New TLC Special, "My Five Wives"

[silverspoons]

Did anyone else think that was a creepy intro? Brady opening his eyes to each wife in bed?

The ratings were 1.483. TLC signed then because they agreed to show more about themselves, sex lives, fights etc. The Dargers, of my 3 wives, declined TLC's offer so we get the Williams (or I like to call them the 6 Brady's, since they do have 5 boys and a dad named Brady!).

The show has 8 episode run and without the kids, the adults are dull.

[Earthshine]

The family seems a little more interesting than Sister Wives. The women actually work! And the husband works hard and is in school. They each have their own home. He rotates every night to each house. Doesn't seem like the wives even talk to each other very much!

Does anyone know why they left the faith?

I suspect Brady going to school and majoring in philosophy helped that along. I've known several people who've gotten a philosophy course or several under their belts and it's the catalyst for deconversion.

[Cheetah]

I watched it, and then went back and found the pilot since I hadn't watched that back when it aired. Seemed reasonably entertaining in the same genre as the rest of TLC's stuff. The wives seemed interesting in that they had jobs outside of the home and were willing to crack jokes about 'we don't all sleep together... oh except that one night in Vegas..'. On the other hand, several of them seemed pretty emotionally fragile. As someone else mentioned, Nonie really flipped out over a very minor thing.

anyway, will keep watching this one for now.

[carebear]

I'm interested to see how this show develops.

[Rescinded and Mended]

Maybe they're just committed to each other? Or at least to the husband? If they left the religion after they'd all been married, especially if they all left together, I could see this happening. I mean, if you went from believing totally in polygamy, to even not thinking it's such a good idea in theory, then that still doesn't mean you're going to abandon people that you care about, especially your children. Although if this religious break is recent, one or more of the wives might eventually decide to go it alone. Anyway, my point is, even though I can't imagine polygamy is good for anyone, I can definitely still see why someone might stay in it even if they don't believe they have to anymore.

True, and one instance I can think of involved the parents having to seriously re-evaluate why they lived together.

Brent Jeffs, who was expelled from the FLDS and wrote a book about his experiences (Lost Boy), talked about why his family was excommunicated and the aftermath of leaving their faith. Brent's brother committed suicide, so the family decided to hold a funeral for him. Brent's uncle, Warren Jeffs, decided this was unacceptable, so he expelled them. After they got out, Brent's father, mother and his aunt (who was also his mom's sister-wife) all got a place together. Problem is, his mom and aunt hated each other - we are talking knock-down, drag-out slugfests, complete with kicking and punching. The way Brent tells it, he couldn't figure out why they were all still together since they were no longer in the religion, and especially since the two wives hated each other.

Eventually, Brent's aunt moved out with her children, and his dad went from household to household for awhile. That eventually came to an end, and he now lives fulltime with Brent's mom.

[skankbiscuit]

That Nonie wife grates on my last nerve. Her histrionics were embarrassing to watch. Interesting she is the 4th wife and she seems to dominate the rest, and is the most demanding wife of the bunch. She reminds me of Meri, but I think I like Nonie even less.

[bumblebee]

The ratings were 1.483. TLC signed then because they agreed to show more about themselves, sex lives, fights etc. The Dargers, of my 3 wives, declined TLC's offer so we get the Williams (or I like to call them the 6 Brady's, since they do have 5 boys and a dad named Brady!).

IMO the Dargers wanted a reality show just as badly as the Browns/Williams but they made for a boring special as they hid their dysfunction better with Joe's control and organisation. Funny how whenever a reality show got cancelled after one season or who's series never got picked up it's always "their decision". Brady is more of a "Kody type" and the wives seem even more emotionally messed up than the Brown wives. And yes they agreed to be filmed in bed and discussing sex and sleeping arrangements which I can't imagine the Darger's would do.

It's a different dynamic to the Browns but I have a feeling the train is going to come off the tracks even faster. They couldn't even "play nice" for the cameras even a little in the first episode.

[Earthshine]

That Nonie wife grates on my last nerve. Her histrionics were embarrassing to watch. Interesting she is the 4th wife and she seems to dominate the rest, and is the most demanding wife of the bunch. She reminds me of Meri, but I think I like Nonie even less.

Nonie really seems like the Meri of the this bunch. I couldn't figure out why she flipped out; either it was edited bigtime or she really is that bad. It seems like several of the wives have a hard time communicating with each other and she kills the attempt to address the situation. I guess time will tell if this was a rare occasion or everyone has to walk on eggshells around her.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I saw them on Bethenny (only reason I watched that show). All five wives grew up in polygamy so I find it fascinating that they all gave it up. Seems rare to me. In an article I read it said they teach their kids about love, tolerance, and Buddhist teachings.

Show is boring. That Noni was freaking over nothing. I'd like to hear what the teens have to say.

[Alachantal]

Nonie seems like she's absolutely bat shit crazy. Like one of those chick's who is all happy and nice and then explodes for no reason randomly. She's just as bad as Meri so far..can't stand her. The other women seem pretty decent. My favourite so far has to be Rosemary (I think that's her name, the larger one) she just strikes me as a sweetheart.

Honestly though, I'd rather hear about their religion and how they make the sister wives thing work in their family than their sex lives or any other drama bulshit. I guess id rather have a documentary than a TLC show then.

[Coconut Flan]

I heard TLC passed on the Dargers because they weren't different enough from the Browns and their special didn't get high enough ratings.

Nonie is going to dance on my last nerve if she keeps up the exaggerated emotional drama.

[Earthshine]

Nonie seems like she's absolutely bat shit crazy. Like one of those chick's who is all happy and nice and then explodes for no reason randomly. She's just as bad as Meri so far..can't stand her. The other women seem pretty decent. My favourite so far has to be Rosemary (I think that's her name, the larger one) she just strikes me as a sweetheart.

Honestly though, I'd rather hear about their religion and how they make the sister wives thing work in their family than their sex lives or any other drama bulshit. I guess id rather have a documentary than a TLC show then.

Last year, NatGeo ran a 6 episode series about the polygamists of Centennial Park. It was called Polygamy, USA. It was done in a style that was a little more serious than the TLC plyg shows, but there were plenty of snarkable moments. It was the best of both worlds.

[Toothfairy]

The title is misleading. Legally in America you can only have one spouse. If this is acceptable then why can't gay marriage be acceptable? Tlc should do a show about gay parents/families

[DarkAnts]

Did they talk about which group they belonged to? I would love to know.

[Earthshine]

The Williams family left the AUB. It wasn't said on the show, but this news story talks about it:

kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_9997.shtml

[DGayle]

The title is misleading. Legally in America you can only have one spouse. If this is acceptable then why can't gay marriage be acceptable? Tlc should do a show about gay parents/families

Symbolic marriage. Sometimes people without marriage licenses still call themselves spouses because they see themselves that way. Doesn't mean you get government benefits and rights for more than the legal spouse.

[silverspoons]

IMO the Dargers wanted a reality show just as badly as the Browns/Williams but they made for a boring special as they hid their dysfunction better with Joe's control and organisation. Funny how whenever a reality show got cancelled after one season or who's series never got picked up it's always "their decision". Brady is more of a "Kody type" and the wives seem even more emotionally messed up than the Brown wives. And yes they agreed to be filmed in bed and discussing sex and sleeping arrangements which I can't imagine the Darger's would do.

It's a different dynamic to the Browns but I have a feeling the train is going to come off the tracks even faster. They couldn't even "play nice" for the cameras even a little in the first episode.

The Dargers said that TLC offered them a show, but TLC wanted certain storylines and editing them did not feel comfortable with. The had been involved with TLC on sister wives and their special and were un happy with the producers directions and lack of control. The Dargers would have been the ideal show for TLC without any magic edit. They live in one house with one kitchen which makes it less like the single mom (possible welfare0 situations and more like a family. One of the older Darger girls married in CP, so we could have had some crossover with people from Polygamy USA.

I also think the Dargers need the money the least. I'm sure they need or would like extra money with college and weddings coming up, but their day to day living expenses are much much lower then Kody or Brady's.

[Alachantal]

Last year, NatGeo ran a 6 episode series about the polygamists of Centennial Park. It was called Polygamy, USA. It was done in a style that was a little more serious than the TLC plyg shows, but there were plenty of snarkable moments. It was the best of both worlds.

Awesome, thank you. We always get things late in Canada, but I'll look for it online. :)

[Toothfairy]

How come a man can have 5 wives but a woman can't have 5 husbands?

[Earthshine]

How come a man can have 5 wives but a woman can't have 5 husbands?

Because a man needs lots of women to have his spirit babies when he gets his own planet. Or because Joseph Smith was a greedy bastard who didn't want didn't want to share women. If you can control who gets a wife, you can control your cult. And for some reason, people still believe this stuff. :shock:

[patsymae]

From watching the first episode, have to say that I find the people pretty boring, but their situation is interesting--they were part of the UAB, the same group the Brown's belong to, most (all?) of the women were raised in polygamy and the plural marriage was part of their religion/culture. But now they think the religion is BS, they don't fit into their community, and yet they are in the "lifestyle."

I wonder if they are really committed to the "lifestyle" or just stuck with it as they were entrenched with one another and all those kids before the great awakening. And if the TV show is a needed source of income for them, as it does seem that Dad is burning the candle at both ends.

Not sure I'm interested enough to watch again, though. It's kind of like Real Housewives of Utah.

[Earthshine]

The Nonie meltdown has me hooked. Then again, I'm a sucker for plyg shows.

I wonder if this practice is part of the reason why they don't feel welcome in their neighborhood: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Order

[No Cure for Stupid]

When I mentioned polyandry, I didn't mean like "Polyamory: Married and Dating." I mean, something like "Sister Wives" although, I've never watched it or any polygamous shows; they seem rather misogynistic to me. A woman with multiple husbands that isn't mostly softcore porn. "Polyamory" to me just seemed like an excuse to sleep around, and one of the women seemed really miserable.

[ricky_ticky]

How come a man can have 5 wives but a woman can't have 5 husbands?

I think it's the old double standard that says a woman w multiple partners is a slut and a man w many "wives" is a stud. That's partly what makes the practice (as it is played out here) misogynistic. The wives compete w each other for the man's attention & love. (Witness Rosemary's poor body image.) The women are (mostly) dependent upon the man although it would be interesting to see the fall-out of a wife of independent means leaving the marriage & suing for child support. (Rosemary again?)

The mere thought of a wife w multiple husbands is abhorrent to most plygs.

[lizziesmom]

The title is misleading. Legally in America you can only have one spouse. If this is acceptable then why can't gay marriage be acceptable? Tlc should do a show about gay parents/families

Please, no. They would exploit every conceivable stereotype applied to gays. There is no 'upside' in such an event.