The Sister Wives family seems to be getting more saavy about public relations. I feel they are getting much better about allowing the vulnerability of reality show exposure in ways that benefit them.
The wives all decide to go together to a personal trainer. Meri, Janelle, and Christine speak in an aside about their struggles with weight, while Robyn (the thin one) says that Kody has told her he likes women with curves. Christine gives some real evidence for this in showing her wedding photo, when she was heavier than in this episode!
This directly addresses what so many bloggers and internet commenters have been attacking them for - the fact that the older wives are heavier than Robyn, the newest one. Everyone is just convinced that this must mean she has the competitive advantage with Kody, and many are not very kind about stating it.
I was impressed that they were so willing to be open about this. It was quite vulnerable to allow the cameras to record them being weighed, and admit their difficulties. I feel that being this open and honest will probably defuse some of the negativity, although I am sure some will never be convinced.
It has been clear that most of the wives have put on more weight since moving to Las Vegas, as have the older daughters. I was glad to see them trying to do something about it - hopefully the group support of doing it together will help them undo some of the damage all their recent stress has caused.
Kody and the sister wives go out to dinner with an Episcopalian minister, answering her rather pointed questions about their fundamentalist Mormon faith. She asks how the Browns' faith is like the FLDS she is familiar with from recent news stories, living on compounds. Kody mentions arranged marriage as a major difference, and says that the compounds are mostly about having community with other like-minded people.
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Article comments
1 - Ladybelle Fiske
I like your summary, Polygrrl. I actually had not noticed that the Wives had gained weight... funny! I had always noticed, of course, that Janelle is heavy, but neither Meri nor Christine seemed that heavy to me. Christine does look heavy now. Well, she had Truely, and then I suppose eating a lot in Nevada (seem to be a lot of buffets and places to eat in Vegas, probably low cost for the gamblers) have put weight on them. Poor Janelle, it must be hard to be the heaviest one and so on, even if Kody does like heavy or curvy women. Robyn has a nice normal figure, thin, yes, and that probably is painful for them all. I do hope the exercise helps them out. It's hard to lose weight, as I know myself... though I am not as heavy anywhere near as they are (Over 200 lb each except Robyn amazed me.)
It must be hard to have one's life on view all the time. I was thinking if TLC or some other "reality" channel had been around for the days of our hippiedom, what that would have been like. A surprise to the channel, I imagine! We were not exactly into "normal" or doing what the outside world expected. Later on I did work in the "world" and found that people are much nicer than I had imagined... but I get the feeling they are not so nice to the Browns.
I hope the kids can get used to the status quo till they are old enough to find a life of their own. I quite liked the scenes with the Episcopalian minister who was gutsy to get in there and visit them... and they were nice to let her.