Seeking Sister Wife star Garrick Merrifield is like fellow polygamist Kody Brown from Sister Wives. The two come from different worlds but have plenty in common.
Each man had his own reasons for practicing polygamy and becoming a reality TV star. What they share is the rationale that they’re good husbands. They think so even though they’re often inconsiderate partners.
Garrick convinced his wife Dannielle Merrifield that God wanted her to divorce him so that he could marry other women. The reality star’s antics can be creepy. He lures women in without telling them he’s into polygamy. He starts by getting them into monogamous relationships.
He’s targeted women who don’t speak English and live outside the United States. Garrick’s ulterior motives and predatory behavior make him different from Kody, who stayed with his four wives and 18 children. Kody comes from a gun culture and is anti-government, but he’s all about his family and his children.
Kody & Garrick Are Narcissists
They Are Full Of Themselves
Kody and Garrick display narcissistic tendencies that are often hidden behind religion. Kody is known for his macho ways. He’s argued that without him, his spouses and kids wouldn’t have good lives.
Kody has come up with lots of radical ideas, choosing who to keep out of his life. At times, Kody apparently wanted to be worshiped, and it’s possible that he has a god complex.
Garrick has also presented the same narcissistic traits, leaving many viewers confused about whether he really cares about Dannielle and her needs.
Kody & Garrick Are Master Manipulators
Use Manipulation On Their Wives
Garrick is a master manipulator. In one of the episodes of Seeking Sister Wife season 5, Garrick justified his desire to get into polygamy, linking it to the scriptures. He indicated it was in scripture even though people thought it was wrong and evil.
Furthermore, Garrick noted they searched for the scriptures for years and felt that polygamy reflected Jesus and his church. Garrick explained that, “He fills you with the holy ghost” was a sexual term that depicted intimacy with a lot of people.
It is ridiculous that he thought of it this way. However, this moves from his first description when the viewers are introduced to the Seeking Sister Wife reality star. Initially, Garrick noted he’d searched the Holy book and noticed there were good people in the Bible who practiced polygamy.
He has no actual doctrine to prove his claims and does not explain why it matters in his religion, showing it is just an excuse to step out of his marriage.
Kody & Garrick Hide Behind Religion
The Brazilian Rose
Garrick uses religion to give reasons for his strange behavior. On multiple occasions, Garrick used God’s name to justify his need for multiple wives. When proposing to Nathalia recently, the Seeking Sister Wife star talked about the ring he’d offered. Garrick stated that he had designed it and had someone customize it into a rose shape. That’s because he was praying years ago on the mountain, and God revealed to him that a sweet rose would join his family.
“I was praying a year ago on the mountaintop, and God spoke to me about a sweet rose being added to our family that would heal the family’s heart and bring a calm and peace to all of us.”
However, Kody genuinely wanted to have many wives and create a huge family, and didn’t purely base his polygamy lifestyle on religion. Eventually, Kody’s three wives, Christine, Janelle and Meri Brown left him, unlike Garrick, whose kids are in the middle of his mess, Kody only became estranged from his children after he chose his fourth wife, Robyn Brown. They might not be settling the feud anytime soon.
Kody & Garrick Are Egotistical
They Think About Themselves
Garrick’s been utterly disrespectful to his wife and blamed it on her jealousy. He forced Dannielle into his polygamous life even though Dannielle acted like she was okay with it. When the couple dated Roberta Pache, Garrick acted like a blowhard when he dismissed Dannielle’s feelings about her potential sister wife’s relationship with her husband. Producers asked Garrick if he felt like Dannielle had second thoughts about their polyamorous relationship, and the Seeking Sister Wife star said she didn’t.
“Dannielle is really emotional and running around in circles because God hasn’t delivered her from jealousy.”
Kody’s ego is massive – he was always too invested in being the final decision maker for the family, even when the decisions didn’t please the rest of his family members. He lived in a delusional world where he was the king and his wives were servants. Kody once asked his ex-wife Christine Brown if she would rather be loved or right. Well, it seems Kody loved being right and often expected his family members to treat him like he was all-knowing.
Why Kody & Garrick Are Perceived As Bad Husbands
They Are Too Patriarchal
Kody had Sister Wives viewers questioning him because of how he treated his wives on the show. At one point, the patriarch was brutal to Christine during their anniversary trip on the rock-tower excursion, telling her he’d love her if she loved the family. The tone was so condescending, leaving fans perplexed. Kody also discredited Meri’s feelings when discussing the IVF process, with him not letting her air what she felt about the decision.
He said that if she changed her mind and cried about it at night, they would discuss the topic again and shut the door, which was pretty rude. It seems like plural family patriarchs barely value relationships and are always looking for ways of elevating themselves in the afterlife. Kody walked so that Garrick could run. Garrick and Kody are bad husbands based on how they treat their wives. Dannielle is always crying over Garrick’s antics, and he seems to abuse her love for him.
Garrick ignores the fact that Dannielle is uncomfortable with polygamy, leaving her brainwashed with poor self-esteem. Garrick baited and love-bombed Roberta, promising her a better life in the U.S. However, she was smart enough to snap out of it. Garrick could have manipulated Dannielle into pushing the narrative that she was just a scammer to massage his bruised ego. Seeking Sister Wife is a hot mess, and they should perhaps change its name to Seeking Swingers.
