| Polygamy Comes to TV | |||
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Entertainment Tonight ET Online | |||
Most Americans believe that the practice of polygamy -- where an individual multiple spouses -- is a thing of the past in America. Shockingly, polygamy is still alive and well and on Thursday night's "Primetime," when JOHN QUIÑONES goes inside a religious sect in Colorado City, AZ, where one husband has 15 wives and 75 children. Last night, ET had a sneak peek as Quiñones was inducted into the secret world by LAURENE JESSOP, who took the reporter to the home where she was raised and from which she managed to escape two years ago. Tonight, we look at the other side of polygamy when Quiñones talks to women who say they don't mind sharing their man with other women. They live in a mansion, have great jobs, and always know where their husbands are because they share them with other wives. These women say their world of polygamy is liberating. "Jealousy doesn't matter when it comes to a situation where he has committed to that woman also," 18-year-old newlywed SARA tells the newsman. "The woman has her husband's sexual partners [over for] breakfast with her the next morning, she knows where her husband has been, she knows the children that come from this union, she loves the children, she loves that woman." The women won't reveal how many children live with them, because they are afraid the authorities might discover their secret lives and charge the husbands with polygamy, breaking up their families. So only one of the wives is married legally under the laws of the state. The other wives' marriages are solely religious. Unlike Sara, Laurene's story is not a happy one. When she was only 19 years old, Laurene was placed in an arranged marriage to an older man, who used to punish her when she disobeyed him by committing her to a mental institution. Laurene eventually managed to escape her polygamous marriage and escaped with her three daughters. She was forced to leave behind her two sons, but she later received custody of them, too. "I have 55 siblings," Laurene reveals. "My dad had 56 children and four wives." Polygamy is such a hot topic that HBO is debuting "Big Love," starring BILL PAXTON, JEANNE TRIPPLEHORN, CHLOE SEVIGNY, GINNIFER GOODWIN and HARRY DEAN STANTON on Sunday, March 12 at 10 p.m. Bill Henrickson (Paxton) seems to lead a typical suburban life. A hardworking husband and father of seven, this Salt Lake City native tries to find enough time for his family while overseeing the expansion of his successful home-improvement business. But Bill is also a polygamist with three wives and three homes. "[I was] shocked to find that this was real, that there are tens of thousands of polygamists, that they could be your neighbor or my neighbor," Ginnifer tells ET. "It's a private decision to live this alternative lifestyle." For more on the "Primetime" episode and the upcoming "Big Love" series, tune in to tonight's ET. | |||
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et.tv.yahoo.com Originally published March 2, 2006 | |||
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