The Polygamists Who Let Women Choose Who They Want to Marry

By Cassie Murdoch | October 23, 2011 | 10:45pm

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The Browns of Sister Wives fame aren’t the only polygamists on TV tonight. Meet Michael and his three wives, who live in Centennial Park, a polygamist community in Arizona. They’re being featured on Our America with Lisa Ling, and they seem far more low-key than the Browns. They also differ from most polygamists because women in their community choose who they want to marry, rather than being picked by a prospective husband. This sounds good in theory, except you can never predict when God’s inspiration will strike. Take the case of Michael’s second wife, Connie:

“When I was a young girl, I was taught that we should ask the Lord to guide us to the person we had to covenanted to marry. So I started praying at quite a young age that I would meet him. […] I was in 6th grade math. All of a sudden, the thought came to me that, ‘Here is the answer to what you’ve been asking for.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, really? Seriously? That’s so embarrassing, right? Ew, really? My math teacher?'”

Eeek! Nevertheless, these folks provide an interesting contrast—especially the third wife who’s fighting with the family—to the always smiling Kody Brown and company.