Having multiple wives at the same time has been the main focus of the reality-television show, “Seeking Sister Wife.” While polygamy wasn’t legally allowed in the United States and is considered a crime, it didn’t stop some men and women from pursuing this lifestyle. The TLC network documented some of these families, starting airing the show in 2018. With its unique and unconventional family structure, the TV show attracted many curious viewers, especially with the different scandals that surrounded the participants of the show.
“Seeking Sister Wife”
Polygamous families became a new hot subject for reality-TV producers, and the term “sister wife” was widely used, but still many people were confused about its meaning. A sister wife has been referred to as one of the multiple women married to the same man. The women call each other sister wife because their relationship in an ideal polygamous family structure should constitute a sisterhood.
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However, since the practice has been declared illegal in all 50 states in the US, the man is only officially married to one of them, and the rest were all married in spirit.
With the abundance of TV shows offering the same content on TV, “Seeking Sister Wife” gave a new twist. Instead of just showing how the plural family worked, the TV series focused on the stages of acquiring a new sister wife. From the time they talked about seeking a new sister wife to the time they met, dated, and welcomed the new wife into the family, all was documented in one season. The TV show claimed that it had never been done on TV before, because people from a polygamous lifestyle in the past weren’t forthcoming about sharing this intimate process publicly. The TV producers proudly shared that the viewers would then get an unprecedented bird’s eye view of ‘how husbands and wives date online and in person, and explore the ins and outs of seeking and incorporating a new wife into their family structure.’
“Seeking Sister Wife” made its television debut on 14 January 2018, and aired about 30 episodes in a span of three seasons. Fans were expecting the reality TV show to be back for its fourth season, because there was no announcement or any hint at all that it would be canceled, but the last episode was aired on 7 June 2021 with still many unresolved issues to be explored, however, when accusations of domestic abuse surfaced in August 2021 from one of the cast members, the general consensus online was that the show was unlikely to be renewed.
“Seeking Sister Wife” featured eight polygamous families
The idea of having plural relationships piqued the curiosity of many people, and when “Seeking Sister Wife” came to fruition, it soon became one of the most-watched TV series on TLC. During its original season, it featured three families – the Alldredges, the Brineys, and the Snowdens. The Briney family left the following season, and so the producers added two more families, the Winders and the McGees.
By the third season, only the Snowdens and the Winders returned to the show to welcome three new families: The Merrifields, The Clarks and The Joneses.
Season One: The Aldredges, The Brineys, The Snowdens
Out of all the three polygamous families, it was Jeff Alldredge whom fans thought was the coolest of the three patriarchs as he had never displayed jealousy, and had always been emotionally present not only for his wives but also for his children. He was first married to Vanessa in 2008 and they had three children: Dain, Zahra, and Sebastian. In 2009, they found a sister wife, Sharis, and he had five more children with her: Daniel, Dalinar, Misty, Serenity, and Chloe.
The Briney family was headed by Drew Briney who at that time was married to three women. His first wife was April and they had six children: Keilana, Kyra, Jocelyn, Brielle, Jacob, and Jasher. After he married his second wife Auralee, they had six more children, namely Malachi, Evelia, Noah, Benjamin, Josiah, and Laurelei. He added three more kids when he married his third wife, Angela.
The Snowden couple, Dmitri and Ashley, were in the middle of looking for a sister wife. At that time they already had two children, and Ashley was heavily pregnant with their third child. The couple was never legally married because they knew from the get-go that they would be pursuing the polygamy lifestyle.
Season Two: The Winders, The McGees
Out of all the polygamous families featured in the second season of “Seeking Sister Wife,” it was the Winder family who became fan-favorites. It consisted of Colton and his two wives, Sophie and Tami. The main reason why they differed from the other families was that the fans believed they pursued the polygamous lifestyle for the right reasons. The two wives embraced the lifestyle to the core, and developed a sisterhood in which they both worked hard to be a team in raising their children as one unit, devoid of jealousy and competition.
The McGees were exploring the polygamist lifestyle when they joined the show.
Bernie and Paige already had children at that time, and they planned to have more by looking for a sister wife, as Paige couldn’t have more kids. However, they were unsuccessful after interviewed potential ones, due to Paige’s jealousy; she couldn’t handle her husband dating another woman.
Season Three: The Merrifields, The Clarks, The Joneses
Garrick and Danielle Merrifield became polygamists when Garrick said that God had called them to pursue a plural lifestyle. They had been married for 13 years, and were now actively hunting for a second wife. They found one from Brazil named Roberta but there were complications because she’s a foreigner.
The Clark couple, Jarrod and Vanessa, joined show as they were building a polygamous family. They added Kehlana into their family, and at the premiere of the third season, had just moved into a new house so that Jarrod would be closer to his job as a teacher to special kids.
From the get-go, the fans didn’t like the way he treated his wives. He had this idea that he was the King of the house and the wives were the Queens, but according to the fans, at the rate they were going, he treated them more like his slaves.
Sidian and Tosha Jones were together for four years before they started to look for a sister wife. They lived in Boise, Idaho, and ran a graphic business at home. They considered themselves spiritually married because Sidian was already legally married to another woman when they met. Tosha thought that he was joking when he shared that he was a polygamist, and was reluctant at first, but when she studied the concept, she fell in love with the dynamics of polygamy. He has three children from past relationships, but only Tyrone and Lilian lived with them because Ellie lived elsewhere with her mother.
The most dramatic scandals in “Seeking Sister Wife”
Living a polygamous lifestyle can be tempting to many people, but not all women can be generous enough to share their man and his resources with other women.
The idea of establishing a sisterhood between wives of the same man was difficult to achieve, and creating an harmonious vibe within a huge family is even more so. It takes a certain type of woman to be able to peacefully participate in it as shown in “Seeking Sister Wife.” Some of the families in the show experienced trials that can rival those of the leading daytime dramas. Here’s a list of some of the most dramatic events involving the cast members of the TV show:
Physical and mental abuse allegations by former sister wives against the Snowdens
Many loyal viewers who loved the Snowdens were shocked when allegations of physical and mental abuse were hurled by a former sister wife. For the longest time, both Dimitri and Ashley couldn’t find the perfect sister wife for them but in the third season, finally finding Christeline Petersen. It didn’t take long for Dimitri to propose to her, and they were married by the end of the season. However, viewers discovered out that they divorced shortly after the wedding episode was aired on TV.
In May 2021, Christeline hurled accusations of domestic abuse she experienced throughout her journey as a sister wife. She even filed a restraining order against her former husband, and that she lived in fear for about a year during that time. One of the most disturbing allegations was that during sexual intercourse with Dimitri, he choked her, and even if she said no, he continued with the act. She said, ‘The more I struggled the more he enjoyed it.’ Christeline also shared that there was a time he woke her up just to brutally assault her by slamming her head onto the headboard while yelling at her.
When Christeline’s accusations went viral, Dimitri’s former wife came forward to tell her story. She experienced the same things when she was with the Snowdens. She claimed that Ashley was also an abuser and a manipulator. It was even worse during her time, since the Snowdens insisted that they all go around the house naked; she had to tell Dimitri to wear boxer shorts in the presence of her young daughter.
She also claimed that she told this to the TLC executives, but they allegedly chose not to listen to her. She said that if only they did, Christeline wouldn’t have to suffer the same thing. After all of these revelations, fans believed that Ashley left Dimitri as well, based on the cryptic messages she posted on her Instagram account.
The Brineys were cut out of the second season
The TLC executives decided to boot out the Briney family from the second season of “Seeking Sister Wife”, even as Drew Briney and his family claimed that they’d already finished filming their episodes. The viewers were surprised as to why they weren’t seen again, and it was revealed later on that April Briney left not only the show but the family as well. Allegedly, she packed up a few things under the guise of taking the kids on a hike. Based on an Instagram post, April said that she left her husband and the rest of the family because she felt that the two other sister wives, Auralee and Angela, were ganging up on her.
She had had enough and decided to go back to her family in Utah with all her kids.
April didn’t know that at that time, Drew had the Sheriff following her while she was leaving the city, and claimed that she kidnapped her kids and was mentally unstable. Based on the online reaction, the viewers sided with April, because Drew would often complain about her and talk behind her back with the other wives. Drew filed for divorce in June 2018 and it was granted after a month. The TLC network felt that her departure from the TV show as well as the divorce were heavy subjects for the concept of the series, and that it ultimately gave them the reason to have them fired from the show. When Drew and his wives posted negative things about April on social media, April wrote a lengthy post on her Facebook, recounting the day she and her kids left their home in Oregon, and the reason behind her decision.
Bernie and Paige McGee were arrested
In March 2019, “Seeking Sister Wife” fans were shocked when news came out that Bernie and Paige McGee had been arrested and taken into custody in Jasper County Jail in Mississippi; Paige’s brother Patrick Marble along with his girlfriend complained that the McGee couple was stalking and harassing them. They were released two hours after the arrest after posting a $250 bail bond, and the charges were just misdemeanors.
It was reported that the beef between the siblings started when Patrick screen grabbed one of Paige’s comments on a child with Downs syndrome on one of the social media apps. She allegedly posted ‘Yes, I do feel sorry your child is a retard with mental issues,’ and she also added that it was because God was punishing the parent for being a horrible person. Patrick made a series of tweets about Paige always trying to be a victim, when she can be despicable and hurtful. He also claimed that TLC and his sister only cared about the TV ratings. However, there was a rumor that Patrick was dating someone from the show.
Bernie McGee died at 41 and his wife blamed her brother
On 15 June 2019, Bernie McGee went out for a bicycle ride, and sometime later, Paige received a call from her husband saying that he didn’t feel well. Paramedics were called and he was taken to St. Dominic Hospital where he later died. The cause of death was heatstroke and a heart attack. He was survived by his wife and four children. His family was distraught, especially since they’d lost their home in a fire a few months back, and he passed away just as they were trying to put everything into place. They ran a GoFundMe page for a while to help pay for the funeral costs, because it was well known that Bernie was the sole breadwinner of the family.
After the funeral, an emotional Paige blamed her brother Patrick for causing Bernie too much stress that led to his death. She posted on her official Facebook page that the felony stalking charges that Patrick filed against them bothered her husband, since it carried with it a sentence of up to one year in jail; the court hearing was soon to take place at that time.
Bernie was also devastated that when they were arrested, the kids witnessed it, and he couldn’t forget the expression on the face of one of his sons.
Tosha Jones with alleged past criminal charges, and Sidian lied regarding his first wife
The Joneses were introduced into the third season of “Seeking Sister Wife,”. They said that when Sidian met Tosha, he was very honest with her that he was a polygamist, and that he was already married. When he courted Tosha, he claimed that his first wife was accepting of the situation, only things didn’t work out between them. They didn’t talk much about her as a sign of respect, since she didn’t want to be involved with them anymore. However, the first wife refuted their claims.
It started when Tosha was discovered to have allegedly been charged with felony theft and her mugshot went viral.
Apparently, in early 2016 she was involved in a burglary incident, and was arrested after nine months. Through a plea deal she arranged with her lawyer, she was given unsupervised probation, which gave her the chance to live normally again. The whole arrest incident was the content of a YouTuber called Tracie Trendy. A Lavandulou Seymore commented on the video post, and claimed to be Sidian’s first wife. She said that the polygamous lifestyle was forced on her, and what really happened was that Sidian cheated on her.
The first wife said that she didn’t have a choice at that time because Sidian and Tosha were already hooking up. She didn’t elaborate but Sidian forced her to accept Tosha when the latter moved in with them. She tried befriending her so as not to lose her husband but things went south. Due to the situation, she had a mental breakdown.
Is it any wonder that the series was cancelled? No producer could stand the possibility of frequent legal procedures which could very well involve the network!
