In the US, polygamy is a controversial topic in itself. Marrying more than one person is a federal crime, and leads to the prosecution of those involved in it, though that doesn’t stop thousands of people from adopting such a lifestyle throughout the country.
Unlike the toned-down public life that many polygamous groups lead, some of them defied the public perceptions about their lifestyle by being featured in TLC reality shows such as “My Five Wives”, “Seeking Sister Wife”, and more famously, “Sister Wives”.
The shock value of these shows has surely resulted in juicy profits for TLC, but eventually the legal implications of featuring groups whose lifestyle isn’t legal were too much of a risk for the network, even when the such issues were unrelated to the show stars’ polygamous status.
With most of the aforementioned shows now off the air, it’s fair to wonder whether they were worth all the trouble that TLC went through, and what exactly the legal problems they faced were. Do you also wonder about this? Then keep with us to learn more!
“Sister Wives” Legal Issues
The Utah-based “Sister Wives” is by far the most successful polygamy-centered show aired by TLC. The series is centered on Kody Brown and his four wives Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn, who are what they describe as a plural family, in which each of the wives has a romantic relationship with Kody, while and supporting each other and all their kids in their everyday lives.
Many loved the show and others openly hated it – but were still fascinated enough to continue viewing, but one thing for sure is that the premiere of “Sister Wives” in 2010 achieved its goal of attracting lots of media attention. On the other hand, authorities weren’t too pleased about seeing a man on TV talking about having three wives and revealing his intentions of marrying a fourth.
While Utah’s authorities indeed opened an investigation into whether Kody was legally married to the four women he called his wives, that didn’t mean he was going to be prosecuted for it. According to the specialized site FindLaw.com, most of the polygamy cases went under the radar of police unless involving other crimes such as child marriage or sexual abuse, which weren’t the Browns’ case.
However, it’s also known that despite being legally married only to Meri, while holding ‘symbolic marriages’ with the rest of his wives, the fact that Kody inhabited the same house with them all constituted a case of polygamy.
The Aftermath
Despite avoiding prosecution, since not committing any crime besides polygamy, the Browns wanted something more than just settling for it. That’s why in 2011 they challenged Utah’s anti-polygamy laws by filing a complaint in the State’s District Court.
Attorney and scholar Jonathan Turley from George Washington University prepared the case the Browns filed against county attorney Jeffrey R. Buhman, defying the laws that criminalized polygamy in the state. In the statement released by Kody at the time, he defended his and his wives’ right to ‘live private lives according to our beliefs’. He described his family as ‘plural’, while criticizing the ‘stereotypes’ and ‘unfair treatment’ that similar family circles were exposed to, in his opinion.
The documents filed by Turley also stated that the Browns weren’t asking for the legalization of polygamy, but to stop the ‘scrutinization’ and prosecution of people with such a lifestyle. Two years later, a Utah judge declared that the criminalization of multiple cohabitation by the state wasn’t constitutional. However, in 2016 a court dismissed the Browns’ case as they found no standing ground for it.
While the 2016 ruling put an end to the family’s years-long legal battle, the Browns went on to walk separate ways through divorce, for Mer, and separation in the case of Janelle and Christine.
All of these incidents were surely a wild ride for TLC in many ways, but it doesn’t seem that “Sister Wives” ratings were affected as a result.
#SisterWives Maddie Brown Brush’s NASTY Feud With Meri Brown Exposed! ‘She Was A Monster’ https://t.co/bxwTKvNJLa#KodyBrown #MeriBrown pic.twitter.com/OjPPYIyLDw
— All About The Tea ☕ (@AllAboutDaTea) April 20, 2020
“Seeking Sister Wife” Legal Issues
TLC’s “Seeking Sister Wife” premiered in January 2018, and is arguably TLC’s second most famous polygamy show after “Sister Wives”. It followed several polygamous families as they searched for another wife to be added to their family, bringing some light to the diversity of people with this lifestyle in the US.
That said, “Seeking Sister Wife” was at the center of controversy not for its concept of the show’s content, but for a legal case in which some of its stars were involved. It all started when Christeline Petersen, a South African woman who joined the family of Dimitri and Ashley Snowden, accused the man of domestic violence in 2021.
According to reports, Christeline accused Dimitri of violent sexual practices such as choking without consent, and hitting her head against a bed headboard. However, a judge dismissed the case, finding it difficult to determine which side was telling the truth. Around that time, a former wife of Dimitri named Ariadne Joseph came forward to also accuse him of violent behavior.
“Seeking Sister Wife” is still on air, but Dimitri and Ashley were put out of the show in the third season.
“My Five Wives” Legal Issues
“My Five Wives” premiered in 2013, and followed the lives of Brady Williams and his legal wife Paulie Caroline, plus his four other ‘wives’ named Robyn, Rosemary, Ramona ‘Nonie’, and Rhonda.
Unlike other polygamist families such as the Mormon fundamentalists Browns, the Williams aren’t associated with a specific religion. Although they once belonged to the Apostolic United Brethren, the family adopted a diverse religious system as time went on, according to an interview Brady gave to the Utah Poughkeepsie Journal in 2013.
Shortly before the show was canceled in late 2014, Brady filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, after finding himself drowned in a $400,000 debt. As TMZ reported back then, most of his assets consisted of cars and real estate apparently worth barely more than $10,000.
While the show failed to gain similar success as “Sister Wives” had, it’s worth noting that by the time “My Five Wives” premiered, the Browns had already dealt with a lot of the backlash and legal consequences of exposing their polygamous lifestyle to the rest of the world.
All in all, of all the polygamy-centered TV shows premiered by TLC, only “Sister Wives” faced legal issues related to its stars’ lifestyles. While financially profitable, most of the controversies in which these shows’ stars were involved were risks which the network had to assume, so it’s unsurprising that shows such as “My Five Wives” didn’t air for very long.
