Three Wives One Husband: New TLC Show May Put Polygamist Stars at Risk
When Enoch Foster agreed to open up his home in Rockland Ranch, UT to cameras for a docu-series titled Three Wives, One Husband that was only originally scheduled to air in the UK, he wasn’t aware that it would ever make it over to the United States. So it makes sense that Enoch and his family were thrown for a loop now that the four-episode series was bought by TLC and just premiered on the network this week — especially because polygamy is illegal and now considered a felony in the state of Utah.
According to administrator a polygamy Facebook group — who is a friend of the Foster family — the participants of the series who are also residents of the Rockland community (of which Enoch is considered the leader of) did not have a choice whether their show got picked up by a network in the United States and they did not specifically choose for TLC to air their show.
“When the show was filmed, being a plyg [a slang term for a polygamist] in Utah wasn’t illegal…it is again,” the admin wrote. “So the fact that it’s in the US is slightly more scary now. As far as I know, they are staying put — but keep in mind they just found out TLC bought their show just a few weeks ago!”
Fans of the show were worried that being on TV would expose the Enoch family and the rest of the families on the show as practicing polygamists. This would put a target on their backs since the HB99 anti-bigamy law just passed in 2017 — which that makes it illegal for anyone to live or cohabitate with a purported spouse while legally married to someone else. If someone is arrested for polygamy, they would be charged with a third-degree felony and could face anywhere between five to 10 years in prison per count.
Kody Brown with his four wives Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn.
The admin also explained that the Foster family was paid very minimally for hosting the production crew at Rockland Ranch for the full year that they filmed on location. The family also were paid modestly when TLC bought Three Wives, One Husband from the original production company.
“Just like the Browns [Sister Wives], Brineys [Seeking Sister Wife], and Alldredges [Seeking Sister Wife], they all believed it was their contribution to the polygamist community as a whole to help people see that it was mostly normal and that most polygamists do not have child brides but rather in most polygamist communities the women choose [to marry into a polygamist family]. They, along with their predecessors, did the shows altruistically as a stepping stone for people to understand us better!”
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