Polygamist Special 'My Five Wives' Explores Faith and Marriage: 'It's About Love and Commitment'
TLC aired its third polygamist show, with the special "My Five Wives," featuring the Williams family. Brady Williams and his family were featured on the special and spoke about their lives as polygamists who don't belong to any organized religion.
Brady has five wives and 24 children who all live outside Salt Lake City, Utah. The Williams family withdrew from the fundamentalist Mormon church in order to explore their own religious beliefs, which are a mixture of Christianity and other prominent religions.
"Since we have left the religion, it's now about love and it's about commitment, and it's about happiness as a family," Brady told the cameras. "It's not about the fear of hell or the promise of heaven."
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One thing the family does have to worry about, though, is the legal ramification of going public. Polygamy is illegal in the state of Utah, and another famous polygamist family, the Brown family, whose lives are depicted on the series "Sister Wives" had to flee under threat of prosecution.
Brady has spoken about his beliefs, which one may not normally associate with polygamy. His wives all have their own homes on a large lot and have their own, independent lives. Brady wants his daughters to have "their own identities and not be mindless zombies," he told the New York Times in 1997.
"There is an unhealthy stigma attached to polygamy," Brady told the Associated Press. "There is nothing wrong with consenting adults living and loving how they choose."
The Williams family could be featured in their own series depending on the ratings from last night's airing. The special will air again tonight for those who missed it. TLC already has one show about polygamy, "Sister Wives," which has enjoyed great success. The Brown family consists of patriarch Kody and his four wives, one of whom tweeted her support for the Williams family last night.
"Hey Brady Williams family, thanks so much for becoming public. It's wonderful to have another family out there with us," Christine Brown, Kody's third wife, tweeted.
