Category Archives: Polygamy

Photo taken in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

If you've perused Bumble or Tinder lately, you may have noticed "ENM" in some bios. ENM, or "ethical nonmonogamy," is the practice of having multiple relationships in which all parties are aware of what is going on - so no, it's not cheating. Though it's referred to as "polyamory" in some circles (having intimate relationships with more than one person at the same time) and often conflated with "polygamy" (being married to multiple partners), the term "poly" may seem tainted to some, conjuring up "Sister Wives" TV show drama and the disempowerment of women. My partners and I prefer to use the term "ethical nonmonogamy" since it truly embodies what we're about: mutual respect, intimacy, and exploring multiple partnerships.

I currently have a husband and a girlfriend. My husband and I first began exploring this lifestyle during our long-distance relationship before we were married. Frequently traveling 6,000 miles between our homes in Hawaii and Florida was not feasible, but we knew we wanted to be together for the long haul. Though we had a rich relationship through FaceTime and over the phone, we both craved in-person connection. I also identify as bisexual and found myself desiring a deeper woman connection. We decided to open our relationship - something neither of us had thought of as a possibility before.

In the beginning, we didn't ask about the dating or physical intimacy we were experiencing with others outside of our relationship. But after a few dates, we realized sharing what we were doing and how we were feeling actually helped dispel jealousy and brought us even closer. Sure, I felt heart pangs when he went on dates, and I sometimes felt guilty meeting a potential partner at the beginning, but as we worked together to create our own definition of a relationship, I watched us grow closer. I've never trusted anyone more. When I finally moved to join him in Florida a year and a half later, we expanded by opting to meet one another's partners during the beginning of their relationships. We found this built trust and understanding between us and made our partners feel more comfortable, too. No one had to worry about deceit or ill intentions; it was all up front. We didn't have to be friends necessarily, but a few of his previous partners are now my closest friends.

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My husband is considered my primary partner - we've chosen to cohabitate and marry, make financial decisions together, and raise a dog. (We've decided not to have children, though we have heard about successful ENM relationships who choose to coparent.) Our partners, while traditionally termed "secondaries," are anything but. They are a part of both of our lives. My past boyfriend was originally my husband's best friend, and these days we spend time with my current girlfriend both together and separately. We have a weekly trivia team, attend dinner parties, and go out together. We have shared friends and carved out a space in one another's circles, developing unique and separate friendships complete with strings of meme-filled text messages. We take care of one another. It's become a community.

Related: How to Take the Sexual Blueprint Quiz From Sex, Love & Goop, Because We Know You Want To

When some people first hear I'm in an open relationship, they are quick to quip, "I could never do that! I'd be too jealous"; "So you're not really in a 'real' relationship or committed"; or "You're just doing this so you can have sex with multiple people." I understand the ENM lifestyle is not for everyone, but having a husband and a girlfriend (and in the past, a boyfriend), has allowed me to continue to explore my fluid sexuality while developing deep, intimate relationships with my partners and expanding my capacity for love. It isn't just about sex. In fact, I've had partnerships void of physical intimacy. For me, it's about building deeper relationships and not limiting what they look like and how they grow.

It isn't just about sex. . . . For me, it's about building deeper relationships and not limiting what they look like and how they grow.

Through the years, our openness has looked different. We work together to set boundaries around what we're comfortable with, such as how much time we spend with another person or traveling with another partner. Some ENM relationships place boundaries around physical acts outside of the primary relationship. For us, making sure we both feel valued and full in our relationship is our first priority. Ensuring our external partners are also comfortable and have their needs met is important, too. We understand these boundaries can shift; they're always up for discussion as needed. There are times we've stepped back from our external partnerships to focus on growing our own relationship - especially as newlyweds - and there are times we've had to end an external relationship because it was no longer healthy to our shared connections.

Breakups still hurt, even when I know my primary partner is still there for me at home. I'm currently working through the heartbreak that comes with losing a boyfriend because he was someone I valued spending time with, grew very close to, and considered one of my best friends. Someone I loved. But as with any relationship, we have to know when to move on when one or both parties are hurting. Because of my openness throughout it all with my husband and my other partner, having their support and listening ears has helped me heal.

Being in an open relationship has allowed me to step fully into my sexuality, and it has brought me deeper connections with my husband and other partners. Even if you're not into the idea of ENM, the concepts of honesty and communication taught in these circles can be applied to any relationship. We're not seeking a warm body to fill a hole in a relationship. Instead, we are expanding our vast capacity to love each other and our external partners, continue learning and growing, and break the mold of what society claims a marriage "should" look like. We have a solid foundation of trust and clear channels of communication. We don't fear infidelity or replacement. With our mutual understanding, safe boundaries, and willingness to truly listen to the needs of others, I've never felt closer to my husband.

Link:

I Have a Husband and a Girlfriend - This Is Why Ethical Nonmonogamy Works For Us - Yahoo Lifestyle

Nick Cannon has shared his belief that monogamy is not "natural," adding that such relationships veer into the territory of "selfishness and ownership."

The TV personality, 41, has had seven children with four women over the years, sharing his first two with ex-wife Mariah Carey. It was also recently revealed that he's expecting his eighth child, with Bre Tiesi, bringing the total number of mothers to five.

Cannon, who welcomed four children over a span of 14 months, has now revealed that he feels more comfortable living a polyamorous lifethough he stressed that the women who have had his children believe in monogamy.

Making an appearance on The Language of Love podcast with Dr. Laura Berman on Wednesday, The Masked Singer presenter Cannon said that he only considers somebody to be "not single" if they are married.

"Married is not single," he said, per People. "When you allow the government and paperwork to come in and say, 'This is a bond, this is a covenant' ... you're not single."

He went on: "You can still make covenants without getting the government involved, where two people say, 'We choose to be monogamous because we value this so much, we don't want anyone to be a part of this energy we have,' and I don't feel like that's healthy.

"I don't think monogamy is healthy. I feel like that gets into the space of selfishness and ownership."

At the top of the interview, the San Diego-born star said that the women with whom he has had his children "don't want any parts of any polygamy," though he admitted that the "world knows" that he has sexual relationships with other women.

When asked during his interview if all of his children were planned, Cannon said: "I'm going to take full responsibility. Any woman that I know that I have unprotected sex with, there's the potential to have a child.

"So I feel like if I have unprotected sex with anyone I knowbecause one, I value everything about me so much, if I've gotten to that point where I say, 'I can take off this condom,' I'm gonna say, 'She could be the mother of my child.'"

The Wild 'N Out star stressed that he doesn't engage in unprotected sex with everyone, as he described himself as "the biggest germ freak in the world."

He said: "Every woman that I have a child with, there is definitely a conversation about, 'Wow, how amazing would this be?' I feel like every woman I have a child with are amazing mothers, and there was a thought process going into like, 'Man, she would be an amazing mother, she's desired children, I can't wait to see what type of mother she would be.'"

"So, in saying that, I would say that they're all planned," added the talk show host.

During the interview, he also singled out Carey, from whom he was divorced in 2014, saying: "Mariah and I co-parent very well. She and I are really great friends and she's kind of taught me so much. That's family."

He described his friendship with Carey as "a different setup" to the relationships he has with the other mothers of his children.

Cannon shares 10-year-old fraternal twins, Moroccan and Monroe, with Grammy-winning singer Carey; four-year-old son Golden and 14-month-old daughter Powerful Queen with Brittany Bell; and twin sons Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir, whom he welcomed with Abby De La Rosa in June 2021.

His youngest son, Zen, whom he shared with model Alyssa Scott, passed away at 5 months old in December 2021 after a brain cancer diagnosis.

In January, it was revealed that Cannon was expecting his eighth child, with Tiesi.

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Nick Cannon Calls Monogamy Unhealthy, About 'Selfishness and Ownership' - Newsweek

Like any chronicle of widespread migration across a continent, the history of the American West is a story about mixing cultures, languages and peoples. Beginning with the first French and English explorers, whenever whites encountered Native peoples, they fought, they traded goods, and inevitably they intermarried.

Anne F. Hyde's "Born of Lakes and Plains" seeks to bring this legacy of families sharing white and Native blood out of the shadows of our historical understanding. At certain times and places, intermarriage was a common practice. Native people simply extended this time-honored tool of diplomacy and trade between, say, Ojibwe and Menominee to whites.

Among Native peoples, marriage was often considered a temporary alliance, and polygamy accepted. Likewise, French fur traders seeking commercial contacts would claim a Native "country wife" on the frontier in addition to the femme back in Montreal. Their offspring faced uncertain futures, either as Natives or, less likely, as whites. Straddling cultures, they often served precarious roles as interpreters and go-betweens.

Hyde tries to corral her unwieldy narrative into the stories of five white men and their extended families ranging across North America from colonial times into the 20th century. (Intermarriage between white women and Native men was rare.)

William Bent, for example, married Mistanta, daughter of a Cheyenne clan leader, and built a successful trading post on the Arkansas River early in the 19th century. In keeping with Cheyenne custom, he also wed her two sisters and had children with all of them. One relative, George Bent, "began the [Civil War] as a white man but ended it as an Indian."

After serving in the Confederate Army, he joined with Black Kettle's Cheyenne band, who, despite surrendering, were massacred at Sand Creek in 1864. George survived only by hiding under a pile of bodies.

In the Northwest, fur entrepreneur Alexander McKay sired half-Chinook children by three wives. At the end of the 19th century, his grandson, William Cameron McKay, a physician, was barred from voting because he was considered 9/16ths Native and therefore not a citizen. Never mind that he had previously been elected to a local government position.

Henry Schoolcraft emerges as Hyde's villain. His wife Jane, half-Ojibwe, tried to adapt to white culture while keeping close ties to her Ojibwe roots. It was harder to remain close to Henry, who often went off on speaking tours, posing as an expert on Native peoples, while dismissing them as incapable of complex thought.

Unfortunately, as Hyde jumps from one large extended family to another, it's impossible to keep the names straight, let alone discern what makes any of them tick. In the effort to convey the wide variety of fates encountered by mixed-descent people, she has offered a huge, and hugely confusing, cast of characters. Family tree charts would have been a help.

By the age of reservations, mixed-descent people were forced to identify with one culture or the other. Both was not an option. Being called "mixed" was nothing but a slur.

Dan Cryer is the author of "Being Alive and Having to Die: The Spiritual Odyssey of Forrest Church."

Born of Lakes and Plains

By: Anne F. Hyde.

Publisher: W.W. Norton, 442 pages, $40.

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Review: 'Born of Lakes and Plains,' by Anne F. Hyde - Minneapolis Star Tribune

MaKhumalo makes debut on the Real Housewives of Durban.

One of KZNs most favourite polygamy wives, Thobile MaKhumalo Mseleku, has made her eagerly anticipated debut on Showmax series The Real Housewives of Durban.

MaKhumalo is no stranger to the publics gaze. In addition to her appearances on uThando Nesthembu and Mnakwethu, shes a radio personality on Vuma FM and an in-demand motivational speaker, among other things.

The announcement of MaKhumalo joining the series flooded Twitter with excitement and concerns of her showing her yellow brick Umzumbe house on the show, along with concerns of her outshining her sister wives.

Expect to see the same MaKhumalo, but more of her as an individual and not in a polygamy marriage. I cant shy away from polygamy because I am polygamist, but now people will get to know me as an individual, as Thobile.

Thobile MaKhumalo Mseleku

Weekend Witness caught up with MaKhumalo to find out what we can expect from her this season.

Expect to see the same MaKhumalo, but more of her as an individual and not in a polygamy marriage. I cant shy away from polygamy because I am polygamist, but now people will get to know me as an individual, as Thobile, she said.

When asked what she thought about people saying they dont want to see her Umzumbe home on the show, she replied, If people dont want to see my yellow Umzumbe home, then it means they dont want to see MaKhumalo. Being in a reality show means that I have to be me, and I wouldnt be me if I dont show my Umzumbe home, because that is where I come from and that is who I am.

I dont believe that I have to forget who I am and where I come from when I go on to greener pastures, and if anything, the producers of the show are the ones who wanted that element of Umzumbe on the show, it is what they wanted, she said.

On outshining her sister wives, MaKhumalo said that people are looking at it the wrong way.

We are a polygamous family, and there are certain values and cultural things that could be compromised if you go into a show like this. As happy as he was for me, he had to raise some concerns. We did discuss everything and agreed on certain things, but other than that, he was in full support.

Thobile MaKhumalo Mseleku

We believe in growth and in supporting each other. Everyone [the sister-wives] is shining in their area of excellence and we support each other because we have to represent each other well, she said.

According to MaKhumalo, her husband and family were very supportive of her joining the show. Although, like every husband would, Musa Mseleku had some concerns.

We are a polygamous family, and there are certain values and cultural things that could be compromised if you go into a show like this. As happy as he was for me, he had to raise some concerns. We did discuss everything and agreed on certain things, but other than that, he was in full support, said MaKhumalo.

She is one of three new wives featured this season; songstress Londie London and wife of former kickboxer Calven Robinson, Jojo Robinson, made their debuts when the first episode of season two started, taking the show straight back to the top of the Twitter trends charts.

The rest is here:

Getting to know MaKhumalo as an individual on screen - News24

Ask a simple question, get a complicated answer. This certainly applies when you ask, who was St Valentine?

While records are sketchy, many historians have reached several conclusions about this elusive saint: 1. He was likely to have been a Catholic priest, and therefore, single; 2. He rebelled against Roman authority in order to protect others; 3. He was martyred for his faith.

As such, the type of love that St Valentine personified was nothing like the commercialised romantic love we celebrate today. Instead, he was an example of heroic love for the Lord and his church.

There are three likely candidates for the real St Valentine.

Very little is known about the first candidate, apart from a historical record of a man named Valentini who died on February 14 during the third century. He is believed to have died as a martyr in Africa along with 24 soldiers.

The second candidate was a Roman priest and physician. He comforted Christian martyrs during a time of persecution under Emperor Claudius II Gothicus. Eventually, St Valentine was also arrested, condemned to death for his faith, beaten with clubs and beheaded on February 14, around AD 270.

And the third candidate was the Roman Bishop of Interamna (now Terni, located around 100km from Rome). He too was arrested and decapitated during the time of Emperor Claudius II, dying on February 14, around AD 270.

As the last two St Valentine candidates share such similarities, many scholars believe they are, in fact, the same person.

The most common narrative about St Valentine and the one that links him to romantic love is that he was a priest who married couples during the reign of Claudius II. This is significant because, at that time, marriage between young people had been outlawed in an attempt to keep soldiers focused on war rather than wives.

Meanwhile, polygamy was rife in that society, as one Catholic priest noted in an interview with CBN. And so, by continuing to wed couples in secret, St Valentine was upholding the Christian churchs belief in the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman for life.

Another well-known story about St Valentine revolves around an incident when he was under the custody of an aristocrat (and perhaps a judge) named Asterius. While under arrest, Valentine took the opportunity to try to convince Asterius about the truth of Jesus and his Christian faith.

Asterius challenged Valentine to prove it. He presented Valentine with his blind daughter and said if Valentine could restore her sight, he would convert.

Apparently, Valentine placed his hands over the girls eyes and chanted: Lord Jesus Christ, en-lighten your handmaid, because you are God, the True Light. And the girls sight was restored.

Its believed that Asterius then broke all the idols around his house, fasted for three days and became baptised, along with his family and entire 44 member household.

Some sources say it was this incident that led Emperor Gothicus to order Valentines execution. Others think it was his continuing attempts to convert people to Christianity or his crimes of marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Or it may simply have been that Valentine refused to renounce his faith. Whatever the reason, Valentines gruesome demise is another cause for his recognition as a Catholic saint and martyr.

Valentine was sentenced to execution by beating and finally decapitation. And while the year of his death is open to debate (it was around AD 269/270), sources record February 14 as the date.

Another legend about St Valentine stems from his day of execution. It says that St Valentine created the first-ever Valentines card when he wrote his final words in a letter to the daughter of Astertius and signed the letter from your Valentine.

St Valentine is believed to have been buried on the Flaminian Way an ancient road extending from Rome in the north of Italy to Rimini. Later, Pope Julius I (333-356) built a church at the site of this St Valentines tomb. However, in the thirteenth century, Catholic sources say his relics were transferred to Romes Church of Saint Praxedes, where they remain today. These sources also claim that archaeological digs in the 1500s and 1800s have found evidence of the tomb of St Valentine.

The origins of Valentines Day are obscured by the lack of historical details.

Some suggest that St Valentine never actually existed and the celebration is a Christian cover-up of the more ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia in mid-February.

However, according to other sources, it was the Benedictine Order that maintained the church of St Valentine in Terni during the Middle Ages who were so affected by the man himself, that they continued to spread the cult of Valentines Day in their monasteries in France and England.

There is little doubt that somewhere along the way, the truth of St Valentine has become embellished and distorted.

The link between Valentines Day and lovers was solidified a thousand years after St Valentines death, when Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, decreed the February feast of St Valentinus be linked to the mating of birds in his Parlement of Foules. This was based on a popular belief during the Middle Ages that birds mated midway through February, and hence February 14 seemed the perfect date.

Soon, nature-minded European nobility began sending love notes during the bird-mating season. For example, the French Duke of Orlans, who spent some years as a prisoner in the Tower of London, wrote to his wife in February 1415 that he was already sick of love (by which he meant lovesick.) And he called her his very gentle Valentine, writes Lisa Bitel in The Conversation.

In the following centuries, February 14 became known as the date to send notes to loved ones. And of course, with industrialisation and commercialisation, retailers jumped on the opportunity to expand this expression of love to chocolates, flowers and other romantic gifts.

And while Valentines Day is now synonymous with cupids, hearts and sentimentality, Catholic Education asserts that this celebration still has a Christian message that should be remembered: The love of our Lord is a sacrificial, self-less, and unconditional love. Such is the love that each Christian is called to express in his own life, for God and neighbour. Clearly, St Valentine, no matter which one, showed such a love, bearing witness to the faith in his dedication as a priest and in the offering of his own life in martyrdom.

On this Valentines Day, looking to the example of this great saint, each person should offer again his love to the Lord, for only by doing so can he properly love those who are entrusted to his care and any other neighbour. Each person should again pledge his love to those loved ones, praying for their intentions, promising fidelity to them, and thanking them for their love in return. Never forget Jesus said, This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. There is no greater love than this: to lay down ones life for ones friends (Jn 15:12-13). St Valentine fulfilled this command, and may we do the same.

Valentines fun facts

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The real St Valentine: single, a rebel and a martyr - Eternity News

OPINION:

As we end National Marriage Week (Feb. 7-14), is it unreasonable to ask if well be celebrating it in five years or in 10?

Theres no way to sugarcoat it: Marriage is fast becoming obsolete in America. In 1970, 70% of American adults were married. By 2018, that figure had fallen to 50%.

It gets worse. Among adults in their prime childbearing years (18 to 24), 45% were married in 1960, compared to only 9% today.

Were marrying later in life and having fewer children. Increasingly, were not marrying at all. Perhaps thats why our fertility rate is now well below replacement currently 1.78, with 2.1 the number of children the average woman must have in her lifetime to replace the current population.

In 1968, 13% of children lived with an unmarried parent; today, its nearly one-third. You can see the consequences in the schools and the streets.

Opinion polls bolster these findings.

According to a Pew Research survey, among 18-to-25-year-olds, 78% believe cohabitation is acceptable, even if the parties dont plan to marry later on. In a December 2020 Gallup survey, only 29% said it was very important for a couple to marry to have children down from 38% in 2013.

One of the strongest cases for marriage comes from an unlikely source. In an opinion piece published in 2010, 1970s sex symbol Raquel Welch wrote: Im ashamed to admit that I myself have been married four times, and yet I still feel that it (marriage) is the cornerstone of civilization, an essential institution that stabilizes society, provides a sanctuary for children and saves us from anarchy. Now thats the type of sex education that should be taught in our schools.

Married couples are happier, healthier and better off financially than their unmarried counterparts. Being single has been called one of the greatest health risks people can voluntarily take. Husbands and wives are 10% and 15% less likely to die prematurely than the unmarried.

Theyre also safer. In a 2012 report, DOJs National Crime Victimization Survey found that the rate of victimization was 13.5 per 1.000 for those who were married, 37.0 for the divorced and 40.7 for individuals who have never been married.

On every index, children who grow up in a family with their married, biological parents are better off less likely to drop out of school, commit crimes, abuse drugs and alcohol and engage in sexual activity at an early age.

The what is easy. The why is more complicated.

For more than half a century, there has been a relentless war on marriage. Adolescents have been told they dont have to marry to have sex or even live together.

Marriage has been described as the relic of a bygone era. Opponents ask: How can words spoken at a ceremony and names on a piece of paper somehow sanctify a union and ensure bliss?

The increasing popularity of marriage substitutes including cohabitation, domestic partnerships and same-sex unions further undermines marriage. Last year, Cambridge, Massachusetts (home of Harvard University), took the next logical step by redefining domestic partnerships to include two or more unrelated individuals. Can polygamy be far behind?

Professor Robert George of Princeton University says that historically, marriage has required permanence, fidelity and exclusivity. For good measure, throw in complementarity the union of males and females.

More than politics, popular culture has changed attitudes about marriage. Once upon a time, even married couples couldnt be shown in bed together in movies. TV sitcoms of the 1950s featured intact families like Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show and Ozzie and Harriett bound by love and tradition.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show celebrated singleness, and One Day at a Time single-parenting, while Married With Children presented the grotesquely dysfunctional as typical. Today, the nuclear family is an endangered species. A happy exception is the Netflix reboot of Lost in Space.

In the 1950s, viewers wanted normalcy. Today, Hollywood pushes the aberrant, the bizarre and the downright ugly. Is it so surprising? Movies are made by people on their third marriage, with a few potential harassment suits lurking in the background.

Real marriage is good for couples, children and society and essential if were to have a future. However, if we want to keep it, well have to fight for it.

Maybe National Marriage Week should be renamed Stand Up for Marriage Week. Stand up against an army of detractors, marriage alternatives and increasingly hostile culture.

Don Feder is a former Boston Herald writer and syndicated columnist.

Continued here:

National Marriage Week may soon be a thing of the past - Washington Times

Last week on part one of Sister Wives: One on One, Kodys relationship with Meri was addressed. It was revealed that she is staying for family. Though they have not been intimate in a decade, she still has hopes they can be one again. However, his trust is completely gone in Meri but Kody says he will take care of her forever. Meri opened up about Janelle and Christine having come in as wives. She admitted she was jealous and who she was most jealous of. The catfishing incident was revisited and this week, Robyn discusses being a target. Kody also opens up about his relationship with his sons after the pandemic.

Sukanya Krishnan is back with the wives and Kody to discuss the pandemic rules Kody had set forth. They show Christines initial reaction to discovering that Robyn and Kody had a nanny. She wanted to know what exactly did the nanny do that enabled her to be allowed in their home. To be clear, this was spawned because Ysabel wanted to see her siblings and couldnt. Yet an outside nanny was welcomed. Christine felt like she was untrusted when she had been fully transparent with her daily operations.

Sukanya asks Robyn why the nanny rules were not out sooner. She claims she asked sooner but Kody was very grumpy. He also claimed no one would have followed the rules, especially the kids. Christine said she did not care to get back together with everyone. However, she knew her kids did so she would do whatever it took. Kody would come by for a few hours every week. It was not enough so they would go out of town where they were filled with love. In Kodys mind, he had two households that would not abide by his rules.

In Robyns home, everyone, including the nanny complied. The other wives chose their children and wanted to protect them. Kody still maintains the wives should have not protected their kids 18+. Janelle did feel she had to choose and did not want to force them out into the world during a pandemic. Whats going on with Kody, Gabe, and Garrison?

He is currently not speaking to Gabe and Garrison. They speak occasionally but that is it. Kody feels he was severely disrespected by his sons. They should have moved out in order for him to move back in. Admittedly, Kody thinks they all need therapy. In Janelles opinion, the boys dont necessarily feel they want to give respect to their dad. It is not owed and it is a two-way street. Kody also did not always trust Gabe and Garrison when they said they were following the rules. The truth is they would say they were following his rules when they were in fact lying. They have since moved out.

Janelle admits several of Kodys kids are at odds with him over his pandemic rules. He does want his kids around him, but he does not believe they respect his leadership. It now circles back to everyone getting the rules so they can gather for the holidays 2020. Christine and Janelle decided to go to Utah for Thanksgiving instead. Kody claims he did not know how he felt. Christine thinks Kody was sad and frustrated at the moment. Meri was frustrated because she had been asking for it.

Janelle says the rules came out ten days to two weeks prior to the holiday and her boys said they were not doing it. Sukanya asks why Kody did not follow Janelle when she got up and angrily left. She was so mad because she felt Kody did not trust her. Yet, Kody felt there was no loyalty on her behalf so he was not about to chase her.

Kody says Janelle was passive with the boys whereas Christine was just moving out. He proceeds to call them jackwagons. Circling back to Thanksgiving, Christine had other kids she needed to see and that was all she cared about. In regards to her relationship with Janelle, they made it no secret that they hung out during the pandemic. Christine chose Janelle over Kody because they just had a special relationship. Kody equated them to a clique and his negativity was making Janelle crazy.

Janelle admitted she went where she and her family were wanted. Everyone was welcomed but they did not want to be there because Janelle and Christine were not compliant. Initially, they did not get along because Janelle thought Christine was a princess. She was a buffer for Janelle and Meri though because it was no longer Meri against Janelle which was great. Sukanya asks Christine if there are parallels between Janelle and Kodys marriage if she is happy with Kody.

Christine asked Janelle if she will stay and she said he is a great dad and has no plans on leaving. Kody says they are not in sync and they do not partner well. They are good friends and get along well, it is a committed relationship. Is he in love with Janelle? Admittedly, neither one of them would say they were if they were being honest. Janelle says they are best friends.

Asking if they are intimate, Janelle claims they are fine and leaves it at that. Christine claims she does not think Janelle needs him to fill her tank. She is a strong woman and needs things different than Christine does. Christine needs to be intimate with her husband. Seemingly, that is not important for Janelle. Onto Christine being a basement wife. This is something she addressed over the past two seasons. She lived downstairs in their polygamy home in Utah while raising their kids.

Christine put everyone first and when she took it up with Kody, he said she was breaking the agreement. Apparently, she never brought it up to anyone but Kody. Robyn admits she and her kids have never fully felt accepted by Janelle, Christine, and their kids. Kody claims Robyn has picked up the slack for where Christine has shrugged. However, Christine was the one who did so much for about ten years. She did not just immediately drop off.

Robyn claims her youngest does not remember the names of her siblings and adds she is an easy target. Mainly because she gets along with Kody. When she joined the family, she told her kids they would accept the other wives as mothers. They would also follow all of the rules and such.

Robyn says it is hard to get phone calls from the kids blaming her for the rules. She would help the kids be with their father or do what they needed any time. Then she claims she has never cried so much in an interview before. In her life, she has never felt so much unsafe space as she has this past year. Aside from Meri, Kody does not think the other women would want to be Robyns friend. Robyn actually called Janelle and asked if they could develop a good sister wife relationship. She said she would have to think about that.

Janelle admits she felt she was put on the spot. With Christine, it was just natural as they were raising kids together. Admittedly, she is the only one having a fully functioning relationship with Kody. That cannot be easy for the other wives to watch. Robyn keeps breaking down and wonders how she will get through this interview. As for Christine, Robyn has always wanted her and Kodys relationship to be strong. She wishes Christine had kept trying and claims they are divorced.

Robyn says they are not because the marriage was done by their church officials and it has not been properly granted. According to Christine, she left that church a long time ago and God is fine if she just wants to be happy. Kody says she is free of that yolk of bondage and Christine maintains they are divorced.

Next week on part three of Sister Wives: One on One, Kody admits he is questioning his own polygamy as is Janelle and Meri. Kody finally watches the footage of Christine choosing to say goodbye to him as the divorce fully comes to light. Watch it Sunday on TLC.

Amanda has been a professional freelance writer for over a decade. She holds a BA in politics and an MA in Communications. Her passions include music, animals, Disney, iced coffee, summer, and bad reality TV, especially Housewives and Vanderpump Rules.

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'Sister Wives' Season 16 One On One Part 2 Recap-Feb. 6 - TV Shows Ace

With all the pomp, pageantry, and superhuman performances, the Olympics are a biannual source of absurdity and thus ripe for comedic gold. Therefore, its only natural that Saturday Night Live would take a few shots at the Games when they roll around, finding laughs in the outsize personalities of the athletes, the unceasing and sometimes overwrought NBC coverage, and the fact that most of us mere mortals could never come close to competing at such high levels.

In celebration of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics kicking off, heres a look back at the best SNL sketches that parodied the athletes and events. Enjoy the sketches and the Games!

Olga Korbut (1976)

With only one punch line, Gilda Radner, playing Russian gymnast Olga Korbut, and John Belushi, playing a European-accented version of himself, perfectly send up how ridiculous it is for athletes to pretend to be diplomatic after a crushing defeat.

Little Chocolate Donuts (1977)

How does Belushi get the energy he needs to win gold in the decathlon? With cigarettes and the sugar he gets from eating these treats every morning.

Synchronized Swimming (1984)

This brief mockumentary is an all-time SNL great with Martin Short and Harry Shearer playing brothers who are aiming to become the first men to compete in synchronized swimming. Christopher Guest plays a coach with the same vibe hed later bring to Waiting for Guffmans Corky St. Clair, and Shearer and Short play the kind of deluded oddball dreamers that would populate all of his films.

The All-Drug Olympics (1988)

Steroids were always a big issue during the 80s Olympics, particularly after their widespread use at the 1980 Moscow games. This Weekend Update segment with Kevin Nealon and Phil Hartman looks at what would happen if the events included only athletes who were juicing with particularly gruesome results.

Figure Skating Cold Open (1992)

In a spot-on parody of those Olympic moments when an athlete just blows it on the biggest stage, Jason Priestly enthusiastically and believably pulls off a bunch of figure-skating moves that end in disaster.

Lillehammer 94 (1994)

Rather than poke more fun at host Nancy Kerrigans assault by Tonya Hardings goons, SNL spoofed pairs figure skating with Chris Farley playing her on-ice partner whose massive weight gain has severely hurt their chances at medaling. Its another reminder of how agile Farley truly was, made even funnier by the gentle commentary of Phil Hartman and David Spade and the soundtrack of Kenny G and Pump Up the Jam.

Kerri Strug and Kippy Strug on Winning Olympic Gold (1996)

After the badly injured Kerri Strug helped Team USA win gymnastics gold in 1996, she stopped by Weekend Update to discuss the moment alongside her equally high-pitched brother, Kippy (Chris Kattan). Mark McKinney appears as her infamously overbearing coach, Bla Krolyi, to encourage Kippy to power through to their next interview despite the fact that his foot has fallen asleep.

SNL Olympics Chris Kattan (2000)

Rather than spoof an actual event, SNL in 2000 sent up NBCs prerecorded behind-the-scenes Olympic segments that give an overly dramatic look at an athletes journey to the games. Here, we see Kattan with an assist from Brendan Fraser and a disqualified-for-doping Tracy Morgan as he readies himself to compete in an upcoming talk-show sketch, Looks at Books. (Watch the sketch here.)

Mormons on the Slopes (2002)

Dan Aykroyd made a return appearance to the show to join Will Ferrell as a pair of Mormons who take to the Salt Lake City slopes and try to convert a skiing Amy Poehler in the middle of her run. It hits on the typical Mormon jokes the overly pushy recruitment, the polygamy, etc. but its still a fun one.

Swimming Instructor (2006)

If you want to become a world-class swimmer, you go to Doug Frangelo. Played by John C. Reilly, the coach instructs Will Forte in the art of the pool, with nearly six minutes full of Speedo-laden, homoerotic gags. Their ability to not break character is astounding.

The Michael Phelps Diet (2008)

If you watched Michael Phelpss record-shattering performance at the 2008 Olympics, you probably heard announcers discussing his massive caloric intake. The swimmer hosted SNL during his post-Games victory lap to tout his absurd diet to average people, which spoiler alert has grave consequences. Dont watch if you cant stomach seeing Subway pitchman Jared Fogle appearing as himself and saying, This diet sucks a foot-long.

Telemundo Winter Olympics (2010)

The premise here is that Telemundos announcers, played by Jennifer Lopez and Fred Armisen, cant understand cold-weather sports or why Canadians dont leave their country for the warmth. Regardless of the premise, you have to admit that ski jumping and curling are pretty strange pastimes for anyone to get into.

Ryan Lochte on the Fall TV Lineup (2012)

Four years before getting caught lying about being robbed at gunpoint during the Rio Olympics, Ryan Lochte was simply known as being a somewhat dim but physically gifted swimmer. SNL ran with the former trait in this Weekend Update segment in which Lochte, played by Seth MacFarlane, talks about upcoming TV shows with all the smarts of a kindergartener. The real Lochte called it harsh and added, Im going to let whatever Seth MacFarlane did Im just going to let it be and just move forward. But anytime Seth wants to race me in a pool, Ill be more than happy to.

The U.S. Mens Heterosexual Figure Skating Championship (2014)

In 2014, SNL decided to take on the Sochi Olympics, which were under scrutiny for myriad reasons including Russias anti-LGBTQ laws, with another figure-skating spoof in which only straight men are allowed to compete. Robbed of the events usual flair, the competitors instead put on a display of oafish masculinity, eating Combos on the ice and getting overly handsy with a female partner, among other desecrations of the sport.

Olya Povlatsky on the Sochi Olympics (2014)

Kate McKinnons downtrodden Russian villager character, Olya Povlatsky, returned to Weekend Update in 2014 to discuss Sochi and wonder why the IOC picked this random city to host the event. This iteration features a bunch of McKinnons trademark bizarreness like when she explains her favorite childhood sport, running away from angry wolf.

Leslie Jones on the 2018 Winter Olympics (2018)

During the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Leslie Jones went viral by live-tweeting along with NBCs coverage, hilariously and passionately dissecting the events even when she didnt understand them. The tweets were such a hit that the network sent her down to South America to work as a correspondent, and she returned to the role two years later for the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She came back to Weekend Update to give a recap of the experience, bringing along U.S. Womens Hockey gold medalist Hilary Knight to give Colin Jost a special message: Yous a bitch!

Excerpt from:

'SNL': Best Comedy Sketches About the Olympics - Vulture

For the past four years, social media has been abuzz with an imaginary gathering termed the men's conference, which is apparently organised by men between February 13 and 15, to avoid spoiling their partners on Valentine's Day.

While I commend the humour behind this abstract conference, let me point out that there is actually a serious need for a real men's conference in the country.

Given the high levels of femicide incidents, gender-based violence (GBV), women and child abuse, and many other social ills where men are predominantly the perpetrators, a conference to tackle these societal ills should actually be established.

Imagine hundreds of men under one roof discussing how they can contribute towards ending GBV, child neglect, femicide and women abuse? Let us think of all the solutions, encouragement and mobilisation that would be achieved inside these halls.

GBV continues to be a thorn in the flesh of prosperity and progress, so staging a men's conference where issues of this nature are addressed, discussed and analysed would go a long way in tackling conflicts within families and beyond.

Other topics such as the spread of HIV and Aids, unfaithfulness, polygamy and patriarchy would also be dealt with. There is indeed a need for a moral regeneration summit for men in the wake of the endless cases of wrongdoing from their side. Abused men would also have the platform to air their grievances and be advised how they can go about addressing them.

A better society can be built if we can transform our imagination into reality. The popularity of this imaginary gathering among men on social media is proof that men can actually meet and talk about pertinent issues for the benefit of everybody.

Malphia Honwane, eManyeleti, Mpumalanga

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Men must have imbizo to tackle social ills - SowetanLIVE

Khosrow Semnani is an Iranian immigrant whose life in Utah has embodied the American dream.

The self-made millionaire was nearly penniless when he arrived in the Beehive State in 1968 and, through working at several menial jobs while taking undergraduate courses, was able to earn a degree from Westminster College in physical sciences. He went on to get a masters degree from the University of Utah in engineering administration, after which he launched hazardous waste companies, including Envirocare (now EnergySolutions), that proved extremely successful.

After selling that operation, Semnani began using his wealth to provide humanitarian service and promote liberty for the people of Iran, which he has not visited since 1975.

Throughout the decades, the philanthropist developed a great love for the United States and its endless possibilities.

He was visiting California a couple of years ago and stopped at an artists studio, which had an exhibit of photographs titled: People Who Shaped America. Semnani was moved by the faces of some who had influenced his adopted country, and it made him think about all the Utahns who had shaped his adopted state.

It would be great for kids who grow up here to get to know these people, Semnani said this week. It would also be great for tourists who come here to learn more about Utah and all the different people who have made it what it is.

So the industrialist asked Michael De Groote, Semnanis director of communications, to assemble a list of potential names and biographical details for an installation called They Shaped Utah. It went on display on the second floor of the historic Trolley Square shopping center, which Semnani owns, in December.

Each honoree is depicted by a newly colorized photographic illustration enhanced by artificial intelligence, De Groote said in a news release. The illustrations are accompanied by brief biographical summaries along with a QR code that leads to more information about each person.

Assembling the group of 60 shapers was, De Groote said in an interview, a complicated assignment.

It would, of course, include lots of Mormon historical figures like Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Wilford Woodruff, the fourth president who introduced the Manifesto, which would mark the beginning of the end to the faiths participation polygamy. Susa Young Gates, Youngs daughter who was a leader among Latter-day Saint women, and Jane Manning James, a free African American Mormon who came west in 1847, are both among the honorees.

And one historic Latter-day Saint figure gunslinging Orrin Porter Rockwell undeniably shaped Utah in some ways, De Groote said, but was controversial.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Khosrow Semnani presents They Shaped Utah, an exhibit of 60 prominent or underappreciated Utahns throughout history at Trolley Square, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022.

Semnani, a Muslim, insisted on showcasing leaders of other faiths, too, such as Silvestre de Escalante, a Franciscan friar-explorer, and Father Lawrence Scanlan, Utahs first Catholic bishop.

Then theres Simon Bamberger, the states fourth governor and its only Jewish one.

Many of the honorees hail from the 19th century, including Wakara, leader of the Timpanogo band of Utah, while others died much more recently like former Jazz owner Larry Miller, former Gov. Olene Walker, and innovative businessman Clayton Christensen.

Viewers also will find athletes such as Wataru Wat Misaka, who led the University of Utah to a national basketball title and became the NBAs first player of color.

Organizers also sought a gender balance but, because so many of the early shapers were men, they had to look a little wider for the women.

On top of that, they weighed the famous and not-so-famous, working to add a few surprises and some little-known figures.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) the new exhibit "They Shaped Utah" features 60 prominent or underappreciated Utahns throughout history at Trolley Square, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022.

William Showell, a pony express rider, is on the list, and so is Olive Osmond, mother of the famed performing group, who started the boys singing to raise money for hearing aids for her oldest two children.

We hope people will find familiar figures and some surprises, De Groote said, and that theyll learn a lot.

At the exhibits opening, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson hailed its inclusion of so many women and underrepresented communities.

Ive always been a student of history, and I love learning about people especially about people who have either been written out or never written into our story, she said at the time. And yet, these have all been people who have contributed greatly to the fabric of our heritage in important, but often in forgotten ways.

Why is it that some stories get told and others get buried? What happens when we forget the parts of the past that help make us who we are today? Henderson asked. The answer isnt hard: When we forget where we come from, we cant properly understand where we are, and we are ill equipped to know where we should be going.

That is why, she said, this permanent exhibit is so valuable.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) A new exhibit, "They Shaped Utah," features 60 prominent or underappreciated Utahns throughout history at Trolley Square, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022.

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, also on hand for the exhibits opening, pointed out how portraits of her predecessors hanging on the third floor of City Hall do not fully reflect the true history of Utah.

The states past and present are much more diverse than that, Mendenhall said. The state has always been shaped by diversity. Lets tell their stories.

The Trolley Square exhibit will be a welcome addition to the mural painted on the east side of the Dinwoody Building that features some 280 women from Utahs past and present. History is something that is never complete. Its never settled. Its never fully written, Henderson said. There are always perspectives to uncover and be heard.

She praised Semnani for working to uncover the stories of those who have had a seat at the table and are heard, she said. And even more importantly, to highlight those who havent had a voice or a seat at the table and have never been heard.

Semnanis team is now accepting suggestions for 40 more Utahns to be added to the exhibit.

I owe a lot to this state, Semnani said. I want others to take pride in it as I do.

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From Brigham to Bamberger to Olive Osmond, display honors 60 who 'shaped Utah' - Salt Lake Tribune