I do like SW's~~~it is very interesting;)

I also enjoy Sister Wives. DH is watching Football, so I have it DVRed.

You don't have to agree with their lifestyle, but I think it's interesting to see their situation.

I am getting tired of Meri and her drama~~she whines alot. She is the only legal wife and I think she uses that to get what she wants. She used to be my favorite. I could not live like that~~I could maybe share my DH ;) but living so close to other women and having to get along, would make me Beyotchy!!

Indeed Meri's drama is given too much attention: I sometimes feel that Janelle is like a sister to Cody, not really a wife; or it seems that way because Janelle is a more reserved, less exuberant person.

Does anyone know how much they get paid to do this show? Or how much the total costs are on these new homes? I am curious how much they really are worried about 4 mortgages. One mortgage would be enough for any family this large I would think.
I also am a little sick of the crying and whining "drama".
And please tell me how anyone could carry a baby for her husband's other wife and then give the baby to her and live just yards away?

I wonder about the contradiction of "worry" about whether or not each wife/Kody can get the final mortgages and then make the payments
~vs~
Meri/Kody even contemplating possible in vitro fertilization/surrogacy.... that aint cheap!

I can't imagine them proceeding with the building of these big houses without *secure* financing.... so I think they actually know the $ is there. I also think Meri has made a decision to not have another baby. All of this is an effort to keep the drama dangling.

17 kids... & Kody wants more!!! Gah!! Is that "ego" ... or what?

I have to agree - Meri does whine a lot. She seems to have made up her mind to not have another baby. She must be in her late 40's anyway, so it's a tad late to be contemplating it still. As the show goes on, you see more of each wife's personality and Meri seems to be bossy and demanding. I was surprised that she was not willing to compromise on the size of the house or the features and ended up going almost 5k over budget. I understand her wanting to be equal but realistically, her only daughter is going to college in a few months. What do you need a 5 bedroom house for? How much counter space does that wet bar add that she's so adamant about? Geez... Wouldn't it be a better financial decision to have 2 wives share a house and just buy 2 super big houses? They all shared one big house in Utah - why couldn't they in Vegas? There's a lot about this show that I question. They don't seem as happy as they portray.

I'm still waiting for the day where Kody cuts that messy mop of hair off...lol

Meri has dropped from my favorite, to my least. She's too selfish--demanding such a huge house, such expensive perks. And the passive-aggressive thing about not making a decision so Kody and Robyn can't move ahead getting pregnant is ridiculous. I think she feels that she's the 'head' wife and between that and the 'poor me, I can't have any more kids' thing expects special treatment.

I know she says it's for the extra counterspace, etc, but it's such a joke seeing a Mormon demanding a wet bar in their home. They don't drink alcohol, nor even coffee or caffeinated sodas--at least the Mormons I know aren't allowed to. You'd think she'd be concerned about the image that protrayed about the family.

As to the baby situation? I don't think for a moment Meri really wants another one at this point in time. However, she's sort of gotten herself backed into a corner--Mariah wants a sibling, Kody wants more kids, Meri's made such a big deal about it and has had Kody and Robyn's lives on hold for months, as well as her demanding such a large house.... wouldn't be surprised if she ends up feeling she has no choice but to go ahead with trying to have one or lose all credibility.

Did anyone else think the overdone make-up on the talk show afterwards was a bit much?

I really only noticed Robin's eye make up~~Meri always wears an odd shade of foundation to me.

I never thought about Robin and Cody having to wait for another baby, because of Meri~~hm you are right she is passive-aggressive.

They do not drink~~~I am not sure she knew what a wet bar was until the interviewer told her what it was and how odd it sounded to all of us that she was fussing about it. My thought was just use foldng tables for extra serving space.

Does anyone know what Cody does for a job?? I know that Janelle used to work in Utah. Does she now or is she going to do the gym ownership for real? Meri used to work also in Utah, it was said she got fired because she was a plig??

Funny to me Cody is finally thinking of shaving his hair all off after being around that other family, with the nice looking buffed, bald guy???

YUP Meri is making me barf, with her little girl act of being misunderstood. I think Cody understands her perfectly, but does not know what to do with her. The other ladies just had to sit there and listen to the Meri show;(

Janelle used to have a job in Accounting, I believe? Not sure why she couldn't get another job to help with the finances. Early on, she often said how she enjoyed working outside the house.

Meri worked with troubled youth, either as a counselor or ?? Something like that? I guess their show may interfere with getting "normal" jobs now. Or maybe TLC wants them home to be able to film whenever they want? The show must be paying them pretty well to afford 4 new houses!! I also thought they'd be able to find 2 huge houses to share. Seems like they had a good setup in the Utah house.

I even wonder how Cody feels about not having 1 personal private space/room/house for himself. That would be the thing that would drive me most crazy! Not that I feel sorry for him-it's the life he has chosen.

I also don't understand why Meri HAS to have a 5 bedroom with wet bar. She seems like she isn't making ANY compromise with the budget. Frankly, getting the options though the buyer is usually more expensive, but I understand the conveinence factor.

Robin never lived with them in Utah~~~the house they had was built for just 3 wives, they needed different houses/or house there anyway.

I know they get paid for the shows but what does Cody do?? In Utah he went to work, maybe it was pretend work??

All these questions about work made me do a search. I'm sure they are making quite a bit from the show but here is what I found:

It all sounds great but the 'fashion' part. To me they have absolutly no fashion sense. I Have been on their jewlery website when they first started it, but did not see any clothing.

I am glad that they support themselves, in whatever way works for them is great to me;)

I agree on the fashion thing. I don't understand those shirts they wear, most look like the old maternity tops with a knit shirt underneath.
I don't think they are finished with that closet or website yet. They have several websites I've seen.

I still like Meri,she is my favorite, maybe she has reason to whine???

Another part of "work".... Kody seems to have his hands full of family. The the show and keeping his family in line. I don't know when he would find time to work.
He just seems to be a very nice person to me. No wonder he's losing his hair with all that family!

I remember Kody saying that he was in advertising in Utah. Meri worked PT for a school but got fired when the plig thing came out. Janelle worked FT but I don't remember what she did and Christine stayed home.

When I saw the reunion thing last night I actually thought that for the first time Janelle's bags under her eyes were gone and she looked 1/2 way decent. Her hair was fixed and she had some eyebrows...the others looked the same to me. Meri's foundation is too heavy and the wrong color. I think she might be better off with a lighter make-up and a lighter touch.

I think that if you truly want a baby - you know it. There is no doubt in your heart. So the fact that Meri flip-flops makes me think that she doesn't actually want one. Maybe she is doing it to stop Kody and Robyn - maybe she wants that control. Maybe she's scared to say no because in their "religion" you reproduce like rabbits, and she doesn't want to look like she hasn't tried everything. It's kind of weird to me.

Like any of the "Reality" shows, it is hard to try to separate fact from fiction. My take on Meri is that she has begun to realize that she is kind of like the "low man on the totem pole" so to speak. Meri is the least physically attractive, (without getting into the weight thing) and only has one child. She is the first wife and seemed to be okay with that until Robyn entered the picture. Now here is the young, attractive, obviously fertile, mother of three joining the family. Meri has mentioned that she and Robyn have bonded, yet I remember one scene where Cody mentioned Robyn's name and Meri said something like, "yeah, Robyn, Robyn, Robyn." There is a fine line between love and hate. Now she has been put in the position of Robyn offering her a life jacket.

Nice, sweet Robyn. What prompted her to do that?

If it were to happen, I can only imagine the family dynamics that would cause.

And if Meri's tears are not real, she is a great actress.

�Course it could be the basis of another series.

Sue

My favorites on the show are Janelle and Christine. I have always felt that their relationship with Cody is more on a friendship level. Christine rarely looks happy. Janelle seems content. Niether of them seem connected to Robyn and only slightly to Meri. I think living with Meri is difficult. Her reasons for requiring a 5 bedroom home + the all important wet bar are ridiculous. Bottom line it's because she holds the #1 wife status. She also does not want another child but the drama from that gives her the attention she needs from Cody. The one who cries the loudest gets the most attention.I'm guessing Robyn will be pregnant very soon. I don't know why but I just don't care for her.

I thought the false eyelashes on Janelle and Christine were a bit much. It is all I could focus on while watching.

I didn't care much for the other polyigamist family where the 3 wives all look identical. I know two are sisters. It didn't seem as though the wives had a voice. That is one thing I appreciate about Cody's wives, they tell it like it is.

I haven't seen enough episodes to know what religion they are that you refer to, Shed?

Meri said: "For those asking for clarification, yes we are fundamentalist Mormons. No we are not in the FLDS church which is also a group of Fundamentalist Mormons. Don't worry, I don't think you're rude for asking. We like it to be clear. :) I feel blessed that I am free to choose my family, and that I have control over my own life and destiny

Here is a link that might be useful: Post

As long as we are all understanding that this family is not LDS, or Mormon. Mormons, the real ones, do not practice or condone polygamy. The offshoots can live with goats as far as I'm concerned LOL - as long as it's clear that my people do not do this stuff.

Amy - I think they pick and choose parts of a religion and believe in what they want. It's like being Catholic and supporting abortion, for example. Without turning this into a religious or political debate, if you are truly 100% to the core Catholic, your religion prevents you from supporting abortions. On the other hand, I have friends that are Catholic, go to Mass every week and believe abortion should be legal in certain circumstances. I think a lot of people are this way, though. They refer to themselves as one religion, yet their beliefs may not fully support it. I'd like to think that we each have our own minds and believe in and act the way we want to, not how we're told to, but to each his own, I guess. Anyhow, that's my interpretation about their family.

Yeah, that makes sense. - I promise you though that they do not atend and participate on any level at a regular standard Mormon church. Regardless what they tell themselves or anyone else.

I've been a member my entire life - and I've never actually met a polygamist. That I know of. LOL

And I only have three kids - some families i know have as many as five. The big mormon family deal, like 6-10 kids, was more a thing of my parents' generation. Not as common any more. However, we are very family centered.

Sorry to highjack -
back to regular programming, women who share their husbands with other women for whatever reason.

Amy, I would hope most people knew the difference BUT I was out with my BFF and we were talking about the SWives show and she did not know the the difference~~she thought all Mormons practice polygamy. Honest I think I need a new BFF~~~we live in Southern Cali and she lives on the same block as our communities LDS church. I asked her how in the world she would think that?? I almost could not contain myself that she would be so nonknowing! I told her you know it is against the law? No she thought since the Browns do it it is OK?? I just do not know how you could live here where we do and there are tons of LDS families and you would just not know some history of the church~~?

Amy - My brother and I both grew up going to a Catholic church, although our parents were both Protestant. My Mom always wanted to "try something new" so we also went to a typical Christian church and a "different" Christian church - with the whole speaking in tongues and fainting spells deal, a Protestant church and for a while, a Mormon church. My beliefs tend to lean more Taoist/Buddhist (can you believe that? Craziness) but in all of those churches I don't recall anyone approving of polygamy. I remember being maybe 12 or so when we went to the Mormon church and I remember it being discussed, but they did not approve of it. It was an eye opener to me to find out that it was still practiced in a non-cult type of way.

I find the show interesting to see how each woman relates to each other, how Kody relates to each wife, and how they all get along. Would it be for me? Nope... But it's interesting to watch!

Gosh! I never thought of Meri as a whiner or manipulator. To me she just seems very emotional but so loving towards all the children in the family. My take on her wanting the wet bar so badly was because she likes to do most of the entertaining at her house. Maybe because she enjoys having all the kids there after trying for years to have more babies. I've noticed that she, more than the other wives, always has one of the other children at her side.

Also it seems to me like her relationship with Kody is stronger than the other wives to Kody. I will admit to being somewhat shocked when she was telling about the way she treated Janelle. And it didn't seem to me that Janelle was all that forgiving. But at least Meri owned up to it and validated Janelle's feelings.

Now see what you all have done? I have to go back and watch previous shows and possibly re-evaluate my take on Meri. I'm so easily influenced. :)

BTW, I think they have awesome kids with great morals. Sounds like one of Christine's girls nearly headed down the wrong path but all seems okay now. The oldest boy of Janelle's seems like a very loving older brother. They should all be proud of him, I think.

In the beginning I was a bit shocked by a show on polygamy but I do enjoy watching the unique relationships.