Sister Wives - could you?

Yes, Robyn is trying to make a success of a jewellery business. Why 'polygamous' jewellery is likely to appeal to a mass market is beyond me, but she likes to get her own way. Kody wants to be the CEO, but it is plain that he has no business experience or sense whatsoever. Janelle does, yet she keeps deferring to him, which bodes ill. Robyn has no money, in fact she came to the marriage in debt, so the other wives subsidised her to buy her (massive) house and start her business. Knowing that she will stab them all in the back makes that scream injustice.

I am skipping episodes as many of them seem to be complications of clips from past episodes, but Meri has been taken in by a man online, and is lonely now that her daughter has gone to college and she has an empty nest. Robyn has another baby (so two to Kody and the three she brought with her). They still operate as a sort of unit, but clearly being in separate houses has changed the dynamic. I feel for Meri, as she clearly adores Kody. She has divorced him so that he can become Robyn's legal husband and adopt her children, which was extremely selfless of her.

Oh yes, My Sister Wife's Closet - that was it. I guess Robyn wasn't popular enough for people to buy her stuff, which must have been disappointing for her. Still, at least she tried. Better to try and fail that never try.

Kody is just not attractive to me and the women seem so depressed from being with him.

Yes, he and Christine “divorced”, and she is now married,monogamously, to someone else. Meri seemed to cling on to the bitter end (Kody had eroded her confidence?). Kody and Janelle separated. Only he and Robyn together with Robyn’s children from her first marriage and their two.

mysisterwifescloset.com/ (Closed now, I believe)

At around that point in time, Robyn is an artist and designed a clothing and jewelry range. I've forgotten the name of the website, but it ceased trading a while ago. I watched the series a while ago but I don't know what they are all doing now.

I've got a feeling that Robyn is the only wife that stayed with Kody in the end. News in September 23 said that Janelle moved out. Meri had already moved out in January and Christine already terminated her relationship with him in 2021. I'm not even sure if they're still making the show or just running repeats of what's already happened? It probably couldn't be called Sister Wives if there's only Robyn left.

I doubt that there would be scope for many places of work to have a camera crew and lighting technicians all over the place .

I'm not honestly sure which series I'm on now, as it just plays in the background, and I listen properly when something interesting happens or I need a distraction from work, but things are still relatively happy, although not quite so smiley as at the start.

I know from various sources that there is a long way to go though. I suspect that where I'm at might be the beginning of the end - Kody is in the process of adopting Robyn's children, and hasn't had his silly perm yet.

Interestingly, Facebook knows I am watching it. I keep getting reels with clips, which is disconcerting. I am going to dig about in the settings to stop if from doing that, but meanwhile, I am even more aware of the future trajectory than before.

I’m finding this series so interesting. I am on Series 2 so have a lot more to get through.

I think it is their choice of lifestyle and if it works for them, that is fine. Certainly would not be for me. They are very open about most things except how they finance all their homes etc. Very unclear what jobs they do, possibly their employers do not want to be named or be filmed in any way. Interesting that each subsequent wife appears to have been a ‘younger model’. Nothing changes there then!

I think Kody is a bit of a twit actually, but it's their lifestyle choice. Personally would not agree to it as you'd never get the best of your husband. It's hard enough as it is to get the best of someone...I do think it's a very interesting program though!

Riiiight . A nice life if you can get it.

For some reason I can't play series 4 on Discovery +. I can see it - all the episodes are there - but there is no 'play' button. I've had to skip it and go to S5. Meri has decided to go back to college, they are in the cul de sac homes, Jonelle has lost weight and had her hair curled - she looks good. Robyn is stressed because Meri is going to college, but I don't know why. They are talking about selling the Utah house - how on earth did they get the money for the new ones (plus all the rent on the previous set-up) without selling the old one.

Kody is getting more irritating. Meri is so patient with him, but he passes the blame for everything onto someone else. Currently he is having a strop because the contractors (whoever they are) haven't given him scale drawings of the Utah house when he hasn't paid them or even hired them yet.

I keep saying to myself that regardless of the personalities, it is the concept of polygamy that is interesting. It's difficult, as it's impossible to watch something like this without getting involved in the 'plot' and thinking about the rights and wrongs, yet I know that if someone filmed any marriage in such detail there would be splinters and cracks.

It’s never clear what, if any, work Kody does.

Thanks, that ties in with what I thought. Does Kody go to work?

I think Janelle is an estate agent. Meri sells clothes through a sort of pyramid scheme - Lulabelle or some such. I think they now get paid less by the production company, but they used to be paid huge amounts for the filming.

But they are intelligent educated women - that's what's so hard to understand. They are doing this voluntarily.

It's hard for me to remain objective, as I now know that it all breaks down in the end, but even so, I don't know whether that's because of the unsustainability of polygamy in a modern world, or because Kody is a wrong 'un. Plenty of marriages break up, and we don't jump to thinking that it's the fault of marriage itself, we assume it's the people involved who don't get on, or whatever.

It seems to me so far that Meri and Jonelle both have successful careers (I'm not sure what they do), Christine has a baby but is training to be an estate agent with a view to working soon, but Robyn is freeloading. I'm not sure about Kody, or how so many people are living in lovely houses on what seem to be two salaries. They seem to be always looking at business ideas that never seem to take off - the latest one is a Sister Wives clothing range. The current episode has the older children meeting a FLDS group of a similar age and comparing the two cultures. There is a lot of head shaking from the adults at the thought that they are compared to that, and whilst I don't buy their surprise, it is clear that the two things are very different.

I would be inclined to put a very strong laxative in his meals.

No intelligent educated woan would be happy to be one of many, they are indoctrinated from birth to,acceot it's normal and acceptable. I would put money on the complete breakdown of the set up when they actually live it. Why does a man have to father so many children, it's sick. The wife's should all go on holiday for a month and leave him with the whole tribe, he might go off the idea himself then

I still can't work out what Kody does for a living. Does he go to work, or is he living off the wives, or just making money from the TV show? Does Robyn have a job? None of this is very clear, unless I haven't been paying attention when it was discussed.

I think it's impossible to know unless you have watched it though. At this stage (and I do realise it is going to end in tears) they are happy enough, and there are no more niggles than in most marriages. The women are far from insecure, subservient or totally reliant on him - rather the reverse, really.

The smiling is annoying me now. We have just been introduced to another polygamous family and they are just the same. It's creepy.

Wouldn’t want to watch it. Think the women must be very insecure and have no self worth. Who in their right minds would do that. A man with his Harem. I would rather scrub floors and keep my pride than share someone, he wouldn’t be the sort of man I would be interested in anyway. I am an equal.A lot of religions seem to have little respect for women. They either want them subservient or totally reliant on them, or covered from top to toe so no one can see them. I would like to see tge situations reversed for a week they couldn't take it.

This has made me remember The King and I where Yul Brunner sings 'Song of the King'. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivBPb4FODF8

It starts with the very profound statement
'A woman is a female who is human....'
So far so good. Keir Starmer take note.

Then we come to:
A girl must be like a blossom
With honey for just one man. 🌺
A man must live like a honeybee
And gather all he can. 🐝
To fly from blossom to blossom
A honeybee must be free.
But blossom must not ever fly
From bee to bee to bee.

Anyone remember that?

Actually in terms of childrens welfare a man with four wives would be much safer than a wife with four husbands. I hadn't thought of that until I was reading up about the media coverage which involved a women and four men.

Thanks, LucyAnna. I'm interested to know what happens, although having clicked on Summerlove's link I now know that all but one of the marriages failed. I stopped watching the video as I'd rather see things unfold in 'real time', but it was interesting that Kody was still grinning as he spoke and very much playing the showman. There is a definite insincerity about him.

Yes, on the whole the children (the eldest boy is going to college/university in the episode I'm up to) seem well adjusted. It must be quite a nice life with all those siblings around, but I don't suppose they get a lot of one to one attention. Having said that, as they all live with their own mothers, it's not much different from monogamous marriages I suppose.

I find it very interesting, Doodledog, how you articulate your reactions and opinions as you follow the series. I shall certainly be interested in your reaction by the end!
I think all 4 wives were brought up in polygamous families, so that was what they were used to. The relationship between Kody (the “husband”) and the first wife, Meri, broke down partly, I think, because she was unable to have more than one child. It’s interesting - and to me, surprising - that from what is shown on the programmes, the children seem happy and settled, with children of their own ( none of them are polygamous).

It’s clear that it is scripted, even though it states otherwise. As I said upthread most of it is them talking to the cameras and a crew will be following them everywhere.

I don’t know what you mean by ‘real’ - are you saying that the whole thing is a fiction, and people don’t live like that?
It may be that he has set it up, but the setup is similar to the one on Big Love, or One Man, Four Wives - I can’t remember, but I have seen something similar before.

The Browns recognise that they are ‘hated’ by LDS ( their word) and compare the difference between the groups to Catholics and Protestants in mainstream Christian religions.

Again, I am not defending them, just pointing out that what is on the programme is not denying what you say - have you seen it? They show photos of Warren Jeffs and are adamant that their way if life is not connected to his branch of Mormonism. They discuss the abuses and forced marriages and how they reject that completely.

Whether they comply with the ‘true’ Mormon faith, or with FLDS isn’t really the point. They are living as they want to do, and yes, it’s illegal in the US. My question (which I haven’t answered to myself yet) is whether it should be. I can understand bigamy and polygamy being illegal when they involve deception - both for ethical reasons and for practical and financial ones, but neither apply in this case, so I am questioning the role of the State in what is, essentially, a consensual domestic arrangement.

If it turns out later that the women were, in fact, coerced into the lifestyle I will agree that the law should protect against that, but the number of series runs well into double figures, so it would be a huge deception from the TV company (which it seems did happen with the one about the Duggans). It still wouldn’t mean that consensual polygamy should necessarily be illegal though - just that TV companies should do better research.

Doodledog

It would be if the women had no choice, but they go into it with their eyes open and can leave whenever they like.

The religion doesn't sanction polyandry, but I'm not sure that that makes a difference. I don't agree with that inequality personally, but lots of things about religion seem to me sexist, and so long as they are optional then surely it's up to the members to decide? I'm not talking about things like FGM or forced marriage - I mean things where the women opt in, such as obeying their husbands or having lots of children because their religion forbids contraception.

In many of the sects of the Mormon religion , which are not sanctioned by the Church of the Latter Day Saints , women are forced to marry , or assigned to marry a man who can have 100 or more wives. So they are pressured to marry a man that is often elderly. These are the extreme sects . The actual Mormon s of the LDS are NOT allowed to have polygamist marriages. Polygamy is illegal in the USA. I am convinced that this guy just set up this situation to make a television series about it . If you think these series are “ real “ well that’s another story much of this would have been scripted.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=u__p7x5p9hk&t=6s

I’m finding this very interesting for those who are caught up

These aren’t vulnerable though. I am conflicted. It’s not what I would want, but what right do I have to tell others that their choices are wrong?