I now get it! Sorry if I am a bit slow folks. I thought that going to a cabin was a Brown Christmas family tradition, with snow and all the trimmings, but wrong was I! It's these houses that were to make or break Brown Christmas 2012. They got them, so WHEW! We at SWB send condolences to the Kleenex Company, who probably lost good money or at least a case of tissues over this latest home-gate being solved.
Looking at this, what is there to cry about? Would January been the end of the world? Only if you believe Warren Jeffs.
Why must Kody's hair be a large part of the of so many episodes? Is he looking for a Hair transplant sponsor, or just that vain?
Oops, thought this was Kody for a minute
Not to get on a rant, but the money issue is bugging the heck out of me.
I have thought and thought... (ask Cynical, that's hard for me to do on my own.) For the LIFE of me, I can not fathom, understand, comprehend the logic behind all income being split 4 ways equally. First, I don't even believe that. I say it's 5 with Kodster getting a fifth for upkeep on hair products, clothes and play time.
My father set up a trust for each grandchild to have a college education. He died young, wanted them protected. Mind you, he only had 1 grandchild at the time, small, but knew more were to come. NOW, the way it was set up, each child would get an equal amount, as my sibling and I would all have our children by the time one was in college. (Provisions were made if otherwise.) NOW, if he had set it up where my children got 1/2 and my sibling's children got 1/2, someone would have gotten the shaft, since my brother had 3 more children than I did. Lucky I am we all love each other and want ALL to get an education. The important thing was to share and each get a fair slice. We, the adults, were more than happy with this arrangement.
This made sense to me, and is working well. The Browns arrangement does not to me. Nor does it bode well with me to the "advantages" of polygamous "lifestyle" i.e. religion that sharing and caring mean wives get an equal cut, no matter how many children they are raising, and equal size homes is ridiculous. I see no lost lost between these sister wives. I'll just keep my good ole girlfriends and one husband, thank you. To each their own, I guess.
Why not an equation like this: A simplistic one, but you'll get my point.
1. Adults get a percentage of the pie. 5 equal slices, with Kody to help out as needed WHEREVER needed with his extra cut. Kody also tithes to the AUB out of his portion for the whole group, and pays taxes.
2. Children also get a slice, albiet a smaller one, but a fair percentage of what it costs to care for a child yearly. Divide this portion of child care costs up and give each mother whatever her # of children are. I will include even Robyn's kids in this, minus any already paid provisions from child support or the state from special needs.
3. Meri would get her cut plus 1 child, Janelle her cut plus 6, and so on. Get the idea?
DOES THAT NOT MAKE MORE SENSE? Maybe I am crazy. Maybe I am wrong. But I don't think so. I am so sick of hearing how it's all about the kids. If it is, then make some sense with your money! Or better yet, let's see Meri get make ALL the money and say divide it up equally. That would be interesting.....
I asked Cynical Jinx to break it down. Here are her excellent views.
On the highest rated Real Housewives franchise, undisputed
star NeNe Leakes reportedly made $750,000 for one season. In comparison,
fired RHoNY star Alex McCord was quoted as making approximately
$300,000 on her last season. These are figures for highly rated cable
shows on highly rated cable network Bravo.
Sister Wives simply does not pull in the viewers or
advertising dollars that the RH franchise does. So to be generous, I
would estimate the Browns earnings for one season to be approximately
$250,000 - $300,000 - the same as one of the lowest paid participant of
the RH franchise.
The last season (including the tell all episode) was 9
episodes so that would be approx $33,000 per episode. Or about $25,000 a
month. I haven't figured in taxes because I'm sure they take the max
allowed with all those dependents.
Now figure in the monthly costs of 4 households in Las Vegas.
Leasing of 4 houses @ $1500 ea per month = $6000.00
Utilities for 4 houses @ average $650 /mo = $2600.00
Food for 4 houses per mo = $4000.00
Total so far:
This
doesn't include insurance, gas, clothing, school supplies, car payments
gifts. Now that
they are in homes I've seen estimates of $2500 for their monthly
mortgage payment. I think it's much higher, maybe $4000 - $5000 each
month. Double the utility costs (lots of open space to be
cooled/heated), HOA fees, well you can see the costs will increase.
Now, some of you may be asking yourself "But what about Season 4? "
Yes, Season 4 episodes did run from May 13th to June 14th, 2012, but remember, some of the footage was filmed in 2011. So I think there are two words that will answer the question of Season 4: DOWN PAYMENT.
Do you think that an equal 4 way split is fair? Can they afford these homes? Thoughts?
Now, some of you may be asking yourself "But what about Season 4? "
Yes, Season 4 episodes did run from May 13th to June 14th, 2012, but remember, some of the footage was filmed in 2011. So I think there are two words that will answer the question of Season 4: DOWN PAYMENT.
Do you think that an equal 4 way split is fair? Can they afford these homes? Thoughts?
No - No and No. Nice pics of Krochie's hair though.
ReplyDeleteHair plugs are in his future. I think what will bring this mob down is a medical bill for an unexpected illness. Isn't that what put them in the poor house before? Unless TLC is covering them for now.
I agree that an unmanageable medical bill is extremely possible. And if I were a betting woman, I'd put my money on that bill being pregnancy or childbirth related. Kody has stated he plans to keep reproducing, and while he's clearly done with Janelle and Christine, Robyn is nice and fertile. Not to mention a 5th wife. Pregnancies are hugely risky and have dozens of (very expensive) ways in which they could go wrong.
DeleteHi Shelby, True enough. Or perhaps something unexpected with one of the children. With that many people in the family the odds are higher that something medical could happen.
DeleteYou got everything right I think EXCEPT.....You can't make a silk purse out of a Plygs ear.
Delete^^^this^^^ just brilliant~
DeleteOne serious car accident is all it would take to run up a $60,000+ bill. Driving is risky for inexperienced drivers and an accident can cause major injuries. Lots of teen drivers in that family.
DeleteI was amazed that although they decided to split the money equally, Kody still asked Christine to give some of her share to Meri. Meri is over budget on a 5 bedroom house for herself and 1 kid, but Christine, with 6 kids, should give her some of her share???
DeleteI really hope that all of this is just for ratings because it is hard to imagine that Meri could be so selfish!
Mariah is basically grown. 5 bedrooms for just herself! How can she even live with herself?
If she truly ascribes to the Mormon faith, she should pray and ask for forgiveness for putting her wants before her families' needs. Unbelieveable!
They had said one of Christine's kids had some uninsured medical issues before. It's in the lawsuit documentation as one of the reasons we should legalize polygamy. :O
DeleteI would guess TLC covers them while the show is still on, like Jon and Kate. I would be worried sick with all these baby mamas and no insurance or jobs, but worrying about practical issues is not something that seems to weigh much on this family.
There is no evidence that TLC is paying for medical insurance for the Browns. Did they in fact pay for medical insurance for the Gosselins? They aren't employees of TLC, they are participants being renumerated. Not the same thing at all. TLC cuts the family a check, the family in turn pays their own taxes and is responsible (we hope) for providing their own insurance. My guess is that they have a plan through Brown Family Entertainment.
DeleteI would guess TLC covers them while the show is still on, like Jon and Kate.
DeleteI agree DalotaJustice. In the contracts published online during the Gosselin divorce, there was no mention of any insurance being provided and I highly doubt there was. They were paid a flat amount per episode and that was it. The reality tv participants are not 'employees' and don't get benefits. Yes, TLC paid for sitters and meals and other expenses incurred while filming, etc, but that's about it. IF the Brown's have insurance, they're paying for it themselves.
Maybe if Koduche had not tortured his hair so much a few more strands would have survived for another year or two.
ReplyDeleteAll this hair goop and crappola is not good to maintain a healthy head of hair.
I think he and big balled Joe should take him aside and talk to him about the advantages of the balled life. (in regard to both hair, wife, and financial management techniques)
I'd be humiliated if I were in charge of these people's awful hair and would definitely pretend I didn't know them, not go on camera stating the obvious. Robyn is the only one with passable hair who looks like she wasn't just dragged out of bed to be on TV.
DeleteRich peoples problems!
ReplyDeleteYes, you are right. Who worries about enormous houses and bald spots. People who have the money to do so. There are certainly more important things to get on with in life.
DeleteSure wish these were the only problems I had to worry about. I am just a lowly renter, but last month when they found a water pipe leak in the slab it was'nt my problem.
DeleteRe: a previous comment about who gets paid what on SW... (I'm new to this blog... Was searching for reviews on MSWC and found you)... From a blog a LONG time ago about John and Kate Plus 8... remember when her sister-in-law used to keep & entertain all the kids while John & Kate had something else to do?, well, when TLC offered to pay the sister-in-law per appearance, Kate said No! No one makes $ off this show but me. So, the sister-in-law wasn't shown any more. SO... I'm assuming each person is paid indivudually on SW. Just speculation though. And btw... That blog about the Gosselins was by a family member on the sister-in-law's side who was PISSED over what Kate did.
ReplyDeleteAccording to both Jon G and the divorce settlement the family got paid somewhere between $22-25 k per ep at the shows peak. Of course anyone considered outside the family would be paid separately for appearing. IMO.
DeleteCould someone fill me in on what child of Robyn has a disability and what it is? This is mentioned in the blog posts but I am not in the loop.
ReplyDeleteRobyn has disclosed that Dayton has Asperger Syndrome.
DeleteFrom Wikipedia: Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger disorder, is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development. Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and atypical (peculiar, odd) use of language are frequently reported.[1][2]
Every case varies greatly, but I have a friend who's husband has Asperger's, and with a great support system from his school, along with a very regimented lifestlye and lots of hard work from his mother educating herself on the matter and making his home life very stress free, he grew up and now leads a very normal life, with the exception of being very socially shy and hates HATES crowds or lots of noise.
Thank you for this information on aspergers. Well Rob Chin really chose the wrong family to bring this child up in didn't she? Couldn't be more chaotic if she tried. But - for now she only needs to breed, not go out and do an actual days work.
DeleteSomeone earlier was wondering on what financial recorses Robin recieved for Dayton, I am unsure of state funds, but I do know that all disabled children receive SSI funds from the federal government. My husband has a son who is deaf and now an adult and a contributing member of society, but they received around $800 a month in SSI.
DeleteIn most states, an Aspergers diagnosis is not severe enough to qualify for SSI. You need an autism diagnosis for that. In fact, it is about to be removed from the DSM-IV.
DeleteSSI benefits for "disabled" children depend somewhat on how much the parent/parents of the child have paid into the system. My cousin received disability through his father and it was based on my uncle's allotted amount.
DeleteAnd it all depends on whether she has applied for it or not. My 17 year old nephew has Aspergers but my sister won't apply for SSI because she doesn't want him to be labeled with the stigma of being autistic.
Aspergers is being removed from the DSM-IV as a diagnosis, but is being added as a level of autism. From what I understand this is going to allow children with Aspergers to receive help that was previously only offered to children with Autism. This I information I heard from a professional. People who receive SSI do not have to have ever paid in to Social Security, in fact it is for those who have never paid into the system or have paid very little. I receive Social Security Disability, which is people who are permanently disabled, but have paid into the system a signigificant amount. You do not have to apply, but I would bet money that Robin has. The parents do not have to have paid into the system. Children with parents that are on Social Security Disability do also receive benefits as part of the parents disability.
Delete@FinallySeeingReality. That is incorrect information. All disabled children do NOT automaticlly get SsI. They need to qualify medically AND financially.
DeleteIf Robyn gets child support for David, I doubt he would qualify for SSI. It is still possible tho.
Why did you call him David?
DeleteTo Anon Jan 1 8:28 - you are right, the chaos may be hard on Dayton at times, but I would say it's quite possible that the benefits outweigh the negatives. As a member of this large clan, Dayton is able to socialize constantly and that is the best experience possible for a child like him with his diagnosis. He may learn to be more flexible and consider other people's perspectives in such a large group. In the family, he presumably gets a wonderful amount of exposure to peers -- much more so than most kids like him who have no playdates and maybe a sib or two who may - or may not - choose to interact. Assuming his new sibs are inclusive, or that with all those choices he has found one or two that like to spend time with him, his daily life may have gotten a whole lot better as a member of the Browns. Of course, all I can do is guess since TLC does not film him for some reason. Note to TLC - you need to be inclusive... Dayton deserves the same amount of air time as his high school peers!
Delete@SaveSol, thank you! All disabled children do NOT automatically get SSI money is certainly correct! Our son, now 26 yrs old, has Aspergers. He went thru regular school (no alternatives available) and has worked two fast food jobs for 10 years. He has no medical insurance, he receives no money from anyone, never has. He isn't able to live on his own. We pay for his living expenses, he does what he can with working 6 days a week for minimum wage. I don't know where people get the idea that there are free handouts for disabled kids, it's just not true.
DeleteSecond, when they drop Aspergers from the DSM-IV diagnositics and use only autism, it's not a good thing for a lot of us. A patients must meet a certain number of things on the 'checklist' for autism, or they no longer qualify for anything. Many Aspergers (like our son) will meet i.e. nearly all but not quite the exact number of things on the list to qualify. That's why it's called a 'spectrum disorder' because they're all so different and don't fall into a neat little category.
So just an FYI, this is not seen as a good thing by many parents of Asperger kids/adults. It means they will no longer get any help and will lose insurance coverage and any special help help they are receiving (i.e. therapy, school, etc..).
My son didn't get help because Aspergers was only diagnosed in 1994, he is older. Aspergers kids now for the most part, have a lot of resources available to them. There's no need to drop the diagnosis and toss them into one big category. It will mean a loss of benefits for many.
As to why someone called Dayton, David-David is his real name, he is named after his father. Robin changed it when she moved in with the Browns.
I agree there could be some benefits to social interaction with siblings, that most Asperger kids wouldn't get. Every Aspie kid is different of course, but my guess is the negatives are greater. Most don't want to have their picture taken, so cameras aren't ideal. Structure/strict schedule are very important, being in one place, rec'ing one/one attention is very important. There are so many little things too detailed and numerous to mention that I wonder if Robin even has a clue about. (i.e. some Aspies have no sense of temperature. I have to tell my son what clothing is appropriate,he has no idea if it's 100 deg or 20 deg out) He has no sense of physical pain. The list goes on and on and poor Dayton could sure get lost in that crowd!!
Apologies this was O/T, but I do look for Dayton in the show and don't see him very often. I hope the producers are sensive to his needs.
Because that's his name. I also say there the Browns and Sullivans. They like to pretend that Robyn is a Brown and that David is Dayton. Lots of fantasies in those crazy families.
Deleteanon 5:59--his actual name is David...after his father David Jessop. But when Robyn and Kody got together they changed it to "Dayton."
DeleteWhere is the proof that the name was changed AFTER Robyn moved in with the Browns? I've asked before and received no answer.
DeleteI believe she pretty well stated it.
DeleteThat is, Robyn Marck Sullivan Jessop Sullivan said it.LOL
Well you KNOW that IMO I think CJ is spot on. I think folks tend to forget that TLC isn't going to spend a dollar more than they absolutely have to in order to put a show on the air. And the Browns (along with other reality show families) more than likely are not union otherwise they'd get paid much more, IMO. But then if it were scripted TLC would more than likely have to pay the family more including the kids.
ReplyDeleteOne discrepancy I noticed - Kody talks like the Browns and the Dargers have been super close forever but the Dargers stated they didn't know the Browns all that well. Who's telling the truth?
In the plyg-cation (barf) episode, the Browns did fess up to how many times they'd gotten together (like twice, and I don't think they'd ever had all of the kids together). It's the Browns who are inflating this "friendship."
DeleteKeep your enemies close, because the Dargers are next up and they know it. Big balled Joe will make the show more interesting than Krochie has.
DeleteCall me silly but I think that a show about the Dargers would be kind of boring after being entertained by the Browns. Yes the Dargers are good to watch if you want to learn about the Morman religion but I don't think they are entertaining enough to keep all of us tuning in each week.
DeleteHow does everyone feel about this??
I agree the Dargers would be boring.
DeleteReally? I find the Dargers extremely boring (although much more cohesive). They could never stir up the drama/entertainment that Kody's crew does.
DeleteI find the Dargers boring and repulsive bc of the twin sisters.. He seems controlling and abusive. Gross,I would never watch. The Clowns, I mean the The Browns are more interesting because they are a bunch of clowns..
DeleteThe sick part of our tax system, though, is that if TLC is paying all of the SW "cast" members through a privately held corporation, Grody could then get his hair plugs and write them off as a business expense. In other words, folks, WE would be paying for his hair plugs.
ReplyDeleteJust like I suspect we're paying for their houses. And vacations. And Logan's tuition (since they mentioned he's going to college).
Is this a great country or what?
Writing something off as a business expense only means it lowers your tax liability. You dont get a "refund" for that amount.
DeleteYou forgot to mention that they can write of their make up, hairspray, clothing, cars that are shown in the program, you name it they can write it off.
DeleteLower taxes by percentage for high income people.....the American way.
Yes that is right. They have all these things to write off that we don't have, including hair plugs, clothes, make up,anything that appears in the show.....this brings down their enormous tax bill and in that way significantly reduces the cost of these items. Also included is space in these houses for the purposes of doing "business" even if it looses money, phones, .......and so much more.
DeleteLower taxes for the rich, higher taxes for the poor and middle class by percentage. That is how it is in America today.
Given that they are probably writing off all of their living expenses, they probably have little to nothing left of "income" . . . so any money that is withheld for their taxes will likely be refunded. And since three of them are single mothers, they qualify for the significant tax benefits for filing as Head of Household. I saw this happen many times when I worked for H&R Block.
DeleteThis lower income also allows Logan to qualify for the max in grants and loans for college. No one really believes the Browns would actually pay for college when the tax payer can do they?
DeleteStudent loan means that Logan will be on the hook to pay that back to the govt.
DeleteTrue Logan will have to pay back the loans, but as fairly recent Masters Grad, most kids do borrow money not thinking about the future of paying back the loans, but getting through school. Not wise I realize, but this is the reality.
DeleteIf the Browns and Sullivans are writing off enough items so that their "business" is at a loss and they're getting refunds, they better enjoy it while it lasts. After a few years the IRS won't consider it a business but a hobby.
DeleteFSR - I know that so well...people paying off student loans for 15 years or more after grad. Yikes! And all too often frittered away on non-essentials.
DeleteThat said, as a taxpayer I would never begrudge tax funds going towards education, as that is generally money well invested IMO. I do realize there are some "faux universities" out there ripping off the system though.
Generally, you can not deduct living or family expenses. They must be business related.
DeleteYou forgot to include their other 2 mortgages on the Utah home, and of course they can't afford these new homes! Who in their right mind finances appliances and blinds into their mortgage?!?
ReplyDeleteIf you have to mortgage things like plastic window coverings, washers, dryers, even your down payment, you can not afford your home. If you cant afford a simple cement slab and if you're considering NO instillation(what kind of builder would even ALLOW that?!), you can not afford your home......
Deletelol
The same kind of people that bought houses with no downpayment that led to the housing crash and recession. People who do not do their homework.
DeleteNobody. Much cheaper to buy them at Home Depot and have them delivered.
DeleteMore fun to buy stuff and personalize your place rather than picking from a set overpriced limited selection. Those granite choices were ugh :(
DeleteRich people are much more careful how they spend their money. Rich people would not rush to get into unaffordable homes in an economically depressed area of the country, with no steady income and no future way to pay off the homes.
ReplyDeleteThe Browns and Sullivans are living like poor people. Seriously.
You certainly have a point. They really do not understand what they are getting into, but it will slap them in the face soon enough and then we will read a line or two in some obscure newspaper that they have crawled lock stock and barrel back to their old house in Utah that is currently rented out to extended family. There is a reason they didn't sell it, because they knew they would likely be returning when the gravy train ended. Yup - poor dumb bunnies having fun in the mcmansions just like the Clampets.
Deletelike poor people who came into sudden wealth and we know how that goes.
DeleteThe money split makes sense to me because I assume the all get their own equal checks from TLC, BUT when you think about how Janelle and Kody shouldered the brunt of the "big bills" for the majority of these marriages, it pretty much sucks! Meri did toss in on some smaller bills, but according to the book she just took off w/o pay any time the mood struck her and Kody. So sorry Janelle, if Meri took something you thought was yours (sarcasm/anger) sometimes life just isn't fair when you're dealing w/ Kody math (love should be multiplied not divided-ugh). And then when Sobyn, came along there were all those tears about her being a jobless divorcee and just hoping and prayin that the family could see the value in adding her to the family (uh duh! another TLC paycheck). Just another example off how they no longer work as the wholesome cooperative they led us to believe they were in the beginning. So are ya stretchin' and survivin' Browns or are you rolling in TLC dough, because you can't have it both ways!
ReplyDeleteI'm in agreement with everything you wrote. The Browns can spew their "family" bullshit elsewhere. They don't live like a family, act like a family, love like a family. They are four families with one idiotic common denominator. A family would balance the income fairly. The homes would be logically chosen, and a mother with one child wouldn't be living like royalty while another home was jam-packed with numerous kids per bedroom. Mariah wouldn't be whining about wanting a sibling.....what the helll are the other umpteen Brown kids if not her brothers and sisters?! Isn't one of the points of this ridiculous set up that the kid's are all raised together as the siblings that they are?
ReplyDeleteI used to like this family. Except Robyn. I never liked her. Ha! I fell hook, line, and sinker for the charade they were carrying out for America, but this season really opened my eyes. I hope for the children that they are able to keep the homes, but there's a part of me that would love to see Janelle RUN. She is so far above the rest of them.
Exactly Little Pliggy and Anon. Sadly, I think the older Brown children are learning to talk the talk for the interviewers. I've noticed their enthusiasm is quite dwindled in SW footage, but when interviewed - Plg life is awesome.
DeleteI think all of the women (except Robyn) are on meds. Christine is always talking like a needy drunk ("...and that hurt"). BS.
Homes or no homes- there are serious cracks in the foundation of their relationships.
I'm not expecting Janelle to stick around much longer, unless there's a lot more going on with her that doesn't make the air. She's not even combative with most of the other wives any more- she seems completely uninterested when one of them is freaking out about anything, and her body language suggests that she's also a lot happier when Kody isn't around. The last episode was fairly nauseating in a lot of ways, but seeing her sit around the breakfast table with the kids before Grody showed up was a nice scene.
DeleteShe also seems to have a much different idea about what's likely to happen as her kids mature than anyone else does- I give her credit for not only recognizing that Logan etc. are likely not going to remain 'chaste'or non-alcohol drinkers, but with being okay with it. That's not likely to fit in well with the views on 'purity' held by the rest of the family, although if they were smart, they'd keep her around as a buffer between the kids who are moving forward and the rest of the family.
And she's obviously got more financial sense than the rest of them put together, if you can ignore the fact that she's pretty much (fairly willingly) supported them for the last few decades. I think that the family pulling the plug on her gym idea might have been one of the final straws for her- she certainly cringes whenever MSWC comes up for discussion.
Go Janelle...hopefully she will get out.
I am fairly new here, but I have to say, soo addicted to this site. The blog is very informative. I had no real idea about their beliefs before I came here, or how it tied into the FLDS, LDS, etc.
ReplyDeleteAll that work here, you do a great job and it is much appreciated.
Mixing humor with real facts is so intriguing, where else could you see a crazy clip of Kody flipping his hair, along with hard core facts about the reality of diving up 4 ways and being unfair to the children, and facts and figures about the income?
Glad I am not the only one that thinks it is horrible the adults in this group are always crying and complaining when they are more blessed than they have ever been. Are they never happy?
Since I have found this site, I come here every chance I get. Keep up the great work. All the posts are fantastic!
I'm glad I found this site because I want to add my two cents about what I've seen this season. First, I agree with everything you said above, splitting the family income equally among the families does NOT make sense. No wonder Meri had no guilt going over budget, if their income is being split equally she would be able to make up that $5,000 in no time as her money only goes to herself and one child. I hope to never hear the term 'wet bar' for the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteMeri truly disgusted me this season, she was beyond selfish and constantly looked for sympathy with crocodile tears. When discussing how she bullied Janelle Meri cried, discussing her fertility she cried more, being told she needed to reign in her budget she again went to tears. I find when Kody tries to bring up anything to her she immediately goes into defensive mode and places blame on him, I don't like the guy but what I've seen is him trying to talk sense to her and her lashing out in a passive/aggressive way. If I've not made myself clear (lol), I am not a fan of Meri.
Moving onto the other wives Janelle has quickly become my favorite of the wives, she has a quiet grace about her and I think she has really great kids. From what I've seen on the show Christine had a hand in raising Janelle's kids along with her own and that is selfless. Can I bring up Kody 'joking' to Christine about giving some of her budget to Meri (it was NOT a joke and I felt bad for Christine, good for her for not giving Meri money and what was with Meri's attitude on the coach when Christine apologized and Meri said something like 'Are you seriously saying that to me...', obnoxious!). As for Robin I absolutely feel like Kody favors the newest wife and I feel like she knows it and has created a two headed monster along with wife number 1 (I'll call that monster Merbin).
It was nice to be able to post my comments somewhere, I am strangely fascinated with this show and look forward to reading more from others who leave comments.
Happy New Year!
Well that about sums it up - again.
DeleteWelcome and enjoy the site. We are always up to something.
I agree with you about Janelle, but not Christine. Christine lived in Janelle's house, and in return for a roof over her head, she babysat. That is a pretty good deal, and not at all "selfless".
DeleteI would not be quite so down on Christine, except for the sense of entitlement she has portrayed in the last two seasons. A women who has never worked and is on government assistance for her current children and who declared bankruptcy in 2010 should not have had another child. She could not support the children she had. Also, her sense of entitlement about what she "deserved" with the rental houses, the new house and the furnishings of her rental this last season or two were way overboard. And what person on government assistance and fresh out of bankruptcy needs a $400 Kitchen aid mixer? She has young children. She should have joined with Janelle in being a voice of reason, tried to save and steward the TLC money while they have it, for the future, because it won't last. Instead, she has been a lousy caretaker of her resources, her kids' future resources and education, and her home. She did, however, manage to pass the real estate exam, so I give her some credit. I think part of her bad behavior is lack of education and being too much around the other insanely entitled attitudes of Kody, Meri and Robin.
I also am not pleased that Christine reportedly lets her daughters skip school (the education is free, and they ought to be studying hard, trying for scholarships, knowing the TLC money will run out before all are through college) and that her rental home is in such a mess. I just don't see a sensible person, taking care of her children and stewarding what she has, and planning for her childrens' future. She ought to be grateful and careful of her home, knowing that without Janelle, she would have been living in abject poverty like her relatives, with Kody spending his money on his cars and motorcycles. Without Janelle, NONE of them would have had the Lehi roof over their head -- and Meri ought to be grateful to Janelle for providing it, and thanking her, not treating Janelle like dirt.
I wish Janelle had taken that 40% down and bought herself an affordable house, in an area that didn't involve HOA fees and high monthly utility costs. She should have "run away", far away from the grifters that surround her, but I know it must have been hard for her to tear her kids away from their half siblings. But she has proven she can support them and her, and none of those losers around her have been able to do that.
As for Meri, nothing can excuse her behavior. She strikes me as having a narcissistic personality disorder.
To me Robin is just another grifter, who didn't bother to get a real job to provide for her kids, and instead declared bankruptcy rather than a job, and got pregnant again. It amazes me that people who can't provide for their present children think it is acceptable to have more. Meanwhile she dumped her bills on poor Janelle. I wouldn't be surprised if she's now trying to get her sister in as wife #5. And what woman who doesn't work, in a family of five adults, and multiple teens, needs to bring in her sister for "child care"? Plus I thought her dumping her own childcare on Logan and other teens when she didn't work, ridiculous. Her original statement was that she hoped she could care for the Brown children (as if they needed her, with all those teens and Christine and lazy Meri) , then it quickly became her wanting their help with her own kids -- meanwhile not working herself. I notice she didn't make any attempt to study or take the real estate exam either.
It's probably too late, but RUN JANELLE, RUN!!!!!
Great insight! I totally agree with all of the posters about Meri; ICK! She is such a whiner and a manipulator. She is SO selfish!!! And really, she needs to make up her mind already about having another child instead of crying and whining about it.
DeleteI agree that Janelle appears to be the most level-headed of the bunch, but I do see a serious lack of self-worth underneath it all. And I hope she stops excusing Meri's greed by saying "as long as it doesn't take away from something I need." Why should you settle for what you "need" when Meri and her spoily daughter are hitting Disneyland every other weekend, living in the house with the most upgrades/extras, etc.?
DeleteThey still own property in Utah so would Mariah have to pay out of state fees? I don't really understand how all that works, but I bet there is a way around it! :-)
ReplyDeleteCan they afford these homes? I have crunched the numbers a hundred different ways and don't know how they put food on the table! Just the basic living expenses- I don't know how they come anywhere close to covering them.
And Kody's income. Is that pooled or do you suppose that is where his money comes from? He has to have an allowance of some kind. Even if his car is paid for he still has to insure it and put gas in it.
Even the money that is coming in from EVERY source really doesn't seem like it would add up to that much considering what it must cost to keep them all alive. Even if they put down all the money from season 4 as down payments- what did they live on?
It just NEVER adds up for me.
"They still own property in Utah so would Mariah have to pay out of state fees? I don't really understand how all that works, but I bet there is a way around it! :-)"
DeleteMost likely not. As education budgets have been cut, states have gotten very strict about who gets in-state discounts. I don't know what the rules are in Utah, but in most states you have to prove actual physical residency for at least a year prior to college enrollment. Owning property and paying taxes is not enough.
In-state tuition depends on the state's rules. For example, in my state, if you graduated from high school in our state, you are considered a state resident.
DeleteWe don't have all the facts, therefore it will never "add up"
DeleteI could have misunderstood, but I thought they said that each wife gets an equal "allowance", and each has her separate checking account, credit card, etc. It sounded to me as if the *rest* of the income goes into a communal account, from which they discuss and decide how to use that money - for Logan to go to college, for Mariah to get a car, etc. It still doesn't add up to them being able to afford these four big houses, but it seems as if they don't just divide up every dollar that comes in. When Janelle said she "cuts the checks", I think she was talking about the "allowances". She seems so savvy about money management that I feel certain she would have had a strong say as to how their finances are set up.
DeleteChristine is living in a dream world if she thinks they are ever going to have free title to the houses.
As for Mariah going back to Utah to go to college, they may still have time to help her meet the residency requirements for lower tuition, because they still own the Lehi property, and have relatives living there. She may be able to plead that she didn't have a choice about moving to LV. It seems that at least some of the wives have been able to take advantage of "the system" - though mainly because they weren't legally married, which wouldn't be the case for Meri's daughter.
This is my first time posting, but I've enjoyed reading for several weeks now. My opinion about MSWC is that the jewelry isn't even attractive - at *any* price.
"In-state tuition depends on the state's rules. For example, in my state, if you graduated from high school in our state, you are considered a state resident."
DeleteThat's true and evidenced by the incidences of mail-in voter fraud in the election where college students were voting twice, as residents in their "home" state and then again in their "college" state.
Here are the requirements for in-state tuition for UT and as far as I can tell, none of the Brown kids meet requirements. Below this there is further information for missionaries & military but I'm sure they don't count as missionaries. This was taken from UT State Univ, but it says this is the law so I'm sure it's the same throughout UT:
Deletehttp://www.usu.edu/admissions/residency/
THE LAW: ESTABLISHING UTAH DOMICILE AND MAINTINING CONTINUOUS UTAH RESIDENCY FOR ONE YEAR (12 CALENDAR MONTHS) AND DECLARING FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE.
Requirements
You must be a Citizen or Permanent Resident of the United States to apply for residency and be admitted to Utah State University.
You must obtain a Utah Driver's License, Voter Registration, and Vehicle Registration. These three items must be obtained at least 3 months before you apply for residency. For example, if you are applying for residency for the fall semester, you would need these items by May 1st. For spring semester, you must obtain these items by October 1st. If you are using a vehicle in Utah, even if it is in your parent's name, it needs to be registered in Utah.
You must live in Utah for 12 continuous months. You cannot be absent from the state for more than a total of 30 days during this time frame (this includes Christmas Break, Spring Break, and summer). You must provide two different types of evidence as verification, which are:* Verification of Housing in Utah: This must cover the full 12-month period. This can include rental agreements, letters from your landlord, or your mortgage statement.
Verification of Physical Presence in Utah: This must also cover the full 12-month period, and is verification of what you were doing in Utah. This can be your unofficial transcripts if you were a student, paystubs if you were working, letters from coaches or volunteer organizations, or bank statements showing transactions in Utah. If you are unable to provide any of these types of verifications, please contact our office regarding other options. You must be able to provide proof of your physical presence for the full 12-month period.
*A typical example would be a student who attended school fall and spring semesters but did not attend school in the summer and instead got a job. You would need to provide the rental contracts for the full 12 months to verify housing, unofficial transcripts to prove what activity you were involved in for fall and spring semesters, and paystubs for each month of the summer to verify you were physically present in Utah.
You must be declared financially independent. This means you cannot be claimed as a dependent by anyone outside the state of Utah on your most recent tax return. For example, if you are applying for residency for the Fall 2011 semester, you must not be claimed as a dependent by anyone outside of Utah on taxes filed by April 2011 for the 2010 tax year. You will need to submit a copy of your 1040 Form as proof of this (the first 2 pages of your federal tax return).
More Information for Missionaries and Military Personnel.
You're correct, for UT state funded universities. Private universities set their own tuition schedules and rules for in-state, out-of-state tuition requirements with many having the same rates for both.
DeleteI love this blog and I am going to try again to post( I've tried before). I don't think splitting 4 ways is fair at all . It seems like Meri feels she entitled to more then the others.I don't understand how they can go from dire straights financially when they moved to Vegas had all this debt and still manage to get mortgages and afford the up keep on these homes .I guess they must be making a ton of money with TLC or TLC helpped them with the homes and they must be doing good on the sales of their book and other their Ventures. I started watching this show out of curiosity since I watched Big Love wanted to see how close in reality BL was. I keep watching and it amazes me how far off they have gone from what they started out as showing what plygamy was . TO me its more like 4 single Moms and there boyfriend seeing them occasionally even thought he is legally married to Meri. The Dargers are more what I see plygamy supposed to being. I watch to see what there going to do next and of course love when they show clips of Las Vegas.
ReplyDeleteDo you think any of the Brown's read this blog? And more important, do you think any of them comment?
ReplyDeleteI would like to see Janelle and Christine have lap band surgery, much more interesting and worthwhile than hair plugs for selfish Kody.
Yes, but Krochie is the main man. It is all about him.....wives come second, children third.
DeleteMore hair can be cute and less risky than WLS (but then bald men can be cute too :). Like size diversity, its a matter of taste isn't it? A persons primary doctor may be best to advise if weight loss is necessary, and the best choice of method.
DeleteSince I've heard many *nightmare* cases of WLS, I looked up this article and encourage the Brown gals to look again if they are tempted by anthing said here or elsewhere.
VIDEO: Study Adds Weight to Lap Band Risks
"Nearly half of patients who have laparoscopic gastric banding for obesity eventually need to have the devices removed because of erosion or some other malfunction, researchers say.
"Among 82 patients followed for at least 12 years after lap-band surgery at a single institution, 49 had at least one reoperation for complications or device failure, according to Dr. Jacques Himpens, of Saint Pierre University Hospital in Brussels, and colleagues"
By JOHN GEVER, MedPage Today Senior Editor
March 21, 2011
Christine doesn't need it. In new photos of her, she looks great. She has lost a ton of weight. Probably as small or smaller than Robyn. And according to tweets, Janelle is very committed to her work outs. It will take her longer, but I am pulling for Janelle.
DeleteI know several people who have had WLS and what has happened in every case is - initial loss, then regain as they learn to "eat around" the surgery.
DeleteI think that WLS is like anything else, some people succeed and some do not. I have a good friend who had WLS ten years ago and she has lost the weight she set out to lose and has kept it off. Likewise, I went with her to the doctor for her yearly check up and there was a woman in the office who had had gastric bypass and was in for a revision because she never lost all of the weight and after a year began gaining it back. My friend reminds me that her wls is a tool and not a quick fix. From the way that Janelle and Christine and Meri are portrayed on the show as being entitled and needing instant gratification, I doubt wls would be a long term solution for any of the three. In fact, I doubt any of the three older women will ever keep their weight down. They are all miserable and emotionally deprived and abused by the man they have chosen to meet their emotional needs. They seem to be emotional eaters, so I don't see long term weight loss success for any of those three.
DeleteThe previous page is closed now, but I wanted to share my opinion of the post regarding the use of the word "abuse" in describing the polygamous family dynamics.
ReplyDeleteI don't see any harm in the term. The abuse may not be physical in the Brown/Darger households but there is quite obviously emotional and verbal abuse situations that exist concerning these families
Secure in my decision to remain single and childless.
By your definition "abuse" happens in every family, relationship, workplace etc. We all put up with it in some degree. Respect your choice to stay single. If it works for you, it is fine in my books.
DeleteThat's true Anony 858. You make a good point regarding how I defined "abuse" in my above post. Color me guilty of painting in broad strokes in this instance. I should have clarifed that I was making a general observation and not focusing on a specific event/example. Thanks for helping me "keep it real" :-)
DeleteOh, there is abuse in the Brown household. neglect, verbal abuse, emotional abuse. Hey, they put it out there for all to see!
DeleteOMG... Of course there is abuse! This guy should be in jail. He and Meri are married and found 3 weak sad souls to prey on.
DeleteThey aren't going to grow old in those houses, because they'll lose them at some point when they just can't pay the mortgages any more.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in Las Vegas this October, I took a bus tour to the Grand Canyon. The driver was also a real estate agent, and we heard A LOT about the Las Vegas housing situation. For example, he pointed out a group of condos that were being rented because nobody was in a position to buy them.
There are so many sensible and feasible ways that the Browns could have stayed together in Las Vegas (condos, townhouses), but those aren't good enough for them. They "had" to build brand new McMansions that they will never afford in the long run.
I agree that it would be fairer and more sensible to divide the budget by number of children. No matter how much Meri cries and complains that she can't have a fucking wet bar because she only has one child. She wanted more ... at the same time that she clearly doesn't want any more now.
And the Kodester is clearly hoping to get the kind of hair plug deal that Jon Gosselin got.
Right on....love this blog post. TLC money is burning a hole in their collective pockets. They don't know how to manage money for the best, of all concerned in the family. The have a sense of entitlement now that they are momentarily famous.
DeleteIf Meri were Jesus, she would have taken 1/4 of the loaf of bread & let small kids starve!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteFair doesnt mean equal when you have an adult child and your "sister wives" have 16 years left of raising kids. If I were Meri, Id be happy to have a small ranch house. I would feel like crap if I had a big empty house. Selfish is as selfish does. That woman cant see past her own wants. She can not differentiate between a need and a want. I hope Kody marries a fifth time and that the new wife sends Meri packing. Meri needs some competition! The wives kiss her butt because she could divorce Kody and take their money. There is no love lost in this unhealthy arrangement.
Yeah - but she has more hours in the day to dust, scrub tiles, fluff pillows, vaccuum carpets,polish the taps on the wet bar and play with craft supplies in the hobby room to the rear of the kitchen - just past the dr(wet)bar. I bet she starts adding vodka to the geen goo.
DeleteCute, very cute indeed....love the comment about Meri 1/4 of the loaf. Or perhaps she is more like Marie Antoniette...."let them eat cake" even if they are starving.
DeleteDo we know that ALL their money is split equally? I figured, they all got an equal budget for the houses but that i.e. food budgets are split differently. I don't really see Mariah being dressed better or surrounded by more expensive things then the other kids suggesting that her mother has more room for extra stuff. Same for Meri; her clothes, furniture, car -- none look more expensive then the other kodettes.
ReplyDeleteIn the interview with the teenagers... Hunter is seen in old ratty jeans, and Mariah is wearing Toms shoes. They are pretty pricey.
Deletekatieculpepper
I didn't notice his jeans looking "ratty." In fact I recal they were dark colored with wide cuffs and thick, very noticable white stitching. No, not a teen boy stalker ;) but a few episodes back I caught myself noticing that in one couch session Meri was wearing jeans like that, (without cuffs and obviously tighter) then the next Jannell and so on and so forth. There are plenty of times I've thought they switched shirts around so I've caught myself through the episodes now looking for that type of jeans. He looked like a normal teenage boy to me. Nice jeans, nice sweater and bright white sneakers. I have to agree with Hepburn Hilton, I don't see any of the children, or adults dressing "better" than the others as if a their parent is getting a larger chunk of money. I think Mariah, and Mykelti for that matter (Christine's daughter, not Meri's) might just care a touch more about their appearance because it interests them more.
DeleteI am so happy that you guys put into words what we are all thinking! And for the nay-sayers, this blog is MORE than fair to the Browns. Many nice articles in the beginning. But as the saying goes, "can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear!"
ReplyDeleteMeri is so disgusting in her behavior. Now she has taught Mariah the tear ploy. Robyn even is getting in on it. I hope she sees how she looks and changes her attitude. She is the only one that Kody bows down to. Why is that? he really caters to her. I know they are married, but isn't he to his other wives? Don't get what she wants... tears, doesn't hear what she wants, tears. did her parents baby her or what?
I disagree with Robyn being the "queen" at this point. I really didn't see Kody cooing over her at all this season, if anything, realizes he just made a mate for Meri.
I happen to love the show Duck Dynasty, about another religious family. Good clean fun. It's a new show and has had more episodes than the Browns. I read an article where the patriarch, Phil Robertson, was somewhat unhappy about the editing. They had cut out his son preaching, he was proud of him and since he's not on the show, wanted it aired. although, he did add a very important point.......(not exact words, but from memory)
We are happy to be on the air. Some things we would like to be shown don't make it, but we are not complaining. As far as editing goes, they can't make you say things you don't say, so many reality stars complain about editing. Well, darn it, don't say it and they can't use it!
Might I add, they are rich, and work hard at their own company. They all get along. Never once have I seen anyone crying. They teach good values to the children.
To call this show a show about a religious family is the craziest thing I have ever seen. Was this the best of any polygamous fundamentalist group believing in Joseph Smith? that is hard to believe.
Also, LOVED the twitter picture and the clip from the last post!
Sounds like your father was a smart man. Too bad the Browns don't get any smart advice. Do you think they would take it if they got any? I take that back. I am most certain they are saving for their grandchildrens education, and have already saved for the ones they have. NOT.
ReplyDeleteThat's right, they still own ANOTHER home, with a double mortgage on it. It would have made much more sense to pay that house off, rent another year and see what happens. What was so wrong with the rentals? Very nice homes, two pools.
ReplyDeleteJust think, those women see that "video" everyday, ugh!
In the income, I believe you forgot to add they made zilch this year in LIV and let's not forget what was it, Chef's Pantry? But you might want to add the 6 pieces of jewelry they sold to some poor unsuspecting person! haha.
If they really are dividing the money as they say they are...
ReplyDeleteThen ALL of them really are *Morons*....complete *Idiots* !!!
And frankly if those women, those *mothers* with all the kids are willing to settle for such a skewed arrangement....then it is on them !! There should have been a showdown or a mutiny to get things balanced like CJ and MS outlined above if any of them had a brain cell working.
BUT....Also being mindful that truth/integrity is NOT their strong suit nor is it an honored virtue in their world.
This all could be total bullsh*t designed to keep blogs and chat rooms buzzing and people watching their *alleged stupidity.*
They may have a whole different setup, both in the source of the down payments and arrangements of the four houses, and also in how they run their group house finances.
And don't forget all the write-offs and subsidies...
For the single moms, all their "business" expenses (real or padded), the *start up* costs for the online junk store, just for openers.
I keep thinking about how they must have been pretty damn solvent in liquid in assets already to just up and leave Utah with SEVENTEEN KIDS....then IMMEDIATELY take on FOUR rentals on pretty decent homes....homes that needed furnishings etc, and the day to day living expenses for all four families !!
They left with NO jobs to go to, no income at all other than TLC (and that was only the first season's worth of TLC's $$.) Apparently, they had already enough of a bank account to coast comfortably even back then, along with the shams of bankruptcies, welfare and food stamps too.
However, if we are to believe that they actually do divide their money equally...
Meaning that Janelle and Christine who have SIX kids apiece to house and feed, only get the same as Meri and Robyn....that just really stretches credibility to utter stupidity !!!
If it is even remotely true, either they are showing their version of plygdom to be based on total *irrational* thinking......
OR...these women have to be the dumbest females on the planet.
I know, I am a cynic, but I am just not buying their proposed storyline on this.
They are frauds.
Love the blog. I just had a theory about the bald theme over and over in this show. Ithink Kody is vying for an offer for hair plugs from a California doctor, like Jon Gosselin had done. Didn't Jon get his hair plugs free and the doctor got publicity. Just like when Kate had her stomach surgery paid for. They both made episodes from these problems of theirs and the doctors got publicity.
ReplyDeleteITA. It was so random all of a sudden they whole family and the hairdresser Kennedy started talking about his balding. At Logan's going away breakfast, Maddie just randomly mentions that her dad is balding? Really? You would think they had more interesting things to discuss....like Logan's new dorm, etc. That was totally a bid for free plugs for Kody. Or a new governmental program "Plugs for Plygs"
Delete"Plugs for Plygs"
DeleteLOVE it !!!
And knowing how Kody operates, he will likely get the free plugs!!
Great.....I hope enjoys every exremely painful minute of getting his hair plugs. Silly fool that he is.
DeleteHappy New Year. IIMHO I do not think that the Browns will be able to keep the homes. Not unless someone else is paying for them. They must have money hidden from other sources. There is no way in hell they can afford the expense. TLC is paying them a nice salary but it is nowhere close to the amount of money we see them spending. If they have so much available cash, then why did they not pay off their debts. The scene with Robin trying to repair her credit was crap. Why finance a washer/dryer. And blinds. This is an expense they could have paid cash for. They are nuts. Why do this to the kids. I understand that they want to give the kids stability since the move to Vegas but the Browns are going about it the wrong way. These kids are going to be more hurt when they have to leave these new homes. The only thing I cannot figure out is if they are really this stupid or are they fooling us. Are we being PUNKED. This family says one thing yet their actions is the complete opposite. A family lives under the same roof, they share their meals, the spend time together. Living in 4 separate homes only makes them neighbors. How will this make them closer. These women like having their own homes. I bet they don't like seeing Kody with the other wives. Kody can spin this any way he wants but they are not really showing us how a polygamist family lives. If Janelle, Christine and Robin actually managed to finance these homes then they can make money on telling other single women with 6 kids how they too can afford a nice home over $450K with no clear income, bankruptcy filings, debt issues and no husband. Plus, still manage to take a lot of vacations. Since the Browns have made their lives public, they owe it to their fans (I am not a fan) the truth about their money, their rotation schedule (yes Robin, Kody does rotate the wives), their real religion or belief and why they need more kids. The Browns are not being honest. If they continue these lies, it will make their demise harder on the kids. They will not be on TLC forever and it does not look like they have a plan B.
ReplyDeleteI am a total fan but still think you are totally right! No one wants to hear any more about their money trouble because if they thought for even a minute they could afford four crazy large houses then they really don't have the money troubles they are claiming...or are total idiots! I would like to see a focus on family values and back to showing why polygamy is so important to them or more interaction between the wives. And if Cody shakes his hair around one more time I might throw up!
DeleteJust caught the one picture... from Dumb and Dumber hahahahhahha
ReplyDeleteI don't have anything enlightening to say, other than read your blog daily, and love love love it. They should have you guys writing the show, TLC should seriously look into hiring you!
Serendipitously yours. A FAN! I would not watch the show if not to come here and read such interesting stuff. I wonder how many others feel the same. I have seen asked if they think the Browns come to read, you know they do! If you were on a show, you would too!
I think Kody has more money than he lets on. I think he hides it from his wives, the state (so his concubines can get foodstamps), his church (so he doesn't have to tithe on it) and probably from the IRS. He has too many expensive toys and spends too much on houses and vacations etc to be explained by their supposed income. I'd love to know where his money actually comes from.
ReplyDeleteHaving a rental in Lehi, makes all the Utah trips tax deductible as well.
ReplyDeleteWell, thanks to this blog... I will eat my words that the Browns would never get funded on these homes. I was looking at the wrong place and be assured these homes are deeded. How on God's creation did it happen, but it did. It blows my mind that credit scores near 650 or lower can get $444K; $432K; 446K and what ever the last one works out to be. Really this blows my mind! Additionally, to learn it was somewhat a major mortage company in CA that loaned it to them. Just shocked!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I agree with most of the comments here. I just hope that the Browns are smart enough to look to the future and save these children of the tears and emotional stress of having to move a few years down the road and look like failures to everyone.
I have to wonder if the wives who are not legally married to Kody receive food stamps( or received them in the past) and federal assistance. I understand that is how Warren Jeffs runs his community...which to my way of thinking is defrauding the government. And if they do receive assistance, buying these big houses should put an end to that!!
ReplyDeleteIf they all file as individuals they can claim all sorts of freebies, and that is just what they are doing.
DeleteThey are so twisted- for the first time they have a hefty income and 4 brand new McMansions and all they can do is cry & whine & bitch about every little thing. I really do think the new cash has driven them mad! I also have no doubt that they will be back on welfare when the paychecks stop...Kody never financially supported his children without the help of welfare before TLC, so I can't see him doing it after. Yup...this is the guy who proudly states he "will have more children".
ReplyDeleteI agree with the last post 2012.. This is not about religion to the Browns.. remember how they had "services" led by Cody ONCE ...no more .. look at the Dargans they REALLY believe that they will be populating their own planet some day.. he takes his role seriously because he believes it.. Cody just likes the plural wives and the attention..
ReplyDeleteRemember how his daughter refused to take part in that sham of a church service? Even when the Toadster tried to use his mind-stare method of trying to force her into participating and acting like it was a normal activity, the daughter would not give in. THIS is what makes me think they've really gone off the rails, and Toady can deny it all he wants and try to mind-stare control Christine when she speaks her mind on the couch and says she feels like they're failing as a family and she's sick of being a single mom instead of part of a family because THIS is not what she signed up for...THIS is not a religion, it is just a toad who's wife selects his next babymomma and allows him to have ongoing affairs while they all pretend they're as happy as could be.
DeleteNot really related, but I thought of this when it was brought up with the Dargars because it was said by one of the wives in the first season and one of the daughters in a couch interview (I don't remember exactly when or who said it). Apparently, one of the rehearsed lines that polygamists give as a 'pro' regarding the reason they're all glad to be participating in polygamy is that most monogamous relationships fail, and most men cheat, so (paraphrasing here) if you give him enough variety at home - more than one wife - he won't be looking outside the marriage and you'll always know where he is and who he's with.
One of the major flaws with these arguments is that while all monogamous relationships don't work out (what is the divorce rate now, anyways?), Kody has married 2 women who have been divorced and Joe Dargar has married one. Joe's wife was in a polygamist relationship and Robyn was in a monogamous relationship where they both believed in polygamy. Jannelle was in a monogamous relationship with someone who believed in polygamy. not to mention that Janelle and Christine have both left and then returned to Toady. The point being that polygamy doesn't automatically help eliminate marital strife.
FYI, Brown Ladies: all men do not cheat. Choosing your husband's next babymomma/sexual conquest/victim is pimping, I think, and it's icky. If I'm not enough for my husband, then he's not good enough for me. Come on - you all have daughters; give them the gift of a healthy self-esteem and a chance at a healthy adult relationship, please!!
Hi Anonymous: I find that when watching interviews of polygamous Mormon women, that they seem to believe that everyone outside their community thinks it's acceptable when men cheat on their wives and/or leave their wives for younger women. They have an attitude of, "Well, at least we know who are husbands are with."
DeleteWho feeds these Mormon women their ideas? The polygamous men? I don't know of anyone in my family or social circles who would approve of infidelity or abandoning one's wife. Politicians caught cheating on their wives either see their political careers ended--see John Edwards--or have their legacies severely tarnished-- see Bill Clinton.
You live what you know. That is why these Plyg women accept things that we are astounded at.
DeleteI agree TAR. I think that as a young man, Kody was infatuated with the religion and the idea of a polygamous lifestyle, but he quickly gave up the religious part - he was focused on having fun - as he is now and only uses the religion to defend his choices. I don't see (and I understand that we only see a small part of their lives on tv) much, if any, of the supposed basics of their religion being practiced, except for the plural marriage part. IMO, he's a married man carrying on 3 affairs with all adults being willing participants, ie: they're frauds, all of them.
DeleteI don't care what the adults do (they deserve what they get for agreeing to live this way), but they're raising children in that chaotic environment, with mixed messages about such important things, and especially now with broadcasting the mess their lives are to the world via TLC, and they deserve better.
I'm impressed with how many of the teens appear to be independent thinkers and I hope the rest of the kids turn out the same way.
Maria sent a twitter saying she got a new puppy for Christmas - I was worried! But then she posted a picture of a big stuffed dog. Someone commented 'at lease he won't pee on the carpet'
ReplyDeleteOK, that made me spit out my coffee. I'm normally against hounding the kids, but she clearly was asking for it.
DeleteI know this has been said before but I have to say it again. If they have so much money why can't these women get some new clothes. The spaghetti strap shirts with a long sleeve shirt under them are absolutely ridiculous. By no means am I a fashionista but if I were on T.V. I would try to dress better.
ReplyDeleteFlowers Family - we need a LIKE button for your comment about the clothes! You'd get so many likes the button would break!
DeleteThey also can't afford an iron. They always look like they grabbed their clothes off the floor. You're on TV!!! At least Robyn tries and does her hair, or maybe her live-in nanny does it for her.
DeleteI think splitting it 4 ways evenly is perfectly equal. The show is about the sisterwives. There are 4 of them. So the money should be split equally between them. They work they do for the show has little or nothing to do with the number of children they have.
ReplyDeleteI think so too. They do the same amount of "work" on the show so their pay should be the same.
DeleteThere are 4 wives and 4 houses. A 4 bedroom house is NOT twice as expensive as a 2 bedroom house.
When a family has kids, the amount of money you have for yourself is going to be reduced. If you make 36,000 and then you get married, you now have 18,000 per person. If you have a child, you now have only 12,000 per person and so on. These people have made it abundantly clear that they are 4 families. So why should the wives with less children get less because of the reproductive choices of the others?
Kody on the other hand should be required to divide his share between the 17 kids
But there's the problem - what exactly is his "share?" His share of what he earns from the show? I don't understand what else he does to bring in income. The green goo and jew-le-rey can't be bringing in much, if anything. Is this family living on what TLC is paying and nothing else? I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how they manage to feed and clothe everyone, let alone afford four brand-new houses with hobby rooms and the you-know-what in Meri's house (I can't even bring myself to say it anymore).
DeleteI would agree if they were four separate families, but they are not. They are, or at least are supposed to be, one family and that means sharing resources. What happened to "all for one and one for all"?
DeleteSo I have some questions...
ReplyDelete1. Did I hear correctly that they are going to have a re-commitment ceremony??
- They don't even like each other...how do they expect the audience to
buy that crock...as they all glare. They wouldn't even allow Kody
and Robyn's "sealed" ceremony to be videoed...let's see what garbage they
have to tell us to make it OK to video this one.
2. So, they had to buy Aspyn a car out of the general fund.
- Holy Cow Browns...by the time every teenager has a car in this family you
are going to need to add a parking lot in your gated community. Think
Meri will allow any of the kids to park in her garage???
3. Do you think that the neighbors down the street all had to sign confidential-
ity agreements???
- It would be so awesome if one of them would be an adviser on this blog :)
4. Will Kody run for HOA President??
5. Do you think TLC/F8F will have to fork over the landscaping cost for these
homes???
- A lot of dirt, turns into a lot of mud. Tough on camera equipment and
new carpeting or flooring.
Good questions Just A Thought! I have a couple of maybe answers for you -
Delete#2: I have a couple friends and 1 family member that live in gated communities with HOA fees and rules. In those communities you cannot even have cars in your driveway over X # of hours and it cannot be overnight. Also there are limits to how many visitor's cars can be parked on the street and limits as to hours on street parking also. It's all about appearance.
The Krody Krew better hope their community isn't governed by laws that strict because I don't think they have enough garage space for all the upcoming teenagers to park.
#3: Non-disclosure agreement - I'm no lawyer but I would seriously doubt you could come into a community and say "hey, I'm buying a house here but we're on TV so we need you to sign these agreements." I would say when pigs fly!
#5: Landscaping - when we purchased our new home it came with the front yard landscaped already and we were responsible for the back yard. Not sure if TLC would have to pony up for back yard landscaping or not, if filming back there and tracking in mud or sand would damage the homes' interiors, would be interesting to find out.
These are just quick answers - things I've learned from the people mentioned in #2 as to parking and the others are my opinion. I think you had great questions though!
I do know that most upscale communities have limits on how many days you have to get window coverings up and what you can have. My 1 friend really was caught rather short due to unexpected expenses and she put up sheets just until she could purchase window coverings and had problems with her HOA over them. So I know the Krew may need to move quickly on that type of thing.
I almost wonder if landscaping wouldn't fall under the same sort of time frame because not having it done does reduce the value of the other homes. JMO
What kind of landscaping is par for the course in LV? Lawns would cost too much in water resources to maintain.
DeleteA layer or two of Visqueen with a truckload of decorative rocks? Some water conserving plants? Not much landscaping to do considering the size of the yards in question.
My 3 sisters and I all shared one car until we each had enough money to buy our own (including insurance). It's called learning to share.
DeleteHowever it was not necessary to drive everywhere. Lots of places were within walking or biking distance. I guess the new homes are a bit far from everything (shops, schools, etc) - LV folks chime in?
My sisters and I were not perfect angels but we didn't expect our parents to get us each a car. And I still prefer to live close to a downtown area so I don't need to absolutely rely on wheels.
Janelle was saying that she didn't have enough in her budget to get a concrete pad in her back yard. I believe she said she would do it later. Landscaping is expensive unless you do most of it yourself and I really can't see any of them getting their hands dirty.
DeleteThank you for bringing up the 'recommitment ceremony'! I thought I was hearing things....although did anyone think that not all the wives were on board with this? Kody looked kind of....disinterested in the whole concept and said something like he had to get buy in from everone. Did I hear that right? So that means at least one of the wives doesn't want to do it. Since Christine said since they were doing a reset and all, I think we can eliminate her from the list of possible dissenters. Janelle always has and will continue to go along with whatever the group decides, she is a major caver. So that leaves Robyn and Meri. I don't see why Robyn wouldn't want that, her personality is usually one of going with the crowd and being pleasing....so it's probably Meri who doesn't want it. I would have to go back and rewatch that part but that's how I felt it went down.
DeleteWhen we went to Vegas for my birthday, hubby indulged my addiction and drove me by the cuddle-sack. I didn't see anything within walking distance of those houses except an LDS church.
DeleteOh. Never mind.
@Dakotjustice.. no they can't walk everywhere from where they are. They definately need cars, esp. In the heat.
DeleteI predict a "DIY landscaping" episode, complete with chaos and Krody flipping his wisps around while all 17 kids try to figure out what to do. And mark my words, when Janelle's cement is poured, all 23 will leave their prints in it.
Delete"truckload of decorative rocks"
DeleteLandscaping:
They could just empty all the rocks out of their heads and call it a day!
Just a Thought, those are great questions....you mentioned the re-commitment
Deleteceremony...and that makes me think of when the Gosselins hit up TLC/Figure 8 for their re-commitment ceremony in Hawaii...Kate was reassuring all the kids that 'mommy and daddy will be together FOREVER, etc, etc' and come to find out later that Kate and Jon weren't really 'together' at that point anyway, it was so obvious if you watched it....and they actually broke up not long after the whole sham of re-committing themselves to the marriage and their family....but they got a great trip out of it, I believe that was way more important to Kate than lying to her small kids....wonder where Kody and the Kodettes will re-commit?? I have my own idea about 'committing' the adults in this family....the looney bin comes to mind!!!
I found it disgusting and unfair that Janelle was not only going without a cement patio which is essential in my opinion but actually ended up with a smaller house then Merri...a freaking empty Nester within the next year! Are you kidding me!!! She needs to shut up and make another baby or downsize! How incredibly selfish!
DeleteCPA Carol, I bet Kody won't do it unless they need to - for ratings and new stuff to air on the show. THEN he would do it. Just like Big Love!!! LOL
DeleteI really could not care less about their belief in their future planet, only because: a) I doubt they really believe it based on how this family consistantly professes to believe in something and then seems to go out of their way to show the public how their words and actions don't agree, and b) we can debate and debunk that whole concept for a month of Sundays, but it won't do any good since none of us will truely know until we're dead.
ReplyDeleteHeck, maybe we'll find out we should all have been Quakers or Buddist or must belong to The Church of the Holy Bovine in order to get to the highest level of Heaven. Who could know for sure?
All I'm saying is that if it's a real, true belief, I don't criticize. If it's just lip service to some obscure, outdated principle that the Browns have adopted without any of the other parts of the religion/belifs that go with it so they can do whatever they want with no consequences, it's BS and I have no use for people like the Browns. They are scammers, plain and simple.
I respect other religions greatly. Not super religious myself.
DeleteAfter reading the crazy dealings of Joseph Smith, this is a cult, not a religion. So much made up material! From Gods who one came down to have sex with virgin Mary, to the devil and Jesus being brothers, God not being their dad BTW, it is pure blasphemy.
There were no gold tablets, and the writing he claimed to have read were disproven. My favorite part, since I am black, is that when the two "brothers" the devil and Jesus were fighting over who got to rule earth, the ones who didn't take a side were then made into black people. Nice, huh?
Oh, and they think when they go to their "planet" they will be judged by God, Jesus, and Joseph Smith.
Here's a quote from him All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet...When they can get rid of me, the devil will also go." (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 408, 409)
I guess being a narcissist runs through the men of this cult.
Amen! Great post. Second graph, especially! That is why it's so hard to respect their religion...they don't seem like they actually believe it themselves, so how do you expect to get others to respect it? For the most part, people will respect what you respect. Even if I don't believe it myself, I'll at least give you respect for your freedom to choose. But if it's clear that you're just scamming in the name of religion to get what you want, you get no respect from me. Sorry Browns! Some of you fit this category to a "tee"! Mock Jobs
DeleteSpot on! I live in the Bible belt, and on a regular basis I'm infuriated by someone's narrow minded take on exactly how one gets to Heaven. I always say there are those who will be shocked to see Gays! and Catholics! and the neighbor who never set foot in church in Heaven. Lol! I absolutely agree that we don't have any absolute answers until we see for ourselves. I may just join the Church of the Holy Bovine.....
DeleteBut, yes, as far as the Browns, when do we ever see them living out any faith or beliefs?! Their religion seems to be thrown out when they are lamely trying to defend their lifestyle. And really, I'm open-minded as far as that goes, too. But I'd have a lot more respect form people who said, "You know what? Our husband isn't capable of being monogamous and that's fine with me!" Except, we see in every show how it probably isn't fine and nothing in that dang family seems to work.
In their mecca to Plygville, we saw their ignorance in regards to this religion they defend so vehemently. Their behaviors toward one another certainly don't seem Christ like. The prayers we have seen seem forced and unnatural. The church service in the living room was so fake that one kid dug in her heels and refused to attend....and THIS is what annoys me about the Browns. They're full of crap and we are all along for the ride because we can't turn away from the train wreck that they are.
The Dargers, the Duggars, the gypsies, other subjects of TLC, I may look at their beliefs and think, "Huh??" but in the end, they have their beliefs and they have reasons to validate them. I may not agree, but I respect their rights to make their own choices. Just as I'd respect even the goofy Browns if they said they have this LIFESTYLE because they WANT to. Just don't call it a FAITH. That's where all of our intelligence is insulted and they become con-artists.
Hypothetically, if a man has 4 wives and they all leave him, does he have 4 divorces or 1 divorce, since only the 1st wife is legally married to him and she's the only one to obtain a legal divorce.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, if Janelle or Christine leave Grody, do they say they are divorcees? He is technically their commonlaw husband, but also technically their boyfriend, too.
Too gross and confusing for the middle of the night.
Lol. He will be their ex boyfriend. If Meri leaves him will he marry Janelle? DOUBT it. Good thing he and Meri only have 1 child together... Grody would have to financially support all of her children...
DeleteActually, the "spiritual" marriages of the Browns cannot, by definition, default into "common-law" marriage, since polygamy is considered "odious to public policy," polygamy being illegal. Therefore, all of the wives, with the exception of Wetworks, could walk away from this sham any time they choose with no court battle, outside of child support. They could take their houses and walk away, get DNA tests to prove the parentage of the children, and hit Kody for massive child support. Interestingly, Grody and Wetworks haven't closed on their house yet. Wouldn't it be interesting if they didn't get their mortgage?
DeletePersonally, I would love to see them frozen out!
My sister & I watched Sister Wives and kept saying to ourselves..." if they really mean what they say about the polygamous life, then they should be sharing a ( ONE ) home and that also means ONE kitchen. Meri disgusts us. Selfish and demanding, completely contradicting everything she says about her religion.I think this TLC program should air and air forever, to show the rest of the world that Mormon and Muslim polygamous life-styles do not lead to happy, wholesome, or productive lives. ( unless welfare and state subsidized programs are in effect).
ReplyDeleteWe really do feel Janelle is taken advantage of, and even slighted by Miss Meri,whose tears of apology are belied by her words.Poor Janelle, stuck in this nightmare of a family now because there are so many children dependent on it and a whole program based on it.I only hope for the children's sake that selfish Meri actually remembers she said they are all ONE family and act for the BEST of her so-called sister-wives and their children...supposedly to be considered her children too. Damn that wet-bar...or the extra bedrooms for one selfish woman and her soon to be away from home only child.She and the so-called man in charge have no respect from us, or many others, and they really show very little respect or love towards their polygamous wives & the children.
BTW, it is obvious Meri wants no more children, and also that Mr. K.B. desires 4th wife sobbin robin over the first 3.All around, it is a sad life for the Browns.Now, as with all things T.V., onto Joe D. !
Anon 4:07,
DeleteYou brought up a good point about how they all are locked into the show now...since this is their current "occupation" and money source.
To suggest that they have backed themselves into the proverbial corner is true. However muddled and outright dishonest they present things, (and they consistently do) the TLC/F8 money is why they are *what and where* they are, including settling in their new McMansions.
And however they must pimp themselves and their children to that end, they are willing to do it.
If there *ever really was* any initial intention on their part to show their "Principled" lifestyle, that goal has long been abandoned for the ease and lure of the $$$ and all it can buy.
This show isn't even about a plyg marriage anymore. That bit has been diluted into four different women and their children, with one sperm donor, simply riding the same money train.
SW is now about five adults showing how to get whatever they want, doing whatever it takes.
They probably all *should* have SAG cards at this point, given the acting and faux emoting that was required for this season's episodes.
Amused - I doubt that the Browns could qualify for SAG cards, because the Sister Wives show isn't a SAG-AFTRA show. The qualifier for SAG membership is that the prospective actor(s) need to be working on a SAG production.
DeleteBeing that TLC is notoriously cheap, if SW ever did become a SAG show, TLC would probably either drop them like a hot potato or lessen the number of episodes purchased since everyone would then have to be paid per SAG Television rates - EVERYONE including the kids AND the production staff. $25k an ep is a bargain in comparision. And really, looking at the amount of charity ads that aired during the finale - TLC isn't making all THAT much off the show.
It is very clear that right now Janelle has to put up and shut up while the TLC checks are pouring on. Once that is over I bet she changes a few things.
DeleteJust found this blog, love it!
ReplyDeleteI think everyone, including me, would not be so weird and curious if the Browns would simply tell the truth. how they got the homes, etc.
If they would constantly quit crying. All this chaos is not good for the kids.
I think it was smart that the three did not put Kody on the homes. This may be for future welfare efforts, who knows, but then they are at least theirs.
I'd be embarrassed if I were the hairdresser on this trainwreck.....the 2 adults with the worst do's ever. Whoville and Baldie.
ReplyDeleteYep! As disgusting as I think Kody is, he's not an ugly guy. We all saw photos of him when he was younger and had short hair. He looked decent. The long, stringy surfer hair has got to go! He is so afraid to age, hence the 20 year old clothing, sports car, long hair, etc. The long sideburns and "soul patch" on his chin need to go as well. Meri's hair looks like she stuck her head in a blender. The layers are too choppy. And if we're talking about physical appearance, that orange spray tan is hideous, as are the tight tank tops over the shirts. It just emphasizes her fat rolls.
DeleteThanks for this blog! I've enjoyed reading it, and I agree with most of the comments.
ReplyDeleteCodydouche is entertaining in his own way, but this is my last season for watching. I discontinued the Cable at the end of December. My New Year's resolution is to watch a lot less TV.
It won't surprise me if Sister Wives isn't renewed or is phased out in 2013, like maybe a few one hour shows about the Dagers. The last few episodes have been mostly annoying, and showing the dog being put down jumped the shark for me.
Thanks for all the hard work you've done! That took some time to write summaries and crunch those numbers. Much appreciated!
I am totally with you Anon at 7:09. Would love to email you....I took stock of what would best improve my life in the New Year too, and watching a lot less TV was one of those things. So like you TV has been pared down to the bare basic free stations, just to keep up with the news and weather. So bye bye Browns.....somehow I just don't think I will miss you, nor will you and your issues cross my mind.
DeleteIt has been some fun reading the blog, but I can do without that too. Many more things to get on with....did enjoy your efforts to start with, but it too has run its course.
Though off topic, thumbs up to the two posters above. I've begun hinting around for this with my family recently. Not because I need approval but just to let them know the bomb will be dropping soon so they should prepare for a lot less choices in the TV department. I may end up being a little behind with whats going on in reality tv land but paying less than 10 a month for netflix which has all the shows my kiddies like and past seasons of most of the ones I do and keeping a small sat. package for local stations sounds more and more reasonable and economical every day. What we save can always be used for family fun outside the house.
DeleteOr, my future mcmansion. ;)
Chiming in late, thanks for this blog! My thoughts on this finale...
ReplyDeleteThe reason Meri fought for the wet bar, IMO, is to make sure everyone knew that she is the First Wife (and only legal wife for that matter). It was a power play, and Kody went along with it because Meri's house is his real home as well. Perhaps, from a financial point of view, Meri and Kody wanted to up the value of their home should this whole thing fall apart.
Meri is also in position to become Kody's favorite, if she ever left that spot. I think it seemed that Robyn was going to take that spot, being a bit younger and cuter, but I don't think so anymore. Robyn isn't all that she seemed to be in the beginning, she's much more complicated, she has financial issues, three kids from a previous marriage, one with special needs, and now a baby, maybe more in the future.
I imagine that Meri's home is an oasis for Kody, and Meri knows that. Perhaps that is why she doesn't want another baby right now, another baby right now would detract from her main attraction for Kody, the peace and quiet her and her nice, clean home offers. I also think that Meri and Kody really do have a bond from being each other's first love/first marriage, and the other wives have not taken away from that. They are the ones who are really married imo, and the other wives are just being used unfortunately, by BOTH Meri and Kody, but of course, by their own choice as well.
All just my opinion.
I think in this family, money = love. If Meri can grab more of the resources and ensure that her beloved 'sisterwives' live in poverty, she can PROVE that she is the most loved.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if people think that all of the women deserve equal shares of the TLC money because they do equal work on the show, I don't see it that way. By that logic, Meri and Robin work much harder than the other two: squeezing out tears, pushing out baby's on camera, whipping up drama and being over-the-top drama queens. Kody, Meri and Robin make everything all about them all of the time.
Disgusting.
I wonder how they even got their own show? Did TLC go to them or did they go to TLC? I think the cameras being on the children 24/7 is bad news. Especially for the teenagers. This show will end up being disastrous for ALL involved. Especially when it ends. Money is the root of all evil. They sold their souls and their happiness.
ReplyDeleteIWBH - go to http://www.puddlemonkey.tv/ and click on "projects". They explain there that Tim Gibbons came up with the idea of having a reality TV show with Utah plygs, approached Principal Voices and they hooked up with the Browns through that organization, then hooked up with Figure 8 Films who already had a track record with the Gosselins and Duggars.
DeleteI think if the money for the show is paid according to the adults’ contributions, then yes, a four way split is fair; however, if the pay for the show involves the families, then those with the most people contributing should be paid more. For instance, if Janelle’s kids are shown more in one episode, she and her kids should be paid more. Each child should command a certain amount of money for screen time. That would most certainly insure that the women with the most kids were paid more money. But, if that is how the pay is figured, then the children should have money put into an account.
ReplyDeleteDo I think they can afford these houses? No, I don’t think they can afford these houses. While they may have the cash now to qualify for the loans, the money is finite. As soon as TLC bores with the same ole drama, they will drop the polyg show the same way they dropped the plus eight show. Without the show, the earning potential for five uneducated adults is bleak. I see them losing their homes, which is so sad for the children. I doubt they would even get asked to dance on dancing with the stars like Kate, Kendra, and the Kardashians did. All of the women are way overweight, so getting them on the show would be way too hard for the male dancers and the baby daddy does not have the popularity that dancing with the stars requires for their contestants. So, after the demise of their show, it’s back to the simple life of low paying jobs, scamming the government, and trying to make ends meet as best they can.
My thoughts other than these people are pathetic is that in the end, the doubt and insecurities that these children have will only be reinforced and sadly the kids will carry that over into their adult lives and big dreams with little motivation will make them somewhat like their parents—always looking for an angle instead of working hard to achieve reasonable goals. These people suck.
I see how your $$$-division plan could be fair, but it will just help to create more monsters as the moms push their kids into the spotlight to compete for cash:
DeleteMariah wants an iPad? She better launch herself into hysterics while the cameras are rolling to guilt her parents into getting her a baby brother or sister.
Hunter wants to go to football camp? He better cuss up a storm during filming so the other adults can act shocked and the other teens can discuss how they all f*&^ing do it.
Saving up for a car/trip to Disney/designer jeans/escape fund? Break your leg or get pregnant or sneak out of the house in the middle of the night (but be sure to invite the TLC crew so you can get a payday).
Robin's kids already constantly jump into the spotlight - let's not encourage them!!!
I'm dumbfounded. I can't believe they actually got those houses? What the heck am I doing wrong? Not that I want a house that size, but seriously-I work full time, am conservative with my funds and still can't afford a palace like those??? The only question that now remains: How long are they going to be able to keep the "loaner" homes???
ReplyDeleteYou aren't doing anything wrong! You are conservative with your money, which means that the banks would say you COULD afford the house, even though you and I and all of the swb readers know it isn't true. : )
DeleteYou don't have a TLC contract - that is what you have done wrong (or right depending on how you want to look at it).
DeleteNot many of us are able to get on the TLC gravy train like that.
Your work ethic is to be commended by all.
Happy New Year and I hope all goes well for you and your family in the months and years ahead.
If I had a seventeen year old and no other children and wouldn't be having more children, I would be more than happy to divide the TLC money in a way that my sister wives who have sixteen more years of raising babies would get more cash and bigger homes. Id feel silly and selfish if I took 1/4 of the families resources. I would feel like a wicked witch. Where is the love and sacrafice? Where is the looking out for each other? What's the point of even having sister wives if you have no relationship? They all resent each other. I feel sorry for them. Look at Robyn. She's such a snake. She claimed she was available to provide child care services for her sister wives yet once she has her first baby with Kody, she dumps her kids on her little half sister. Wow. That's sooooo telling! Four women and you need your sister to be a live in nanny!? And what the heck are you even doing that you'd need a live in nanny? The Lord knows you're not working. And you won't be anytime soon. We remember the pity party you had over having to support your own kids for a short time, lol. Booh hoo! I get the feeling Kody is so over Robyn!!! Anyone else see that? I think the thrill is gone.
ReplyDeleteExactly! If it's supposed to be a "family", then each wife should get what she needs to support her children.
DeleteSaveSol, you are so right about Robyn. And I'd just add -- I think Robyn is over Kody too.
DeleteLike other posters have said, I think they are laughing all the way to the bank, for a few reasons.
ReplyDeleteI think they are making a lot more than what we know about - from TLC, speaking engagements, outside private people, whatever. A lot more.
#1 We have no idea how much they make from TLC (and can't really compare them to other shows made years ago). We also have no idea how much their house payments are, in fact, too many variable to even properly guess.
The Browns have said before that the teenagers doubt them when they say stuff because it never happens (like getting a house). The teenagers are mostly Janelle's. I honestly don't think Janelle would just go along with buying a house, only to loose it in a year or 2, if they really couldn't afford it. I don't think she would do that to her kids, just for the sake of a show. It would be devastating for those children to publicly loose their homes.
#2 We can only go by what we see. What I see is a bunch of teenage drivers. Kids in sports (the school may waive the fees, but sports still take plenty of $$$$). Kids with smart phones. Kids with laptops. Kids going to Disneyland. Kids that need diapers. Kids that eat at the HS for lunch where it is darn expensive.
Then you add on to the adults and their interests (crafting, whatever) or wants (kitchenaid mixer from the tweet photo) and I'm telling you, there is some serious $$$$ going out of that household every month.
I hope Janelle runs as fast as she and her kids can. In fact, I wonder if she's planning to leave after her youngest graduates.
"... I wonder if she's planning to leave.." Yeah, me too. She said on the finale that she is staying for the kids.
DeleteMy mind is racing! It's kind of like Kody and MerI are the King and Queen and Janelle and Christine are the work slaves (Christine takes care off ALL those kids and Janelle the finances) and Robyn is just the dumb trashy sex slave. Kody and Meri should be in jail. The whole thing is gross. Kody and Meri are married and they go out and find weak, insecure women. The whole thing is sick.
ReplyDeleteWell said "I want Brotherhusbands". I agree.
DeleteIn fact, in addition to being the babymaker and/or sex slave, Robyn is Meri's personal assistant/lap dog. She will cry with Meri, support Meri against Kody for housing expenses and even would carry Meri's baby. Meri has made it clear from day one that Robyn's entry to the family is all due to Meri. Robyn knows that the friendship flows one way so she brought her sister on to help her with Sol (because she is too busy getting her nails done).
Yes - pretty creepy isn't it? Icky poo man.
DeleteHow about 1/2 of all money divided 4 ways (Kody and Meri count as 1). Then 1/2 remaining is split, 7 shares for Christine, 7 shares for Janelle, 5 shares for Robyn, 3 shares for Meri.
ReplyDeleteSince they say they all contribute for the ones in college, I imagine Meri will go around with her open hand yacking about how they should give her more since she would have had more kids if she could. A plan could shut her down. Her brat has not endeared herself and proved her worth to the family like Logan has, to be truthful.
Love the comments, this is my first and last stops of the day to read the latest.
ReplyDeleteThe money - easy come, easy go- champagne appetite on a beer pocketbook.
Like getting a tax refund - yippee, for a day or two.
I totally agree with the division of money and each should be responsible for paying own expenses. Think maybe Kody's 1/5 pays for the Utah mortgages?
Believe Meri should turn either her office or hobby room into a convertible bed/den for Mariah when she leaves for college. Add a kitchenette to the upstairs bonus room to prepare for an extra family.
Pardon my ignorance - but what is this LIV stuff??
Love the blog and all the comments and opinions of all. Thanks
i notice Christine and Janelle do not really have a sisterly bond.. the don't touch or hug each other... neither do Robin or Meri for that matter. This is not an affectionate family- only the kids seem to hang on Logan and Kody. Am I missing something or do even the mothers avoid physical affection with their kids?..
ReplyDeleteI'm not a hugger either. Neither was my mother. I've always felt a little weirded out at people who hug me all the time. I used to feel it was a failing of mine. Now I just feel like that's how I am.
DeleteUnfortunately, those who hug sometimes feel that awkwardness I feel. I don't mean it to be. It's just not my comfort zone.
Do any of the wives have a college education, and it wouldnt suprise me that Logan is probably going to school on a lot of grants, I have never seen such a whiny pathetic bunch, even there tweets portray this loving family, I dont kno what mirror there looking in
ReplyDeleteJanelle went back to college when she left Kody and finished her degree in accounting.
DeleteJanelle came from a mainstream Mormon family where education is generally encouraged, unless it's education about the non-idealized history of the Mormon faith. I think this is one of the reasons that you see Janelle pushing education for her children more than you see with the other wives who grew up in Plyg culture.
In my area, every other commercial was 15 minutes of sad music for the SPCA and showed a bunch of abused animals. I hate those commercials. I don't remember those before, maybe last week's shameful treatment of that poor dog got some new sponsors on board! Well done, Kody! Bring in those sponsorship dollars!
ReplyDeleteIn my area it was children with CANCER! Sick babies with teary eyes looking at you, I had to turn it off, my Momma's heart could hardly take it the first time much less the 2nd, 3rd, 4th.....
DeleteOH MY GOSH! I hated those commercials too. All day long while they played the marathon. I just mute it and leave the room
DeleteI rewatched the show last night, and happy to say that I missed that Logan got the previous Kody mobile! GO Logan!
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone has said. I was able to watch the last episode but not the special Secrets Revealed. From what everyone has said it was a rehash of a rehash.
ReplyDeleteI just don't understand how they can afford to get loans for those houses and then maintain those mortgages and support their families.
Im not sure if I will watch the next season, I am so sick of the sound of Kodster's voice and his holier than thou attitude. I don't see much religion actually "being practiced" other than hearing Kodster go on about it. If they were all so happy and sharing and caring and believing as they say, then why all the indecisions, tears, drama and unhappiness.
I noticed that most of the episide Janelle didn't say much at all, I thought she looked tired.....done with it all perhaps. Janelle didn't even look in the direction of anyone who was talking. The only time Janelle nodded and smiled was when Christine said that they needed to get into the homes and be settled. Any mother would want to be settled with their children.
Not sure whose up for the re committment ceremony definitely Meri and Robyn, not so sure about Christine, even less sure about Janelle.
Great work everyone for having this blog and all the contributors too.
Reagarding the kids clothes at the interview...Hunter had on $100 jeans. Mariah's Toms are around $40. Toms are not expensive, but they are in style, as are those jeans with all the whitestiching.
ReplyDeleteSophie
wonder how that green goo (business) is working out
ReplyDeleteI'm doing some brain storming and running some numbers and would not be surprised if MSWC actually DOES support Robyn. If you consider they have basically no overhead and are probably paying trinket prices for their "stuff" at the prices they have listed and based on the FB page selling 20 items a week at an average of 50 profit would generate $4000 cash flow a month. Just sayin.....
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to throw a thought in. I've seen it mentioned several times on a few other threads and it does factor in to the Brown's finances.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the book.
Now, I know there was a previous poster who said she had had some things published and sounded doubtful that the Brown's recieved much of anything in regards to payment for writing their book. I think that is hard to judge. New genre authors, or areas of special interest (self help, cook books, and the like) usually don't get a contract with a big advance because the publishing house #1 knows the author is hungry to get published and #2 doesn't want to shell out a lot of money up front for someone unproven. If it tanks then they're eating it and the author will spend plenty of time waiting to sell enough copies to get themselves out from under that advance. So we're looking at something in the low thousands paid out as an advance in cases such as this.
But, the Browns published with one of the big houses, and they were already on TV, and at the time it was pulling in high ratings. I'm sure their advance was nothing to sneeze at and was way more than a new, previously unpublished genre or special interests author would have been offered. The book went on to be a best seller. It moved copies and just from a quick glance at a few sites it's still priced in the mid to high teens.
It's not as if they sell the complete rights to the book, walk away with one big check and any profits after that go to the publishing house. Depending on their contract and what their agent was able to barter and sell them at to come to an agreement with the publisher, they get a percentage of the books sales which is paid out on a quarterly basis. As long as that book is in print, they'll get a check.
Would it enable them to afford the big houses? Maybe not on its own but as many others have stated, we don't know what they are paid by TLC or what they charge or are paid for with speaking appearances. Also, would Meri let her sis live in the house back in Utah without paying rent? To me, I think no. They are probably paying enough to cover the payments on it, what most landlords would try for in that situation.
Roll that in with their book royalties plus all the other misc. things we as viewers don't see and they could be doing just dandy. It may burn some asses (all us upstanding folk who don't have a history of popping out child after child we can only hope to feed on food stamps after the state pays for our hospital stay) but it doesn't make it not true.
When Christine whined about stress and how she gets behind every month I took that more as her "being the princess" she's always wanted to be and she simply doesn't want to have the responsibility of paying her bills because it sucks. With Meri I didn't see it as a stress that she couldn't afford her house, I saw a stress of she was going outside the budget they had all agreed upon. Robyn? Hell, I don't know. I get more wine when she's on. Looking at Janelle who has always come off as the person with the most level head--she seems calm about the whole thing.
In response to the comment regarding all of the ads that aired this week during the shows for the Humane Society of the US - I doubt this was in response to Drake's PTS on the show.
ReplyDeleteThe real reason IMO we saw so many of these ads - is because of a lack of paid sponsors. Ad spots from charitable organizations such as HSUS are distributed by the Ad Council (you can usually see their logo at the end of these spots) and placed by TLC in DONATED TIME SPOTS. In other words. These are "empty" spots that TLC COULD NOT fill with paid commercials, so they donate the spots to the Ad Council who provides spots from charitable organizations such as HSUS.
What that tells ME is - that TLC is not "selling out" their ad spots on Sister Wives. I know that sometimes I will watch a show and during a 5 minute commercial break I might see the same HSUS or United Way ad played 2 or more times during that time, along with a promo for an upcoming show then maybe ONE legitimate paid advertisement.
That will be the ultimate death knell for the Brown show. It's not just Nielsen ratings - its how many PAID sponsors TLC can get to pay for those ad spots and how much they can command for those spots.
Even for re-runs of Property Ladder - which last aired new eps in 2007 - TLC can still rustle up plenty of sponsors to fill their commercial time. Sponsors for home-improvement businesses such as Home Depot are apparently still quite eager to pay for that time (which strikes me as amusing since 98% of the participants on Property Ladder screw up their flip projects!).
Summing up - the frequency of charity ad spots does NOT bode well for SisterWives, particularly during the first airing of the finale shows during prime time.
I also had a bunch of political ads, which are certainly not free. I was really confused by those because I thought the election was over??? It could have just been the middle of the night re-run my DVR picked up, but I agree that doesn't look great for the Kodepedents. I wonder what kind of ads they had in the prime time slot?
DeleteSeveral posters have commented that splitting the money 4 ways is fair, as the 4 adults did the work...except they are supposed to be one family. By that logic, in any married couple where one works and one stays home, the working one would "get" all the money, and the other would have to scrounge.
ReplyDeleteIf these folks are one family, they need to act like it, and make sure the kids all have equal resources.....it's hardly fair for Mariah to get 1/2 of Meri's 1/4 share, while say, Christine's or Janelle's kids get 1/6 of their mom's 1/4 share. It makes a very big difference in their quality of life...and kids in the "same" family should have more or less the same quality of life.
I totally agree with "Fake Fan". And with Christmas just behind the corner it started me wondering how Christmas gifts/budgets are figured out. Does it come out of Kody's share? The mom's share? Is it a combined effort? If it is up to the moms, Mariah must make out like a queen! So she gets, let's say, a laptop and her siblings get a couple of shirts because that is all their moms can afford?
DeleteTheory on taralycee.....robchin brought her in to level the playing field.....if robchin always has a babysitter she can make sure she is always available for childless fun.....JUST LIKE MERI!
DeleteYou know, the adults do seem like a bunch of wackadoodles, but you do hear a constant message from the older kids. They have said many times that they had a good childhood. That is very meaningful and what is really important in life.So good for them! The parents must of been doing something right!
ReplyDeleteHopefullyy the younger kids feel the same when they are older.
DJ, (couldn't reply in nesting mode to your SAG comments further up-thread)
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the SAG info. You get the best facts !! :)))
I was being facetious when I said that about them having SAG cards....meaning that this season there was more faux tears and obvious "acting" from them than ever before. LOL
I highly doubt they make $33k per episode. Jon and Kate only made $22.5k per episode for season 5 with 10 million viewers. This has been confirmed in their divorce decree.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/15/kate-gosselin-earnings_n_1967633.html
Honey Boo Boo reportedly made $2000-$5000 per episode, but with almost 3 million viewers it's been reported that they will be paid $10-15k per episode for season 2.
Even if we estimate their pay follows a more generous pattern as these other reality shows on TLC I highly doubt they will ever make more than JK+8 made with 10 million viewers.
Here are my own estimates:
Season 1 $5000/episode * 7 episodes = $35,000
Season 2 (assuming they got the same raise as Honey Boo Boo who had similar ratings for their first season) $10-$15k/episode * 23 = $230,000-$345,000
Season 3 & 4 (I'm not clear what their ratings were. There were several season JK+8 did not get a raise,including the last two seasons when they were strongest in their ratings. If the Browns are making the same money their predecessor did, despite the discrepancy in ratings, then that's still $22.5k/episode * 20 (both seasons) $450,000.
I heard season 5 was only renewed for 5-6 episodes. Is this true? $22.5k * 6 = $135,000. Quite a pay cut there!
No way they are getting a raise for season 5 either! Season 4 finale pulled in a mere 0.7 million viewers. Quite dismal.
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/12/27/sunday-cable-ratingsreal-housewives-of-atlanta-wins-night-ax-men-shahs-of-sunset-sister-wives-next-iron-chef-more/162927/