that was the biggest thing to own up to.. previously she had said she never would have left, it wasn't even a thought in her mind.  

[jacksgirl]

Yes, the catfish stuff is rehash, but I was really listening this time and I can't believe  (well, yes I can) what an asshole Kody was talking to Meri when she was spilling her guts about the whole affair. She is devastated and hurt and embarrassed, and all he talks about is how left out he felt. I used to think he was a harmless dolt, now I think he's a self centered, mean spirited, immature shadow of a man.

[Jellybeans]

2 minutes ago, jacksgirl said:

 I used to think he was a harmless dolt, now I think he's a self centered, mean spirited, immature shadow of a man.

IMO, he is a creep who "married" three women, divorced one to marry another and does not have the guts to tell her he does not love her anymore.

[Galloway Cave]

5 hours ago, mamey2422 said:

Do you have a link to her Tumblr?

This is her Tumblr. Sorry, I was the one who sent you to her thread for it but when I looked, the link wasn't in that thread. It's somewhere in this forum, I swear!

[Roslyn]

29 minutes ago, Jellybeans said:

IMO, he is a creep who "married" three women, divorced one to marry another and does not have the guts to tell her he does not love her anymore.

Love comes from Loyalty to the Unit. The family. Love in itself doesn't matter. Not to that man anyway.

[laurakaye]

1 hour ago, DakotaJustice said:

So the producers COULD have said "Meri's supplement business" or "marketing business" since it was already alluded to in the show. However, since MSWC exists purely as a plot device, just like Strive with Janelle does, they lied outright. That kind of makes this whole episode - at least the part about the catfish - inauthentic. 

Wait...you mean to tell me that I can't lose weight using STRIVE whilst donning my "Be Confident, Be Honest" charm bracelet?!

I'm one who doesn't mind the re-re-re-re-hashing of the Catfish scandal, because I learn all sorts of new lies every time Meri revisits it.