Sister Wives: Kody the Idiot Divorces Meri to Marry Robyn

[DGayle]

Re: abuse of welfare

That's another thing that bothers me about the Browns. The nonlegal wives (Meri is the only legal wife) almost certainly get welfare benefits. The children of those wives will get nice college scholarships and financial aid because on paper, they have unemployed single mothers with multiple children.

Don't even get me started on their numerous bankruptcies.

If Meri's kid(s) (I don't know how many they all have) goes to college, Kody can claim all the kids, and take his ECE down to nothing. Even on paper, the kids of the non-legal wives have to claim him and his income. FAFSA doesn't care if parents are married, split, of never married. All the kids have to claim their moms and Kody.

If the non-legal wives want to be legal, they have to claim Kody's support, and if they say they get nothing, DHS would, at least in all the states I know of for sure, file for support on behalf of the kids DHS is paying welfare for. I doubt the non-legal wives would be dumb enough to not claim him when there's such a high risk someone in the DHS office has seen them on TV and car fire up a red flag. And nope, claiming he gets all the show money won't work, even if it's true. That's why they make you declare the father. It's to catch people trying to find loopholes.

I doubt they get welfare now, but they probably did before the show.

[Cleopatra7]

I've tried to get into SW but the adults on this show seem so boring and self-absorbed. I think this show would be a lot more interesting if they would explain the religious reasoning behind why they live the way they do, but like the Duggars, I bet TLC doesn't want to delve into the more controversial aspects of what the Browns believe. Actually, what I really want to know is what the Browns think about black people, since Mormon fundamentalists don't believe in the "revelation" that allowed black men into the priesthood of the mainstream LDS church, but that's definitely something that TLC won't touch.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I think they used to get a ton of welfare benefits before they were famous - Christine at least was getting food stamps. But now they would be stupid to try to food the government.

I am still annoyed they even bought those four houses they couldn't afford. It will all end badly. Meri living all alone in her 7 bedroom house with a wetbar. #Iliterallycant

Christine was mad not so much because of the comment, but because she doesn't feel like Kody has her back. Kody didn't get that.

I don't dislike Kody really, but their entire family is dysfunctional.

Cleopatra, Kody's church, the AUB, is super racist. They would never allow blacks to have the priesthood. I will go find some links. They also do not believe in salvation without polygamy so I do not understand how they always say they are ok with the kids doing whatever they want. How can they be when it goes against all of their beliefs?

[socalrules]

I am sure that Christine was getting welfare before the show. She didn't work and was not legally married to Kody. She was a perfect candidate. She could even claim she didn't live with him because the property was broken down into three units. No way could they support all those people with with Janelle and Kody's full time jobs and Meri's part time job. The mortgage and food costs alone would wipe them out. I remember in one of the first episodes Christine proudly showing off her huge pantry of food. No way was that not bought with food stamps. I always thought they left Utah because of some type of allegation of welfare fraud.

If they start losing the houses, I think that Meri and Kody will be the only ones who keep their house. Kody's name is only on Meri's house. I don't see him wanting to downgrade. Janelle will be smart enough to try and get rid of her before she loses it but Christine and Robyn will be out of luck. Kody always seems to take care of Kody first. I do not see him just walking away from his mini-mansion. He will also never leave Meri because, as the legal wife, Meri gets half of everything. Now I know that is next to nothing but it is still leverage. If he ever gets sick, she will make decisions, not the other wives or kids. As sorry as we can feel for her, she has more power than any other wife and she knows it. I thought it was telling that Kody once said that Meri's house was the quiet house. Now that she has no kids in the house, I bet he spends a lot of time there because he can relax and not have anyone bothering him.

[ViolaSebastian]

I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole looking for what exactly it is Kody does for a living. As far as I can tell, he's currently only a "reality TV star." Apparently they make in the neighborhood of 50,000 a show. Which goes a long way to supporting 17 kids. Before the show, Kody appeared to work in internet advertising, whatever the hell that means. Janelle had her own business called "EZ Pantry" which did its business in the food storage industry. Apparently Mormons are instructed to keep a certain amount of food on hand at all times for an impending disaster or the tribulation or what have you. I don't think she still has that business, however. Meri doesn't have a job currently, although she had one before the show. Robin and Christine took care of the children.

They were not doing well at all. Kody and Meri filed for bankruptcy in 2005, and Christine filed for bankruptcy in 2010. They were heavily, heavily in debt from the looks of it.

So...basically they live of the TLC money, it looks like. And my ultra-lucrative jewelry business, of course. Which I think is a plot device created so they'd have something to bitch about and to create drama.

I fall squarely into the camp that I think plural marriages (either multiple wives or multiple husbands) ought to be allowed, provided the people are consenting adults with the full knowledge of what they're getting into. I'm not terribly keen on people producing more children than they can support, however, and it appears the Browns did just that.

[Cleopatra7]

I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole looking for what exactly it is Kody does for a living. As far as I can tell, he's currently only a "reality TV star." Apparently they make in the neighborhood of 50,000 a show. Which goes a long way to supporting 17 kids. Before the show, Kody appeared to work in internet advertising, whatever the hell that means. Janelle had her own business called "EZ Pantry" which did its business in the food storage industry. Apparently Mormons are instructed to keep a certain amount of food on hand at all times for an impending disaster or the tribulation or what have you. I don't think she still has that business, however. Meri doesn't have a job currently, although she had one before the show. Robin and Christine took care of the children.

They were not doing well at all. Kody and Meri filed for bankruptcy in 2005, and Christine filed for bankruptcy in 2010. They were heavily, heavily in debt from the looks of it.

So...basically they live of the TLC money, it looks like. And my ultra-lucrative jewelry business, of course. Which I think is a plot device created so they'd have something to bitch about and to create drama.

I fall squarely into the camp that I think plural marriages (either multiple wives or multiple husbands) ought to be allowed, provided the people are consenting adults with the full knowledge of what they're getting into. I'm not terribly keen on people producing more children than they can support, however, and it appears the Browns did just that.

I've also wondered how the Browns support themselves, especially since they've always come across as superficially middle class and mainstream, unlike the early Duggar specials where the family lived in cramped and spartan quarters that screamed out, "We're members of a fringe fundamentalist sect." For a family of the Browns size to be financially secure, it seems like at least three of the adults should have been working full0time, but it seems like pre-show the work histories of these people was/is rather sketchy. Part of this could be from not wanting to be outed as polygamists, but it's my understanding that Utah generally looks the other way as far as polygamy is concerned as long as welfare fraud, underage marriages, or incest aren't involved. A more likely explanation is that the Browns are simply irresponsible and value the principle of polygamy over responsibly planning how such a huge household could best work, which could include misuse of government money.

Also, the impression I've always had is that Meri really wants to be the only wife, but is too much of a True Believer in polygamy to consider monogamy. Based on the little bit I've seen from this season, I think some of the other wives are also getting to that same point.

[eh02]

They were not doing well at all. Kody and Meri filed for bankruptcy in 2005, and Christine filed for bankruptcy in 2010. They were heavily, heavily in debt from the looks of it.

:pink-shock:

I am still annoyed they even bought those four houses they couldn't afford. It will all end badly. Meri living all alone in her 7 bedroom house with a wetbar.

The Meri house - OMFG. Why was NOBODY WILLING to smack Meri over the head and tell her NO, we cannot afford your own enormous, empty house just because we "split things equally" between the wives? Especially when they are clearly not stable financially. Or really, stable in any sense of the word. And how is the house distribution even equal to begin with? That's like saying one single person living in a studio is getting an "equal" living situation compared to a family of 8 living in a studio. Uh, NOPE. I mean, I feel for her that she couldn't have more kids, but give me a break. Is everyone supposed to tiptoe around Meri and give her special treatment for the rest of her life because of it? Princess Meri gets her own huge house because how dare someone say she might not actually need it since she LIVES ALONE?

That family is a mess. Kody is painful to watch. He is pretty convinced that he's the coolest guy around and I think his children loathe him. Meri is a bitter, whining baby. The other wives all seem like they are still trying really hard to convince themselves they actually want to be in that family. Janelle seems way too smart to still be there. Robyn just strikes me as someone who was desperate for a structured family after her last marriage was so traumatic. And I don't really know about Christine. She's probably just too delusional to see how awful it is. I can't watch the show anymore - stresses me out too much. And that's saying a lot with the type of trash TV I can watch and enjoy...

[Pretzel]

Yeah, his kids really loathe him. Has anyone seen this clip with Madison? Is if from an episode?

OMG, she hates him. He says "I want you to be happy" and she's just like "'kay :roll: ".

Good for Madison to see through the whole bullshit. I think Janelle was probably the wife who suffered the most from the quarrels and I feel for her kids who had to see her be so unhappy.

[Pretzel]

I think I have to correct myself 'cause I got some facts mixed up after watching a few more episodes. Janelle said Kody never said anything about her weight and I remembered it as him giving her a hard time about her weight. So yeah, he's probably more considerate than I thought.

However, despite the train wreck factor I have to grant them that they seem to allow their kids to find their own path. They have stated that they'd feel like they failed their kids if the kids don't adopt their lifestyle but I think at the same time the moms and Kody all realized that they can't stop the kids from maturing and from distancing themselves. Kody doesn't seem too strict. He's trying to connect with his kids but I think he already realized most of them think he's an annoying doofus and is cautious but not infringing.

Also, the SW kids are allowed to mature and live a life on their own unlike most all of the evangelical fundamentalists' adult children.

The Browns don't seem to be anti-career or anti-intellectualism and though the adults are mostly lazy bums, they support their children in pursuing a career which is something I just miss so much with all the other fundies. KB's twisted believes are one thing but he obviously has enough faith in them and the faith of his children to not think that public school will corrupt them.

ETA: Here's the episode I was watching this morning and used as a reference of the above^

I'm cutting Kody some slack for publicly stating that while he'd like to impose his believes on his kids, he acknowledges the fact that some things are just beyond his control and that at a certain point he needs to let them go and find their own path.

Big plus to the Browns for having faith in their kids and their upbringing. It made me almost tear up a little when they talked about Logan and his life choices and how Kody and Janelle seemed to respect that Logan must follow the calling he is getting not what they would prefer him to do. That's one really healthy move in an otherwise rather dysfunctional family.

[16strong]

Put me in the camp that does not have anything against poly marriages being legal, provided all members are in complete agreement and sign appropriate legal documents to support this.

As for the sister wives? I agree with others here. They'll lose the houses. I also think that very few, if any, of the kids will pursue a poly lifestyle.

[Pretzel]

Anyone else think Kody looks like Brian Krause? I just can't get over the flowing 'do, though. :wtf:

[Rachel333]

I actually think his kids seem to really like him and feel comfortable with him. I do commend them for saying that whatever path their children choose is okay with them. I know one of the wives said that with that many children odds are high that one or more is gay, and they will love their children no matter what.

[Pretzel]

I like them for being surprisingly honest about their life even if it concerns the ugly parts. Christine once said that when they're about to travel or go on bigger trips she relies on Aspyn and Mykelti so much and she's really at a loss if she doesn't have their help with the younger kids. I don't think we'd ever hear that line from a Duggar or Maxwell.

I think at this time in their life they're just so exhausted and worn out from the polygamous life they created that ventin g on camera and just saying out loud what bothers them seems like a big relief for every one of them.

[browncoatslytherin]

If Meri's kid(s) (I don't know how many they all have) goes to college, Kody can claim all the kids, and take his ECE down to nothing. Even on paper, the kids of the non-legal wives have to claim him and his income. FAFSA doesn't care if parents are married, split, of never married. All the kids have to claim their moms and Kody.

i don't know if this changed, but the first time i applied for the fafsa, before i was 24, my parents were divorced and i only had to put down the info of one parent (i chose my mum, as she made far less. but i still didn't qualify because she still made too much.). after i was 24, though, it didn't matter, i didn't have to list anyone's info but my own.

[acireta]

I think this show lost me when Kody was lecturing his daughter and her boyfriend about the "biological fact" that when you kiss someone, their hormones go into your mouth. Maybe pheromones but still :cray-cray:

[browncoatslytherin]

I think this show lost me when Kody was lecturing his daughter and her boyfriend about the "biological fact" that when you kiss someone, their hormones go into your mouth. Maybe pheromones but still :cray-cray:

i love how fundies love to present themselves as scientifically knowledgeable when they really have none. it's like they can't admit once that they don't know something.

[eh02]

Letting their kids make some choices for themselves might seem nice, but it's still not enough. I'm glad they are encouraged to go to college, find their own passions and interests etc. in ways that fundie kids can't, sure. But it's not like it's a contest of which parent can be the absolute worst. On TLC, it seems like they're all awful in their own special way, maybe with The Little Couple as the very rare and refreshing exception (I love them!).

Kids need a balance of structure and freedom that's age appropriate. The Duggars get structure but NO freedom. They know their place in the family and have boundaries, which in a lot of ways is comforting to children, though obviously the extent to which the Duggars take it is...not ideal. And I think the SW households really suffer from no structure. Everything looks like constant chaos. The kids are told to find their own way while simultaneously having parents who are miserable, immature, and weirdly, quietly religiously fanatical. Most viewers are disapproving of them at best, and disgusted by them at worst, and I think their kids are probably damaged by their private lives being very public. I think they have serious issues with mixed messaging and not necessarily knowing the best ways to provide support to their kids.

I mean, we all hate the "keeping sweet" - the attempts at keeping up that illusion of a perfect happy life are disturbing. But watching SW in comparison, yikes. You kind of almost understand why the Duggars do it that way. I can't even imagine how awful it would be to not only see your parents bickering nonstop at home every day, but knowing every friend, teacher, employer, significant other, random stranger etc. can watch those fights, too. It makes me feel very sad for them. Kody wants attention, plain and simple. It's why he has four wives and it's why he has a shitty TV show. No amount of ego stroking will ever be enough for that child.

[gustava]

I think the early years (before Robyn) were relatively secure for the children. They lived in the same building, but with each family in its own apartment. They were part of their church. It was only when Robyn entered the family, they went public with polygamy, and they "fled" Utah, that things became less structured. However, both Christine and Janelle have been good mothers. Granted, staying with Koduche is crazy and they've been through several bankruptcies. However, the older children appear to be doing well, and even Robyn's son David seems to be "ordinary." I say that because someone I know well goes to school with him.

Moreover, Vegas is a crazy place anyway, and I gather that no one pays much attention to the SW show. Too much else going on there.

[Closed Womb]

:pink-shock:

The Meri house - OMFG. Why was NOBODY WILLING to smack Meri over the head and tell her NO, we cannot afford your own enormous, empty house just because we "split things equally" between the wives? Especially when they are clearly not stable financially. Or really, stable in any sense of the word. And how is the house distribution even equal to begin with? That's like saying one single person living in a studio is getting an "equal" living situation compared to a family of 8 living in a studio. Uh, NOPE. I mean, I feel for her that she couldn't have more kids, but give me a break. Is everyone supposed to tiptoe around Meri and give her special treatment for the rest of her life because of it? Princess Meri gets her own huge house because how dare someone say she might not actually need it since she LIVES ALONE?

That family is a mess. Kody is painful to watch. He is pretty convinced that he's the coolest guy around and I think his children loathe him. Meri is a bitter, whining baby. The other wives all seem like they are still trying really hard to convince themselves they actually want to be in that family. Janelle seems way too smart to still be there. Robyn just strikes me as someone who was desperate for a structured family after her last marriage was so traumatic. And I don't really know about Christine. She's probably just too delusional to see how awful it is. I can't watch the show anymore - stresses me out too much. And that's saying a lot with the type of trash TV I can watch and enjoy...

I know it's a minority opinion, but I think Meri deserves the same level of house as the other wives, considering the situation. The Browns built in a new development area and they had limited floor plans to choose from. It's not like a developer is going to put a 2/2 next to a McMansion. These houses need to sell after the inevitable foreclosure or short sale.

I also thing it's not fair at all to ask one wife to live in very modest means while the others have extravagance.

It has been rumored that Meri gets the same grocery budget for her family as the other three wives. Something like that is unfair, IF it's true (I think it stems from the first season when Meri said that she liked to eat more healthy, so people assumed Meri's salmon and Christine's tater tot and fish sticks meant they had the same budget. I haven't actually seen the same food budget for all houses comments confirmed.) I definitely think that the kids should all have the same budget for college, and if Mariah is getting more from the family pot (not her own student loans or Meri giving her money from her household budget), then that's unfair.

They ALL live in houses that seem to be beyond their means (I have no idea what TLC is paying, to maybe they aren't.) If that's the case, they should all be living much simpler. If they did another house like the Lehi house then, yes, Meri's apartment should have only 2-3 bedrooms. But they didn't, and I don't think the only actual wife Kody has should be sent to live in the apartments down the street or one of the other wives' guest rooms just because she has fewer kids or because she gets the bad TV edit.

(And, while I'm WKing for her, so what if she got a wet bar? One of the wives has a pool, other has grass landscaping in Vegas. Keeping grass green in Vegas has to be a much bigger investment than a counter and a second sink.)

[eh02]

I don't know, it still doesn't make sense to me. I'm not suggesting Meri should be living in a shack in the back yard on her own. But it's just irresponsible for a family that has filed bankruptcy multiple times to buy a gigantic house that will sit empty "just to be fair." It's childish and immature. It's shortsighted. And to repeatedly make such irresponsible financial choices is almost criminal.

I don't think it is weird to have different sized houses near each other, either. Are people really that used to new developments where all of the houses are exactly the same that they think it's weird to have different sized houses on the same street? Meri could have had a really beautiful and reasonably sized house right where this house is. 2 or 3 bedrooms, a nice yard...something that makes sense for a family that has FILED BANKRUPTCY multiple times. When you are struggling financially, you don't buy a gigantic house that you do not need just to be "fair." It's a really out of touch way of looking at things. Sometimes what is fair and right isn't necessarily splitting things 50/50. Or in their case, 25/25/25/25...

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Meri gets the same monthly budget as the other women. It's bern discussed on the show and both janelle and Christine commented on it. They have to use their money for their kids and meri buys nice things.

[Closed Womb]

I don't know, it still doesn't make sense to me. I'm not suggesting Meri should be living in a shack in the back yard on her own. But it's just irresponsible for a family that has filed bankruptcy multiple times to buy a gigantic house that will sit empty "just to be fair." It's childish and immature. It's shortsighted. And to repeatedly make such irresponsible financial choices is almost criminal.

I don't think it is weird to have different sized houses near each other, either. Are people really that used to new developments where all of the houses are exactly the same that they think it's weird to have different sized houses on the same street? Meri could have had a really beautiful and reasonably sized house right where this house is. 2 or 3 bedrooms, a nice yard...something that makes sense for a family that has FILED BANKRUPTCY multiple times. When you are struggling financially, you don't buy a gigantic house that you do not need just to be "fair." It's a really out of touch way of looking at things. Sometimes what is fair and right isn't necessarily splitting things 50/50. Or in their case, 25/25/25/25...

Obviously, we won't agree on this. But, for this development (and numerous other new construction areas) all of the houses had the same look/size and a small house was not an option. So, Meri couldn't have lived in the cul-de-sac and have a modest house.

I don't share these people's values and, again, I think 2 million dollars worth of houses for people that can't seem to do anything other than be public spectacles is unwise (although, seems to work for the Kardashians.) But, I personally find it bothersome when people think that children give value to the adults. Just like someone childless shouldn't be fired from their job because a parent "needs it more", or inheritances shouldn't be bigger for children that have produced grandchildren (I know people who have done that, again because people with kids/more kids "need it more"), if this is a partnership, I think Meri deserves the same quality living conditions as the others. The only problem here is that they should all be living in modest houses in a neighborhood that has the same quality 2/2 as it would 3/4.

[Closed Womb]

Meri gets the same monthly budget as the other women. It's bern discussed on the show and both janelle and Christine commented on it. They have to use their money for their kids and meri buys nice things.

I know it's been discussed here as fact, but I've seen all of the episodes and I can't find that. Is it in the book? Can you direct me to the source? Thanks.

[Coconut Flan]

If they took those houses, they had no choice but go with the already approved floor plans. That was why Meri ended up with an extra room to get the wet bar. The specific plans had already been approved by the city/county.

Another part of the problem is that since Meri has the only legal marriage, her house is the one with Kody's name on it. So he also would be getting the smaller house.

What reasonable people would have done would have been to buy in a different neighborhood with more options. Although then they probably would have had to qualify for regular mortgages and they more than likely couldn't.

[Letgo]

I know it's been discussed here as fact, but I've seen all of the episodes and I can't find that. Is it in the book? Can you direct me to the source? Thanks.

I looked over past episode content and I think it was discussed during season 3 when they were making house choices. It may be episode 16, but I couldn't find it online for free so I couldn't check for sure. They definitely discussed the fact that each wife received the same amount, regardless of the number of children she had. I recall Janelle saying that she sometimes struggled to feed her kids while Meri could afford extras. Meri thinks they should all get the same amount because to do it any other way "punishes" her for her infertility. She would have had a bunch of kids if she had been able to have them. Allotting less to her for the monthly budget or for the houses is just unfair. Either is punishing her for not having children, at least in her mind.

I'm guessing this equal money practice began years ago when they were having babies. I'm sure Meri was upset over her fertility issues while Janelle and Christine had repeated successful pregnancies. Meri probably viewed everything through the lens of infertility, including money. She probably had fits about how the money was divided because she deserved an equal share as a wife and the number of children shouldn't matter. I would guess that Kody gave in to her demands because it was easier than to put his foot down and do what was best for ALL family members. I think each wife should get the same base amount and then an additional amount based on the number of children and their ages and even the sexes. Teenage boys are expensive to feed! Teenagers also have more expensive clothing and activities than say, 5-10 year olds. Janelle, with only one child not yet in her teens must have hefty food bills. I'd hate to have to feed Hunter, Garrison, and Gabriel, plus Logan when he is home. I think she deserves way more money for her food budget. But I'm sure that would be unfair to Meri.