BRADRICK! Divorce Part 3: Now With Remarriage?

[browngrl]

Thanks to the people posting flashbacks. It has been a very long time since I read those old posts and I had forgotten the level of fundie crazy. I can see why Scott Brown is silent about Kelly and Peter but I also feel sad for the silence. There is a certain relief you can get just from admitting the truth. Even if you are stuck handling the sequelae (as Kelly likely is) it feels better to come clean. Instead everyone involved in this situation either gets to shoulder the weight of silence or the effort of trying to keep up a lie. 

[Lisafer]

15 hours ago, Georgiana said:

The first thing I ever knew about Kelly was that she rolled under a fence.  Fundies just COULDN'T stop talking about her pure and demure fence rolling, and even a young and ignorant Gee thought to herself "Lord, imagine being known for rolling under a fence!"  Not that I haven't squeezed under a few fence-bars in my time, but to be KNOWN for that?  How embarrassing!

And then imagine marrying the guy who can think of nothing better to praise you for than your fence-rolling!  And then having it end in a messy divorce with a hasty remarriage!

Poor Kelly.  In her life, who HASN'T failed her?

That is just the saddest thing. If she'd climbed the fence like a normal person, she wouldn't have gone down in VF annals as the fence-roller. 

[starfish]

Free Kelly! 

[ophelia]

Is Kelly's younger sister, Claudia, still at home and unmarried? 

[Bethella]

23 hours ago, ophelia said:

Is Kelly's younger sister, Claudia, still at home and unmarried? 

She's still unmarried. I don't follow them to know if she still lives at home or not.

[ophelia]

This strikes me as odd. Scott Brown made such a huge deal out of marrying off his older kids while still very young so they could have as many kids as possible and yet Claudia remains unmarried.

I hope this is Claudias decision and that she might GASP is getting a degree or something. My fear is though that she stays single and at home so that Deborah Brown has someone to share the homemaking duties with and too look after the aging grandparents.

[AnnaSofia]

I could be a bit off on the ages, but I think Scott's daughters tended to marry in their early 20s, I wanna say around 22 for Kelly, and 23 for Blair. Claudia is considerably younger than her sisters, and might only be 23 or 24-ish at this point, so it's not so terribly off the mark for the Brown family if she's still single. But I wholeheartedly agree that it would be awesome if the family learned *something* from the Kelly/Peter debacle, and let Claudia pursue a higher education and/or job skills. Fingers crossed.

It's actually Scott's son David who married super young, 17 or 18. Blair's husband, Taylor, was 17 when then got married.

I suspect the line of thinking was that if a boy had "raging hormones" and the usual fundie discipline didn't take, best to give him a legal, godly outlet for it ASAP. Girls, on the other hand, were expected to have better control of themselves (and, probably, not to have a sex drive at all prior to marriage), so they could stay at home and devote their lives to creepy father worship a bit longer. There was also a tendency in NCFIC/VF for brides a few years older than their grooms; I've always assumed that was due to the benevolent sexism trope of "a more mature wife will make sure he tows the line". All the while never suggesting her husband is anything but head of their household, of course

[refugee]

On 1/8/2019 at 7:42 AM, Lisafer said:

That is just the saddest thing. If she'd climbed the fence like a normal person, she wouldn't have gone down in VF annals as the fence-roller. 

I have trouble imagining climbing over a fence in an ankle-length denim skirt. Wasn’t that what she was wearing?

[DomWackTroll]

20 minutes ago, refugee said:

I have trouble imagining climbing over a fence in an ankle-length denim skirt. Wasn’t that what she was wearing?

Yes, like many daughters of Dominionism, she was purposely hobbled. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

The rolling under the fence story reminds me of a long forgotten memory. My great grandmother’s aunt (so my great great grand aunt?) was a very blunt person. I was 12 and went with my great grandmother to get aunt a pair of shoes. I sat next to her while she tried on shoes and she slapped my thigh and said “you’re a sturdy girl! A real sturdy girl!” I think she meant it as some sort of complement but I definitely didn’t take it that way. She came from strong midwestern farmers so I guess I would’ve made a great broodmare and farmer in her eyes, lol. And yes, I was an enormous 12 year old

[AnnaSofia]

<--- Sturdy midwestern birthin' hips here

I ran across Blair's old blog the other day while looking for something else. Not too much there (and a couple of annoying "image not found" squares perpetually floating in the background), but it covers the years in between Kelly's wedding and Blair's.

http://raisedinthebarn.blogspot.com/

Lots of pics of Kelly's babies, David's engagement, NCFIC interns, and the aforementioned movement hobbling ankle skirts.

 

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

23 minutes ago, AnnaSofia said:

<--- Sturdy midwestern birthin' hips here

I ran across Blair's old blog the other day while looking for something else. Not too much there (and a couple of annoying "image not found" squares perpetually floating in the background), but it covers the years in between Kelly's wedding and Blair's.

http://raisedinthebarn.blogspot.com/

Lots of pics of Kelly's babies, David's engagement, NCFIC interns, and the aforementioned movement hobbling ankle skirts.

 

 

We definitely have great birthing hips in my family! My mom had two big babies, my sister had one huge baby and one average baby, I had one large baby and one average baby and they were all vaginal. There were very few c sections in that side of the family. I really do think there is a genetic component there. I have no idea how I pushed out my kids who have heads the size of watermelons ?

[Lisafer]

1 hour ago, refugee said:

I have trouble imagining climbing over a fence in an ankle-length denim skirt. Wasn’t that what she was wearing?

Oh, it shouldn't have been too much trouble unless the skirt was tight (haha, right). My sisters and I did all kinds of exercise and shit in long skirts because we had no choice. I always figured Kelly was just tooooo modest to accidentally reveal a patch of leg above the ankle!

Edit: just saw the post above. If that was the type of skirt she was wearing on that epic day, you'd definitely need to hike it a little to get OVER a fence, but rolling could likewise be difficult. 

[Leftitinmysnood]

Long ago, when Mr. Snood and I were not yet courting, we went hiking with a group and I fell climbing over a fallen tree in a denim skirt. He's spent 20 years kicking himself for not saying, "screw purity culture" and offering me his hand for assistance. (I wouldn't have taken it, I had a Jezebel spirit even then, which is why I was going over and not under the log.)

On the other hand, I could ski, skate, and play tennis in a long skirt, just fine.

[Bethella]

On 1/10/2019 at 3:21 AM, AnnaSofia said:

I could be a bit off on the ages, but I think Scott's daughters tended to marry in their early 20s, I wanna say around 22 for Kelly, and 23 for Blair. Claudia is considerably younger than her sisters, and might only be 23 or 24-ish at this point, so it's not so terribly off the mark for the Brown family if she's still single.

Claudia turned 24 in September. Kelly and Blair were both 22 when they got married although Blair’s was just before her birthday.

[MamaJunebug]

3 hours ago, refugee said:

I have trouble imagining climbing over a fence in an ankle-length denim skirt. Wasn’t that what she was wearing?

If not denim, certainly long. In either case: Mission accomplished! Hobble the woman, restrict her freedom of movement!

[ViolaSebastian]

It's always struck me as odd that Kelly was described as "sturdy." In her wedding photos she looks almost waifishly thin and petite.

[Georgiana]

While you certainly CAN climb over a fence in an ankle length skirt, you may have to bunch your skirt up to do so.  Not to immodest levels, but probably to your knee or just around.  Women have been wearing long skirts on farms for eons, even during times with strict social modesty norms, and fence-rolling has never been common, so there are practical and modest ways to navigate farmland in long skirts.  Women certainly didn't spend the 1800s trapped in pastures by post fences they were unable to exit without resorting to scandal.

But that was Peter's whole deal: Kelly was SO INCREDIBLY MODEST AND DEMURE that she wouldn't DREAM of lifting her skirt in the SLIGHTEST while menfolk were around...not even in a modest and practical way!  This signified that she was the PUREST of all Christian maids, for she would roll on the ground rather than even SUGGEST immodesty! Can you even comprehend her superior purity?!?!

I always thought it made Kelly look rather silly, and Peter rather fragile.  But I'm a solid, practical woman who has always preferred long skirts even as a child, and I've hopped many a fence in ankle-length skirts of all materials.  Post fences aren't even hard to hop modestly in a skirt, because you can usually keep your legs together and swing them over.  But that is a show of some sort of physical strength, and so I wouldn't get points for demurring like Kelly did.  

[Lisafer]

30 minutes ago, Georgiana said:

While you certainly CAN climb over a fence in an ankle length skirt, you may have to bunch your skirt up to do so.  Not to immodest levels, but probably to your knee or just around.  Women have been wearing long skirts on farms for eons, even during times with strict social modesty norms, and fence-rolling has never been common, so there are practical and modest ways to navigate farmland in long skirts.  Women certainly didn't spend the 1800s trapped in pastures by post fences they were unable to exit without resorting to scandal.

But that was Peter's whole deal: Kelly was SO INCREDIBLY MODEST AND DEMURE that she wouldn't DREAM of lifting her skirt in the SLIGHTEST while menfolk were around...not even in a modest and practical way!  This signified that she was the PUREST of all Christian maids, for she would roll on the ground rather than even SUGGEST immodesty! Can you even comprehend her superior purity?!?!

I always thought it made Kelly look rather silly, and Peter rather fragile.  But I'm a solid, practical woman who has always preferred long skirts even as a child, and I've hopped many a fence in ankle-length skirts of all materials.  Post fences aren't even hard to hop modestly in a skirt, because you can usually keep your legs together and swing them over.  But that is a show of some sort of physical strength, and so I wouldn't get points for demurring like Kelly did.  

Exactly! So, in the spiritual sense, it was perhaps more immodest of Kelly to attract attention by rolling under the fence than just climbing over!

But who knows: maybe she hadn't shaved her legs in a few weeks and didn't want the menfolk to see her leg hair. ? I'd be pretty lax on the shaving if I wore ankle length skirts all the time.

[MamaJunebug]

2 hours ago, Georgiana said:

While you certainly CAN climb over a fence in an ankle length skirt, you may have to bunch your skirt up to do so.  Not to immodest levels, but probably to your knee or just around.  Women have been wearing long skirts on farms for eons, even during times with strict social modesty norms, and fence-rolling has never been common, so there are practical and modest ways to navigate farmland in long skirts.  Women certainly didn't spend the 1800s trapped in pastures by post fences they were unable to exit without resorting to scandal.

But that was Peter's whole deal: Kelly was SO INCREDIBLY MODEST AND DEMURE that she wouldn't DREAM of lifting her skirt in the SLIGHTEST while menfolk were around...not even in a modest and practical way!  This signified that she was the PUREST of all Christian maids, for she would roll on the ground rather than even SUGGEST immodesty! Can you even comprehend her superior purity?!?!

I always thought it made Kelly look rather silly, and Peter rather fragile.  But I'm a solid, practical woman who has always preferred long skirts even as a child, and I've hopped many a fence in ankle-length skirts of all materials.  Post fences aren't even hard to hop modestly in a skirt, because you can usually keep your legs together and swing them over.  But that is a show of some sort of physical strength, and so I wouldn't get points for demurring like Kelly did.  

Kelly later showed plenty of physical strength hauling buckets of water to the stove first thing in the morning to cook and wash the ever-increasing brood because Manly Man Peter couldn't provide a water heater that worked.  He wrote of it fulsomely, so proud of his sturdy girl [sic].  Gah, it still makes me feel nauseated.

[bea]

What was the deal with that? Why didn’t they have enough for a water heater?

[Georgiana]

1 hour ago, MamaJunebug said:

Kelly later showed plenty of physical strength hauling buckets of water to the stove first thing in the morning to cook and wash the ever-increasing brood because Manly Man Peter couldn't provide a water heater that worked.  He wrote of it fulsomely, so proud of his sturdy girl [sic].  Gah, it still makes me feel nauseated.

Kelly is tough as nails. I thought the whole rolling under the fence thing was silly, but that wasn’t Kelly’s fault, that was the absolutely nuts environment she was raised in that would encourage and praise a woman for rolling on the ground rather than just showing a bit of lower leg. 

I think there are a lot of parallels between Kelly and Jill Duggar. Both were the perfect chaste SAHDs, both had “perfect” love stories with men their fathers developed a relationship with first, both had hyped up weddings, both had a promising honeymoon period with a blessing very quickly....and both ended up in miserable looking marriages with nightmarish husbands who turned against the borg before pulling their families away so they could put their own desires first. 

I know people say Jill and Derick will never divorce, but I don’t think those folks were around for the full force of Kelly and Peter. If the Bradricks can divorce, anyone can. 

[AnnaSofia]

2 hours ago, bea said:

What was the deal with that? Why didn’t they have enough for a water heater?

All those Hazardous Journeys and DPIART branded European tours don't pay for themselves...

[Petronella]

2 hours ago, Georgiana said:

I know people say Jill and Derick will never divorce, but I don’t think those folks were around for the full force of Kelly and Peter. If the Bradricks can divorce, anyone can. 

I don’t follow the Duggars. Is there a specific thread you would recommend for catching up on this?

[LurkerOverThePond]

12 hours ago, AnnaSofia said:

I ran across Blair's old blog the other day while looking for something else. Not too much there (and a couple of annoying "image not found" squares perpetually floating in the background), but it covers the years in between Kelly's wedding and Blair's.

http://raisedinthebarn.blogspot.com/

Lots of pics of Kelly's babies, David's engagement, NCFIC interns, and the aforementioned movement hobbling ankle skirts.

Funny how just a couple of days ago I browsed through that old blog!  That blog is pure VF with virginal young ladies in long skirts having picnic, lots of manly men having manly conversations at random Bible conferences, and lots of cooking and baking at "Nana's kitchen".

Young Master David Brown's bedroom with a sword, a picture of his granddad who is regarded as their semi-God, and some "inspiring" VF-style pictures and words: http://raisedinthebarn.blogspot.com/2008/11/weekend-project.html

David's house in progress, with a picture of a shaved headed man child Taylor Tsantles in Alert-shirt: http://raisedinthebarn.blogspot.com/2008/04/under-construction.html

The golden couple: http://raisedinthebarn.blogspot.com/2008/01/bradrick-family-2008.html

Also, here's the latest picture of Scottie's parents. They look so frail now! I can only recognize two Bradricks there: Triumph and Geneva.  https://ncfic.org/blogs/201000