Polygamy--Sister Wives, Curious Questions....

Ha thats funny you asked this. I just watched the first season on netflix this weekend. (weekend without my kids : ( )
I am fanscinated by it as well. They all seem so happy and i love the friendship between the wives.
The mothers that work have thier kids on their ins i would think.
I think Kody could only have Meri's DD since they are they only ones legally married.
I think they seemed like they like living alone. Meri seemed happy to have her own house.
I dont know how they share a man sexually. That is so hard for me to understand. i would be so jealous. Thats the only part i dont understand about them.

IMHO polygamy is wrong on many levels. That being said, I don't care what other people do in their personal lives so long as they are not on public assistance.

when I was younger I don't think I could have dealt with a "sister wives" kind of lifestyle. I was way too insecure. Now ... I don't know. Course if hubby got another wife then it would only be fair and right that I get another husband LOL Yeah that'll happen.

I'm sure right now they are supporting themselves with the income from the show (although I doubt it's all that high) but Kody was an ad executive and they tend to make pretty decent money. Meri and Janelle also both worked so that helped pay the bills I'm sure. All of the children would have been covered under any insurance Kody had because they are all his.

What I find interesting and would LOVE to hear about is Robyn's ex ... where is he and how does he feel about his 3 kids being in this situation? And boy could you see the fight that would occur if he went for custody? HOLY COW ... I'd pay the price of admission for that one (I'd have my popcorn and big ole soda ready for that drama) LOL

The other thing I find interesting is that Meri, Christine and Robyn were all raised in polygamist families ... Janelle however was not. And Kody wasn't actually raised that way either. His parents became polygamists AFTER he was grown. Which makes it a little easier to see how Meri, Christine and Robyn deal with it ... they are more used to it I guess. I guess Janelle just really loves Kody :)

Now on a side note (because I'm just weird like this, I HAVE to look stuff up) Nevada does have laws against polygamy but only as it applies to bigamy (which is the legal marriage to more than one person), it doesn't however have any laws against adultery, fornication, or cohabitation. It also doesn't recognize common law marriages. All of which Utah does, and I'm guessing what the state would have prosecuted for. The 18 and 16 years of the 2nd and 3rd marriages would have qualified in Utah as common law marriages even though they aren't "legal" marriages per sey.

So ... there ya go LOL It's definitely an interesting lifestyle. But as far as I'm concerned it's all among consenting adults so it's all good by me.

I think that the family they are featuring on "sister wives" does not represent a typical plural marriage. In most cases, all but the legally recognized first wife, are on government assistance. It is a very curious thing. Some of the most riveting page turners I have ever read are testimonies from these FLDS wives. In order of my favorites, I recommend you pick up one of these books:

Shaddered Dreams: my life as a polygimist wife
Escape by Caroline Jessup
The favorite Wife
Under the Banner of Heaven

Since only one wife is legally married, the rest of the wives file as single parents and get a hefty tax break. Many polygamist families actually make their income like that. Of course, Sister Wives is making them a pile of cash and a couple of the wives have jobs, but the average polygamist family is different than that.

I think they do seem really nice, but it's a shame that they have to go through all the emotional stuff that comes along with sharing a husband. It irked me that the husband/dad was "disappointed" that his daughter didn't want to be in a plural marriage when she grew up. I seriously think that Cody (or however you spell it) is a complete douche.

I've never seen this show, but I'm curious. I'll have to look it up.

Fascinating.

So...when do we ladies get some extra husbands?

On second thought, nevermind....two kids is enough. I don't need grown-up kids fighting all the time too.

I too think its facinating and have watched every show and have seen them on several talk shows. Before they had to leave UT, Cody worked full time as well as Janelle, the second wife and Meri, the first wife worked also but I think it was part time working with kids. But Cody and Janelle made the most. Obviously they save tons of money having Christine, the third wife, stay home with the kids so there is no daycare. I don't agree with many lifestyles but I do believe everyone has the right to live as they wish as long as they don't harm anyone else. My husband HATES the show and thinks its so disrespectful to women. But he is the most faithful man I have ever known so I can understand that coming from him. I do think they will eventually all be back together again, whether its all in a big custom home or 4 separate houses I'm not sure. I will continue to watch, I know that for sure! =)

i would think that they all have insurance (especially for the children). i dont think they will have a home together anymore because its too risky. polygamy isnt legal. some of the moms worked while 1 stayed home and i know the man worked.
rachel- they had a home together but had to move to vegas because they were getting in trouble due to the polygamy. all the wives have their own house and he jumps in between them.

I know a family that is not "out" in their status as polygamists. They own a co -op fruit/grocery company and many of the wives work.

Some multiple wives work and it actually makes things easier because one mom could watch all the kids while the other breadwinners support the household(s)........sometimes the man is rich and has good standing in his practice through religious connections that enables him salary to continue to do so.

Some families are on welfare and crazy child molesters.

Good and bad in everything

There is a show on the OWN network (Oprah's channel) that is called "Lisa Ling, Our America". I can't remember what day she is on, but this week is her coming up show about polygamy. They went to a big compound, neighborhood, that is all polygamist families and she is going there to ask the hard questions. It will be interesting to see if she asks about insurance.
I think they are able to support themselves by the money they are making off of the show. You know they are not doing it for free! Before that....Cody had a job and so did the second wife (I forgot her name) so I wonder if they got it through their jobs. Just because he is not married to the women doesn't mean that the kids can't have insurance...they are biologically his!
I think they will get a house together. No one seems very happy by having them all split up. I think they may do like what the family on "Big Love" did on HBO...have the houses all next to each other but have them share one big yard/lot.
I think they do it just like all the rest of us do it, but with built in sisters. Is it for me? Nope, I don't want to share my husband. I am a jealous jealous person. But, when they talked about it last week it was actually MARY (the first wife) who convinced Cody that SHE wanted to be in a plural marriage. Interesting.
L.

I will have to agree that I don't quite get the whole excitement about this. I don't think that they are any laws that prohibit a man living and having children with several women just as long as he doesn't try to "marry" all of them. And how is this any different from an "open marriage" where one or both partners pursue relationship outside of their marriage?

I am not sure how "they" actually do it, but you can have children from different relationships on your insurance, so I assume that it should not be an issue insuring the kids.

I mean it wouldn't be for me, but then who am I to tell other consenting adults what they can or cannot do in the privacy of their home...

I thought they already had a house together, with separate wings for each wife and their children's bedrooms?

I'm with you, I have no idea how they do it, considering polygamy is illegal. I would NEVERRR, nope, no thanks!

@Jacy, thanks, haven't watched it in forever, never kept up with it to begin with except what I'd read in magazines really! :)

Well, apparently Janelle and Kody Brown were the main breadwinners for the family. I'm sure they covered some of the children on their health insurance. Since the move to Las Vegas, I think they are all unemployed.
O. HUGE criticism of polygamist families is that the 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. wives are on assistance as are their children.
I, too, find the show fascinating, although the lifestyle probably wouldn't "work" for most people, including me.

I'd be about as happy with polygamy as my husband would be with polyandry (multiple husbands).
Makes my head spin thinking about all the extra in-laws.
It might work for some but it wouldn't work for me.

I think one spouse having multiple same sex spouses is wrong (like 1 man & 3 females) but am thinking a 2-3 couple household combining income, domestic duties and child rearing is a good set-up.

This way everyone could get insurance thru their spouse which is working... if you can only legally marry one person, then the other same sex spouses and their children could not get coverage

I have seen the commercial but not the show. The guy grosses me out with his big poofy "sexy" hair. What is so great about him? Like I said, I have not seen the show but from the commercial, it seems a little lame that these women think they can't have a husband all to themselves, rather they have to share one. Either that or he is awesome. Anyway, I get it that it works for them but I wonder if they really think it's so great, then why are they insecure about their kids not wanted to be polygamous.

On one episode they explained that they don't have insurance. One of the kids had to have some kind of surgery and it set them back by a few years financially. I don't know how they manage all that without insurance.