S08.E08: Tell All, Part 1

[ghoulina]

19 hours ago, ladle said:

 

I really hate how they get introduced as "Kody Brown and his sister wives."  I mean, I don't like any of these women, but they're human beings and they have names.

 

Plus, they're not really HIS sister wives. They're his WIVES. They're each other's sister wives. It's minor, I know, but sounds creepy to me. 

 

19 hours ago, LotusFlower said:

2)  Speaking of money, I really didn't like Christine's answer to the question about paying for so many weddings.  She said they're counting on some of the kids going real low-key, or not doing anything at all.  That is such bad financial planning, not to mention bad parenting. 

Good point. Just for that, I'd demand the most lavish of weddings I could imagine. $18 tea towel invites and all. 

[Misslindsey]

10 minutes ago, ghoulina said:

Good point. Just for that, I'd demand the most lavish of weddings I could imagine. $18 tea towel invites and all. 

Hee! Katie? Is that you?

[FairyDusted]

LOL! Good Lawd we watch allllll the bad TV!

[sucker4reality]

I enjoyed hearing a little more from Hunter even though he should stay the heck away from this circus. I took his comments to mean he will complete his obligatory service but perhaps not anything past that.

 

I don't mean to stir the pot over two perfectly nice people, but I have to wonder about Logan and Michelle's relationship. Not that they should be rushing to get married at all, but that I think the idea of waiting *might* be coming more from Michelle than from Logan. The difference in his tone between the last tell-all and this one is pretty big. He's always been so diplomatic in his TH's and tell-all's it's hard to tell. It's not necessarily a problem, just found it interesting.

 

Maddie was definitely showing on the couch at the tell-all. I disagree that she was sitting there hating Mykelti for it--I think we as viewers may be imagining these things sometimes--but it probably felt awkward.

Aspyn was lovely. I know Garrison was probably off at basic training or whatever, but it's kind of too bad that Tony and Caleb have pushed Paedon off the big kid couch.

 

Oh right, these kids have parents....were they in this episode?

[3girlsforus]

23 hours ago, LotusFlower said:

 

2)  Speaking of money, I really didn't like Christine's answer to the question about paying for so many weddings.  She said they're counting on some of the kids going real low-key, or not doing anything at all.  That is such bad financial planning, not to mention bad parenting. 

That is just really cruel. Nothing like telling the kids that some of them will get great weddings  but others have to take it for the team because they can't plan ahead or budget. Of course we all know that any kid who needs college or weddings after TLC are SOL but it's extra bad that she would say it out loud. 

[ladle]

5 hours ago, ghoulina said:

Plus, they're not really HIS sister wives. They're his WIVES. They're each other's sister wives. It's minor, I know, but sounds creepy to me. 

Good point!  Though it really says something about the quality of the show that we're reduced to analyzing their sentence structure. 

[LotusFlower]

1 hour ago, 3girlsforus said:

That is just really cruel. Nothing like telling the kids that some of them will get great weddings  but others have to take it for the team because they can't plan ahead or budget. Of course we all know that any kid who needs college or weddings after TLC are SOL but it's extra bad that she would say it out loud. 

She says it out loud because she (and the others) don't get it - they never think long-term, and they never seem to think of fairness or equality for all the kids.  Everything is just now, now, now, and me, me, me.  Look at Mykelti - she saw everything that her same-age sister Maddie was getting, and thought to hop on that bandwagon quick.  

[mythoughtis]

Given Christine's comments, some of the offspring should feel free to elope and inform the parents afterwards. I see no reason why anyone should feel like he needs to ask Kody for permission to marry the daughter.  That's a hold over from when daughters were considered property and more or less sold to whomever offered the most money. If you need permission  - YOU aren't mature enough to marry. Drives me crazy. But then these are people that ask their church for permission to add a wife.

[Wings]

On 1/23/2017 at 1:55 PM, islandgal140 said:

Caleb's cheeks  are gigantic.

Unfortunate genetics.  They will be swinging under his jaws by 70 and then be called jowls.  Poor guy, I love that kid. 

42 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

Given Christine's comments, some of the offspring should feel free to elope and inform the parents afterwards. I see no reason why anyone should feel like he needs to ask Kody for permission to marry the daughter.  That's a hold over from when daughters were considered property and more or less sold to whomever offered the most money. If you need permission  - YOU aren't mature enough to marry. Drives me crazy. But then these are people that ask their church for permission to add a wife.

I think this may be the fact this is a TV show.  

[MrSmith]

15 hours ago, Nowhere said:

It was interesting that Christine admitted that she is batshit crazy, screams and yells when she's angry at Kody and then takes it out on everyone else. If she can't remember what Kody did to make her lose her damn mind then it must not have been that bad. She's just a psycho.

The sense the Mrs and I got from this part was that none of them wanted to admit what it is that Christine was angry about and so they kept pretending they couldn't remember what it was about.

9 hours ago, ladle said:

Good point!  Though it really says something about the quality of the show that we're reduced to analyzing their sentence structure. 

This made me actually laugh out loud!

[MrSmith]

On 1/23/2017 at 2:55 PM, islandgal140 said:

Caleb's cheeks  are gigantic. 

7 hours ago, wings707 said:

Unfortunate genetics.  They will be swinging under his jaws by 70 and then be called jowls.

LOL. Sorry, but these two quotes together made me think of "Do Your Ears Hang Low?"

Quote

Do your ears hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie 'em in a knot?
Can you tie 'em in a bow?
Can you throw 'em o'er your shoulder
Like a continental soldier
Do your ears hang low?

[Kohola3]

Quote

That's a hold over from when daughters were considered property and more or less sold to whomever offered the most money.

Well, to the poly group, women ARE property.  They certainly aren't considered humans, only a necessary evil for males to boink, produce spawn, and buy a planet.

[MrSmith]

10 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Well, to the poly group, women ... certainly aren't considered humans, only a necessary evil

Well, they're idiots. Of course, we knew that already. But women are one of the best things about this world! lol

[laurakaye]

17 hours ago, Nowhere said:

I honestly fill like Kody dills with things pretty well. I couldn't imaging being tugged in as many directions as he is and still being able to keep my emotions in check. Hell, I can't even have my boyfriend over when my girls are here because I fill like Im being pulled in different directions, and that's just in my own head. What if it were 4 wives and 18 children? Seriously how is he coping? Why would any man want to do this? It seems like the stress would kill him but he can still form a coherent sentence and he honestly does try to validate all the fillinks.

I like your perspective, which is much different than mine.  I see Kody enjoying all the fluff and bother of having a big family...running from house to house, perpetually frantic and exhausted, but I think much of that is for show.  I think he spends a lot of time in a "checked out" mode, and at any given time, half of his wives won't approach him while he's like that, lest they annoy him and he simply stops coming over for fun times.  During many a couch session, the wives will be talking about something that bothered them and Kody will sit there like a log, staring straight ahead, not saying a word.  Now, he could be simply erring on the side of caution, knowing that whatever he says will be wrong.  But I think that's just Kody's way of disengaging from the situation.

From what we've been told, it's been 12 years since Meri and Kody have had a good relationship.  Why hasn't he tried to fix it?  Not that it's all on him, but I sense that if one wife is giving him grief, he simply flits over to another bed...which not only doesn't fix a thing, it has to make the wife on the outs feel incredibly insecure.  He can't even take a romantic vacation with Christine without bringing their therapist along.  He went behind the other wives' backs and went wedding dress shopping with Robyn.  That kind of sneaky behavior and favoritism is squarely on Kody.

[LilWharveyGal]

1 hour ago, laurakaye said:

He went behind the other wives' backs and went wedding dress shopping with Robyn.  

I really wish the interviewer had been familiar enough with the show to throw this little nugget back at Kody when he was going on and on about how he doesn't care about clothes (i.e. Maddie's wedding dress).

[ladle]

I loved when Kody mentioned that they were terrible at budgeting and someone (Christine?) replied immediately, "Don't put that out there."  I was all, "Out there where?  Oh, you mean here, where we will seize upon that rare moment of self-awareness to mercilessly snark?... Oops!  Too late!  BWHAHA HAHA HAHA!"

[Christina]

Here is how I remember the timeline with Janelle entering the family. I don't remember if it was from the book, which I didn't read myself, or part of that awesome Tell All that has disappeared off the face of the earth, but at one point, Kody and Janelle admitted they were courting behind Meri's back.

Kody and Meri where courting a teenager who was new to the faith. Her family had just joined and K&M were smitten. They were waiting for her to turn 18, and Christine had met her and was upset because she knew she couldn't compete. Kody claimed that they decided it wasn't going to work with their family and called it off. However, someone from their group, possibly that Polygamy blogger who did the family tree but I don't remember for sure, disclosed that she backed out, and K&M were crushed. 

Janelle then inserted herself into the fold by meeting with Kody alone and selling herself to him. She told him she would work and help support the family; she told him she was being called to carry his spirit babies; she told him she was low-maintenance when it was clear that Meri was not; and she told him that his dad, a man he could never please, wanted her to marry his brother. He then told Meri that she would be joining the family. Meri claimed for purposes of this show that she picked the other wives, but she only picked the first one, the teenager who backed out. Christine's dad practically ordered him to marry her, and she said that on their wedding day, she realized he really didn't want to marry her. Yet, she still went through with it.

Janelle and Christine both went after Kody and Meri's opinion didn't matter. She convinced herself that Janelle was just a worker bee, probably based on what Kody told her, but saw him having fun with Christine and became jealous. I think she was likely always petty and jealous, certainly wasn't cut out to share the love of her life, and to top it off, was suffering from an unexplained infertility and was unable to give her husband, the only marriage she considered legitimate, his first child or a son. She considered herself the head of the family and made everyone miserable. The man who was supposed to be the head of the family just sat back and let his wives battle it out, because he is a loser.

[Roslyn]

30 minutes ago, Christina said:

Here is how I remember the timeline with Janelle entering the family. I don't remember if it was from the book, which I didn't read myself, or part of that awesome Tell All that has disappeared off the face of the earth, but at one point, Kody and Janelle admitted they were courting behind Meri's back.

Kody and Meri where courting a teenager who was new to the faith. Her family had just joined and K&M were smitten. They were waiting for her to turn 18, and Christine had met her and was upset because she knew she couldn't compete. Kody claimed that they decided it wasn't going to work with their family and called it off. However, someone from their group, possibly that Polygamy blogger who did the family tree but I don't remember for sure, disclosed that she backed out, and K&M were crushed. 

Janelle then inserted herself into the fold by meeting with Kody alone and selling herself to him. She told him she would work and help support the family; she told him she was being called to carry his spirit babies; she told him she was low-maintenance when it was clear that Meri was not; and she told him that his dad, a man he could never please, wanted her to marry his brother. He then told Meri that she would be joining the family. Meri claimed for purposes of this show that she picked the other wives, but she only picked the first one, the teenager who backed out. Christine's dad practically ordered him to marry her, and she said that on their wedding day, she realized he really didn't want to marry her. Yet, she still went through with it.

Janelle and Christine both went after Kody and Meri's opinion didn't matter. She convinced herself that Janelle was just a worker bee, probably based on what Kody told her, but saw him having fun with Christine and became jealous. I think she was likely always petty and jealous, certainly wasn't cut out to share the love of her life, and to top it off, was suffering from an unexplained infertility and was unable to give her husband, the only marriage she considered legitimate, his first child or a son. She considered herself the head of the family and made everyone miserable. The man who was supposed to be the head of the family just sat back and let his wives battle it out, because he is a loser.

Yes!  And Yes.  I remember the story of the young girl backing out and Janelle and Kody having lunch together without Meri knowing.  I guess I'll have to dig about and see if I can find my copy of the book now.

Funny how that tell all has just vanished.  Only one tiny snippet exists on youtube, to show that yes, it did exist.  How I wish that person would have saved the whole thing!  "Kody...you weren't attracted to Christine?"  "That is an understatement" Fucking cruel.

[3girlsforus]

That video is just cruel. 

[Christina]

1 hour ago, 3girlsforus said:

That video is just cruel. 

And Kody was the catch! He didn't look as busted as he does now, and he would probably look better now if he would give up on his surfer persona that he cannot pull off, but he was inconsiderate and rude, disrespectful to the women he was proclaiming were his wives, and women wanted him! Unbelievable. Proof that polygamy is awful when he is the best they could do, and were ready to step over others to get him.

[lettsjetts]

Here is a little more from that Natalie Morales interview.  I really wish the whole thing was available somewhere.  

http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/sister-wives/videos/sister-wives-tell-all/#mkcpgn=snag1

[SometimesBites]

2 hours ago, Christina said:

Janelle then inserted herself into the fold by meeting with Kody alone and selling herself to him. She told him she would work and help support the family; she told him she was being called to carry his spirit babies; she told him she was low-maintenance when it was clear that Meri was not; and she told him that his dad, a man he could never please, wanted her to marry his brother.

Janelle knew Kody and Meri well, and in fact, even after she and Meri's brother were pursuing a divorce, the three of them regularly hung out together as friends. Janelle did decide to make a definitive move, but according to Kody he had already been scheming on Janelle as a Number 2 Wife and hinting as much to Meri. Not sure where all those bolded details come from, but none of that was in the book. To be honest, the only place I've heard most of them are in various speculative posts on forums.

Relevant excerpts from their book:

“…I had a sense that Janelle and I shared a destiny. The minute I met Janelle’s date [someone she was dating after first husband, Adam Barber, split], I said to Meri, ‘She’s getting in her own way. She doesn’t want to let herself have what she truly wants, so she’s dating another guy.’ I’m not sure Meri quite understood what I was hinting at.

“I couldn’t shake my spiritual awareness that Janelle and I would one day marry. I’m not sure exactly when this insight came to me—it wasn’t born out of the same conventionally romantic attraction I had to Meri. It was a different feeling entirely, one that had more to do with spirituality and intellectual compatibility [than] romantic love. However, I couldn’t help [but] notice that in addition to her first-rate mind, I found her extremely attractive….

“Meri and I were living in Montana and Janelle sometimes stayed over at our place. One evening, after the three of us had spent the day together, just as we were getting ready for bed, Janelle made an unusual request. ‘Meri,’ she said, ‘can I have a moment alone with Kody so that I can talk to him about something important?’

“…At the time, Meri and I were living in a cabin with a giant living room and two small, unpleasant bedrooms. Meri went to bed, leaving me and Janelle sitting on the junky furniture I’d picked up at a yard sale.

“Janelle was forthcoming. ‘I think I belong in your family,’ she said.

“I was flattered and pleased, not to mention relieved. Months earlier I had told Meri about my interest in a relationship with Janelle—but it was more of an impromptu suggestion than a serious proposal. So it felt proper that Janelle should make the official opening move. In many ways, it’s more appropriate….

“Quite often in our faith, it’s the woman who approaches the family she is interested in.”

[CofCinci]

I'd want to shack up with Kody and Meri if I was a homeless woman in Montana 25 years ago too. 

[3girlsforus]

8 hours ago, SometimesBites said:

Janelle knew Kody and Meri well, and in fact, even after she and Meri's brother were pursuing a divorce, the three of them regularly hung out together as friends. Janelle did decide to make a definitive move, but according to Kody he had already been scheming on Janelle as a Number 2 Wife and hinting as much to Meri. Not sure where all those bolded details come from, but none of that was in the book. To be honest, the only place I've heard most of them are in various speculative posts on forums.

Relevant excerpts from their book:

“…I had a sense that Janelle and I shared a destiny. The minute I met Janelle’s date [someone she was dating after first husband, Adam Barber, split], I said to Meri, ‘She’s getting in her own way. She doesn’t want to let herself have what she truly wants, so she’s dating another guy.’ I’m not sure Meri quite understood what I was hinting at.

“I couldn’t shake my spiritual awareness that Janelle and I would one day marry. I’m not sure exactly when this insight came to me—it wasn’t born out of the same conventionally romantic attraction I had to Meri. It was a different feeling entirely, one that had more to do with spirituality and intellectual compatibility [than] romantic love. However, I couldn’t help [but] notice that in addition to her first-rate mind, I found her extremely attractive….

“Meri and I were living in Montana and Janelle sometimes stayed over at our place. One evening, after the three of us had spent the day together, just as we were getting ready for bed, Janelle made an unusual request. ‘Meri,’ she said, ‘can I have a moment alone with Kody so that I can talk to him about something important?’

“…At the time, Meri and I were living in a cabin with a giant living room and two small, unpleasant bedrooms. Meri went to bed, leaving me and Janelle sitting on the junky furniture I’d picked up at a yard sale.

“Janelle was forthcoming. ‘I think I belong in your family,’ she said.

“I was flattered and pleased, not to mention relieved. Months earlier I had told Meri about my interest in a relationship with Janelle—but it was more of an impromptu suggestion than a serious proposal. So it felt proper that Janelle should make the official opening move. In many ways, it’s more appropriate….

“Quite often in our faith, it’s the woman who approaches the family she is interested in.”

So all of this completely negates the idea that Meri brought Janelle into the family. 

1 hour ago, CofCinci said:

I'd want to shack up with Kody and Meri if I was a homeless woman in Montana 25 years ago too. 

I think I'd rather be homeless. 

[laurakaye]

So having read through those quotes from the book, the whole situation skeeves me out even more.

I can't get over the fact that Janelle divorced Meri's brother, and yet the three of them were buddies, with Janelle having frequent sleep-overs at Kody and Meri's house...and all the while, Kody had the spiritual hots for Janelle.  So Meri and Kody were in one bedroom, and Meri must know that Kody wanted the woman in the next room.  Not to mention, where was Meri's loyalty to her brother?  Did she take Janelle in to get back at him for some reason, or did she go along with this strange love triangle because she was afraid of upsetting her "lover?"  Why would Kody want to marry the ex-wife of his current wife's brother?  I know polygamy crosses many lines, but in Kody's case, I don't think he sought polygamy for anything else than to stroke his own ego and perhaps one-up his father.  It's like Kody took an already weird situation and made it weirder with Janelle.  Meri had to be livid - yes, she accepted that her man was going to take more wives, but Janelle?  Especially since Kody and Meri had both "courted" a teenage girl who decided not to marry into the family (for which I'm sure she thanks her lucky stars).  It suggests that Kody and Meri both kind of - I don't know - fell in love with this girl?  Who was replaced by Janelle, someone that Meri knew as a friend and relative?  I just don't see her being okay with it at all, in any sense.  And yet, it happened.

Man, I wish a real psychologist would peel back the layers of this weirdness and get those three to be honest about all of it.  The fact that Meri and Janelle haven't been able to dill with each other since Kody brought Janelle into the family says a lot.  If indeed Kody and Janelle were dating behind Meri's back and Meri found out about it, that would explain a ton.  But it would also speak to Kody's sneakiness and underhandedness when it came to choosing another wife.  If he told Meri that they'd choose together, I can't figure out how Janelle made it into the family at all.

[ghoulina]

While a husband taking another wife is weird enough to us, and then add in that the second wife was the sister-in-law of his current wife - yes, super weird. To US. But if you look at polygamy, I don't think it's that weird. There seems to constant boundary crossing and switching it up within their community - husband marrying sisters, man dies and brother takes his wife, cousins getting married, wife gets kicked out of family and sent to a new husband....who can keep all that shit straight???? When I think about all the weird pretzely stuff I've read about these groups over the years, I don't think the introduction of Jenelle seems THAT odd. 

[Christina]

I didn't read the book, but Janelle has said on the show that Wynn wanted her to marry Kody's brother, and that she told Kody that when she was priming him to take her as a wife. The entire family recreates history all the time, so I don't believe a word out of any of their mouths at any given time are the truth. What Kody said in the book about being attracted to Janelle is opposite of what she said about selling her attributes to him for him to take her as a wife. 

[VedaPierce]

On January 23, 2017 at 10:00 AM, DakotaJustice said:

I don't buy the official storyline that Meri picked ANY of the other wives for a minute. Not even Robyn. 

I think Robyn picked Kody, and Kody strongarmed Meri into going along with it, just like the other two wives. Meri went along with it because she wanted to hurt the other two, even if she got hurt in the process. It's clear to me that both Janelle and Christine had an agenda to get Kody.

Meri picked Robyn the same way Meri decided to divorce Kody. In other words, she was TOLD to pick Robyn, and TOLD to divorce Kody. 

And all those people do is try to undermine and hurt each other. 

[Isumpin]

On 1/23/2017 at 3:55 PM, islandgal140 said:

Caleb's cheeks  are gigantic. 

Chewing Tobacco.  right?  

[Isumpin]

On 1/24/2017 at 8:34 AM, laurakaye said:

Mustard is a color that works on a very select few humans.  I have a friend who can pull it off, but she has red hair and green eyes.  So Meri (and the Duggar girls)?  Do everyone a favor and STEP AWAY from the MUSTARD.

I actually spent more time trying to figure out what Meri was wearing than listening to what she was saying...mustard cardigan over a lace top over a patterned black and white shirt?  Was that two layers or three?  And I still don't know what she was wearing on her feet - gray booties?  Oh, Meri.  Just no.

Apparently she hasn't done her laundry lately.   Didn't she say that was when she dipped into her LLR?  Even then no style.   

[Isumpin]

I had a thought Maybe I have missed this but Meri's family was Pligs, why did Janelle jump from Brother's ship to Kody's?  Either way she was going to do it.  The brother must be really bad.  

[CofCinci]

2 hours ago, Isumpin said:

Chewing Tobacco.  right?  

Yes. Dude doesn't even have the class to take it out of his mouth for interviews. #Merika

[Kohola3]

Seriously?  That's disgusting.  Does he carry a beer can around to spit into?  Yuck.

[Roslyn]

7 hours ago, Isumpin said:

I had a thought Maybe I have missed this but Meri's family was Pligs, why did Janelle jump from Brother's ship to Kody's?  Either way she was going to do it.  The brother must be really bad.  

Janelle has never discussed any details of her first marriage, but was mainstream LDS until her "calling" to convert, as she had the hots for Kody.  I am only assuming that Meri's brother wasn't fundamental in his beliefs, but mainstream for Janelle to have married him. 

In this clip video at tlc, it definitely feels as though Janelle converted solely to "join Kody's family" because "it made no sense" until she converted.  It's interesting tho, both Janelle and Kody talk about how their relationship is better at the time of that conversation (I'm thinking it was filmed in the season1-2 time) and that is the time when Kody and Meri's relationship was breaking more apart.  Another layer to the Meri/Janelle story...could Meri hold a grudge against Janelle because as Kody grew away from Meri, as he grew closer to Janelle?

http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/sister-wives/videos/falling-in-love-with-janelle/

[VedaPierce]

I think Christine was lying when she said that she was really mad at Kody, when she went ape shit on Robyn. I believe she was actually mad at Robyn. But that's not safe to admit to. 

And I can't stand that they sanitize their reality while being on a reality show. Saying that she couldn't remember what she was mad about was such a damn lie. If that stupid moderator had a modicum of journalistic integrity, she would have pressed and demanded more. Hell, even that wonky-eyed jackass Andy Cohen would have done a better job, and he's a moron!

[VedaPierce]

7 hours ago, CofCinci said:

Yes. Dude doesn't even have the class to take it out of his mouth for interviews. #Merika

Because he's an arrogant, entitled hipster doofus who thinks he's above this show and above the viewers. He's making fun of it all and thinks he's too kool for skool. Barf

[CofCinci]

He's not too cool for school.  They live in Vegas now.  Does he plan on returning to work?  Does she plan on returning to school?

[Kohola3]

2 minutes ago, CofCinci said:

 Does he plan on returning to work?  Does she plan on returning to school?

Hitching their keep-the-sex-noise-private caboose to the gravy train.  Maybe hoping for their own show:  Grifters 2.0 - the Next Generation.

[Mya]

7 minutes ago, CofCinci said:

He's not too cool for school.  They live in Vegas now.  Does he plan on returning to work?  Does she plan on returning to school?

The live in Vegas now? I didn't know that.  Do they live with Janelle?  

[CofCinci]

4 minutes ago, Mya said:

The live in Vegas now? I didn't know that.  Do they live with Janelle?  

I think they're living with Janelle - at least their dog is there.  All her social media pics are in Vegas/Janelle's house.  She's helping Meri with LulaRo stuff too.

Edited January 29, 2017 by CofCinci

[Mya]

1 minute ago, CofCinci said:

I think they're living with Janelle.  All her social media pics are in Vegas/Janelle's house.  She's helping Meri with LulaRo stuff too.

Thanks!!  I had no idea.   I guess they have bowed to the gravy train.

[MamaMax]

On 1/23/2017 at 6:55 PM, ladle said:

I really hate how they get introduced as "Kody Brown and his sister wives."  I mean, I don't like any of these women, but they're human beings and they have names.

That's as far into the episode as I've managed to get.  :)

Like Josie and the Pussycats

On 1/23/2017 at 7:39 PM, LotusFlower said:

Two things that stood out for me:

1)  Remember when Tony said that the Browns could get a home equity loan against the house to pay for Mykelti's wedding, and they all went on Twitter to say he was kidding?  We all knew it wasn't a joke, but it was confirmed on the Tell-Nothing, as they all sort of rolled their eyes at how "naive" Tony & Mykelti are for suggesting something so silly.

2)  Speaking of money, I really didn't like Christine's answer to the question about paying for so many weddings.  She said they're counting on some of the kids going real low-key, or not doing anything at all.  That is such bad financial planning, not to mention bad parenting. 

I think the real answer is: Depends on the show, if they get a TLC subsidy or not. Otherwise it's every man for himself. Which: Whatever. It's not 1950 anymore, not sure anyone is expected to "give" their daughter a wedding.  <y hubs and I paid for our own, with a nice gift from my folks of the band and the limos. My brother gave me my dress as his gift. Me and the hubs paid for the food, drink and flowers. It was lovely. (sigh. best day ever.)

On 1/24/2017 at 7:29 PM, 3girlsforus said:

That is just really cruel. Nothing like telling the kids that some of them will get great weddings  but others have to take it for the team because they can't plan ahead or budget. Of course we all know that any kid who needs college or weddings after TLC are SOL but it's extra bad that she would say it out loud. 

See above! Great minds etc.

On 1/27/2017 at 6:52 PM, Christina said:

I didn't read the book, but Janelle has said on the show that Wynn wanted her to marry Kody's brother, and that she told Kody that when she was priming him to take her as a wife. The entire family recreates history all the time, so I don't believe a word out of any of their mouths at any given time are the truth. What Kody said in the book about being attracted to Janelle is opposite of what she said about selling her attributes to him for him to take her as a wife. 

I sincerely doubt that any one of these yahoos has been honest with him or herself about their real motives/reasons/feelings are about "living polygamy", never mind being honest with the others.  It would be a death blow to the whole thing to really ever get to the roots of it.

Edited January 29, 2017 by MamaMax

[Nowhere]

Guys, I'm watching the reruns and I just picked up on something. So, Mariah just came out of the closet and as Kody was hugging her, he said, "I love you and you're safe." He said the word "safe" maybe 3 times. That's probably why Mykelti keeps saying FT makes her feel safe. It's probably something Kody has always said to the kids so it makes sense that she repeats that word and looks for that feeling with FT.

Woah! He just said it again at the wet bar of tears with Robyn and Meri.

[Galloway Cave]

Christine uses that word a lot too. Remember the Great Bathroom Debacle prior to the anti-polygamy panel discussion at the university? She must have used the word "safe" two dozen times during her THs. "I didn't fill safe. I was hidink from my aunt and Kollene because I thought they were going to kidnap me. They aren't safe." Safesafesafe.

[leighroda]

I agree with y'all on the wedding thing... I don't think anyone is entitled to having their wedding paid for, and I think it's good for the kids to at least put a chunk of money towards their own weddings... but within reason I think it should be across the board (when I say within reason I mean that Truely should not be bound by the same budget as Madison in theory, and also I know tlc footed the bill for Madison... I'm simply trying to make the point that when they had that many children at some point there should be a discussion of how much is going to be put towards each child's future). 

Also, the first half of the special is on right now, and Kody was saying in the preview how Meri asked him to leave so he did... Ummmm Kodes, I have asked you to get off my tv for YEARS even if I don't watch the show you invade the other shows with your constant commercials.

[andromeda331]

6 hours ago, leighroda said:

I agree with y'all on the wedding thing... I don't think anyone is entitled to having their wedding paid for, and I think it's good for the kids to at least put a chunk of money towards their own weddings... but within reason I think it should be across the board (when I say within reason I mean that Truely should not be bound by the same budget as Madison in theory, and also I know tlc footed the bill for Madison... I'm simply trying to make the point that when they had that many children at some point there should be a discussion of how much is going to be put towards each child's future). 

Also, the first half of the special is on right now, and Kody was saying in the preview how Meri asked him to leave so he did... Ummmm Kodes, I have asked you to get off my tv for YEARS even if I don't watch the show you invade the other shows with your constant commercials.

I agree. There should have been a discussion on whether they'd pay for their kids weddings, college and etc. They tell the kids sorry your on your own for weddings and college or we'll help pay for state college but anything more your on your own. We'll pay this amount towards each wedding and the rest is up to you. I know this family isn't good at planning anything. But I didn't like Christine's remarked that they'd pay for some weddings but not all of them? Heck even just tell them they'll "pay" while TLC is still willing to foot the bill but once the show's gone, that'll probably be the end to the big expensive weddings.

[lexington11]

On 1/24/2017 at 6:11 PM, sucker4reality said:

 

 

I don't mean to stir the pot over two perfectly nice people, but I have to wonder about Logan and Michelle's relationship. Not that they should be rushing to get married at all, but that I think the idea of waiting *might* be coming more from Michelle than from Logan. The difference in his tone between the last tell-all and this one is pretty big. He's always been so diplomatic in his TH's and tell-all's it's hard to tell. It's not necessarily a problem, just found it interesting.

I'm thinking Logan doesn't want marriage any more than Michelle does, because for all intents and purposes, he's been parenting 5 younger siblings until he graduated high school. That's probably the same reason I don't see Aspyn in any rush to either find a man or get married.

[SometimesBites]

On 1/29/2017 at 11:56 AM, Roslyn said:

Janelle has never discussed any details of her first marriage, but was mainstream LDS until her "calling" to convert, as she had the hots for Kody.  I am only assuming that Meri's brother wasn't fundamental in his beliefs, but mainstream for Janelle to have married him. 

She addresses that somewhat in another tidbit from their book. (Brace yourself for more skeeve...)

“Adam was not completely committed to his fundamentalist faith and I was happy to welcome him to the LDS church. Not long after he converted, we began courting. Soon we were married in the temple, but my husband wasn’t really interested in either his new faith or the branch of fundamentalism he’d been raised in. In fact, he had very little spiritual conviction.

“His family, however, fascinated me. I would tell my friends, “My in-laws are polygamous.” I was proud to know people in a subculture. They were a novelty.

“One of the reasons I was so transfixed by Adam’s relatives was that they were so outwardly normal. In fact, they were completely conventional and contemporary. They didn’t live behind closed doors or practice any strange customs. They worked, they participated in the community, they sent their kids to local schools. My in-laws didn’t dress strangely, as some fundamentalist sects did. The women were strong and independent and had an equal say in family affairs with the husbands.

“If only I’d been as enamored with my husband as I was with his family. Unfortunately, Adam and I had problems right from the start. We weren’t spiritually, emotionally, or romantically compatible. We lived together for only six months before he moved out.”

[Roslyn]

46 minutes ago, SometimesBites said:

She addresses that somewhat in another tidbit from their book. (Brace yourself for more skeeve...)

“Adam was not completely committed to his fundamentalist faith and I was happy to welcome him to the LDS church. Not long after he converted, we began courting. Soon we were married in the temple, but my husband wasn’t really interested in either his new faith or the branch of fundamentalism he’d been raised in. In fact, he had very little spiritual conviction.

“If only I’d been as enamored with my husband as I was with his family. Unfortunately, Adam and I had problems right from the start. We weren’t spiritually, emotionally, or romantically compatible. We lived together for only six months before he moved out.”

I read the book only once a long time ago...it was very hard to get through!  I pulled it out recently to look up Kody/Meri's meeting and falling in love stories and after reading about Kody's revelations from God in his two day fast euphoria...I rolled my eyes so hard that it hurt... I went back to what I was currently reading.

It's funny...shouldn't you get to know the person you are going to marry for "eternity" BEFORE you go to temple and marry them!!?? If you aren't spiritually, emotionally or romantically compatible, should you not make that realization before marriage?

I have always thought that Janelle was the one of them that may be the most devout, spiritually.  She was a convert, and most likely a convert for the sole reason to snag Kody.  She seems the most content with the rotational man theory, giving her a level of independence.  After reading those quotes the fact that Kody was so totally into the euphoria of his fundamental conversion was one of the draws she had to him. Even Meri stated in the Part2 of the Tell Nothing that she was attracted to the deep conversations that Kody had.  He's the Metaphor king and loves to spew his philosophy and being an attention needy person she gave him a captive audience.  Christine is totally in the "raised with the head games" section of FLDS, but I think that Janelle is the most totally into polygamy as a whole.

ETA:  Janelle was THIS open in their printed book for all eternity!!  Why the sam hell does she go out of her way to tap dance and change her stories about being married to Meri's brother!?  To the point that she looks like a hard core liar when she states on the show "Meri and I were friends before I married Kody" and "I knew Meri's family before I met Kody, I would tell people I had polygamist friends".  Wink wink, nudge nudge...

Edited February 2, 2017 by Roslyn
after thoughts...

[Adiba]

2 hours ago, SometimesBites said:

She addresses that somewhat in another tidbit from their book. (Brace yourself for more skeeve...)

“Adam was not completely committed to his fundamentalist faith and I was happy to welcome him to the LDS church. Not long after he converted, we began courting. Soon we were married in the temple, but my husband wasn’t really interested in either his new faith or the branch of fundamentalism he’d been raised in. In fact, he had very little spiritual conviction.

“His family, however, fascinated me. I would tell my friends, “My in-laws are polygamous.” I was proud to know people in a subculture. They were a novelty.

“One of the reasons I was so transfixed by Adam’s relatives was that they were so outwardly normal. In fact, they were completely conventional and contemporary. They didn’t live behind closed doors or practice any strange customs. They worked, they participated in the community, they sent their kids to local schools. My in-laws didn’t dress strangely, as some fundamentalist sects did. The women were strong and independent and had an equal say in family affairs with the husbands.

“If only I’d been as enamored with my husband as I was with his family. Unfortunately, Adam and I had problems right from the start. We weren’t spiritually, emotionally, or romantically compatible. We lived together for only six months before he moved out.”

So, Adam converted from fundamentalst to LDS, married Janelle, and then she in turn converted from LDS to fundamentalist (AUB)? Interesting. If they were married in LDS Temple and sealed for " time and eternity", did they get unsealed, or did her conversion automatically break that? I only ask because they make such a big deal about being " spiritually" married.

For instance, what would it take for one of Kody's wives to be spiritually divorced from him (Meri)? Would she just have to repeat "I break with thee" three times ?? I find this all confusing and fascinating at the same time.