In Sunday night’s episode of Sister Wives, Kody and Meri’s daughter Mariah and her fiancé Audrey began their search for a wedding venue. The couple toured an indoor botanical garden, a ski resort, and a castle.
They were joined by Mariah’s five parents and Audrey’s two.
Kody enlightened the group about his own experience with being ostracized for his marriage choice, saying, “We had a polygamous wedding. A lot of people who really had a problem at first sort of lightened up through that process.”
Kody used his and Robyn’s wedding as an example of being ‘picked on’
Kody was referring to his fourth wedding to wife, Robyn. When Meri joined Kody on the confessional couch, Kody told cameras, “We were monogamously married, OK? Just the two of us.”
“We had people come to our wedding reception who said, ‘We’re here because we love you, but this does not mean that we are condoning your chosen lifestyle. So, Audrey and Mariah — the parallels are very similar.”
“In fact, that kind of treatment where people are like, ‘Well, I love you, but I sure think your lifestyle, your religion are dumb,’ we dealt with that. That may have well-been something that helped me, personally, develop a high level of just acceptance of people who are gay. I know what it’s like to be picked on.”
He continued, “If you invite all these people, [you] force them to think openly about, ‘What would God have me do? Would God have me ostracize these people because of their biology?’ Make them think about it.”
Kody’s comments came after Mariah and Audrey stated that they didn’t feel comfortable inviting guests to their wedding who may not approve of their marriage because the couple is gay.
Meri brought up the topic, saying that she had conversations with Mariah and Audrey and how “super important” it is to them to only be surrounded by supportive people on their wedding day.
Mariah says on the confessional couch, “Not everyone agrees with our right to marry,” as she gestures towards fiancé, Audrey, who chimed in, saying, “I don’t want to be worried about them on our wedding day.”
They continued to say that their marriage is something that a lot of people still struggle with, and they just “don’t need that there” on their special day.
Kody explained why there might be so many people against their marriage
Back in the confessional, Kody details that Utah is a very conservative state and that they come from a “very conservative church,” sharing that there will be people who are intolerant of gay marriage.
Mariah and Audrey recently shared with the family that they’re moving back to Utah after living in Chicago while Mariah finished her graduate studies.
Meri looked enthusiastic about helping to plan her daughter’s wedding and for the first time in a long time, viewers saw a glimmer of genuine happiness on her face. Fans of the show are hopeful that Mariah and Audrey’s wedding will be captured by TLC’s cameras.
Sister Wives airs on Sundays at 10/9c on TLC.