‘Seeking Sister Wife’ Star Dannielle Merrifield Insists Husband Garrick ‘Is Not a Superficial Man’
TLC star Dannielle Merrifield is addressing criticisms of her relationship with her husband Garrick Merrifield.
The Colorado pair appear on Seeking Sister Wife, which chronicles their efforts to add another woman to their marriage. At times, Dannielle has expressed reservations about polygamy, including in the show’s March 25 episode, when she admitted she was afraid to invite a woman named Nathalia into their family after her and Garrick’s devastating breakup with potential sister wife Roberta.
But despite the intense emotions involved in living in a plural marriage, Dannielle is “very happy,” she said in a recent Instagram video.
Dannielle addresses her emotional reaction to Roberta’s breakup text
Dannielle and Garrick spent years cultivating a relationship with a Brazilian woman named Roberta in the hopes that she would eventually become Garrick’s second wife. Garrick even went so far as to divorce Dannielle so he could legally marry Roberta and bring her to the United States. But after Dannielle and Garrick indicated they wanted to add a third sister wife to their family, Roberta balked. She dumped the Merrifields via text message shortly before she was set to arrive in the U.S. – and just after the couple had sent her a large sum of money.
Roberta’s actions stunned the Merrifields, especially Dannielle. Her emotional reaction to the breakup was captured in Seeking Sister Wife Season 4.
“I don’t understand. She said she was my sister! She lied. She never loved me,” she sobbed.
Dannielle addressed her intense reaction to Roberta’s betrayal in a March 26 Instagram video. She said Seeking Sister Wife viewers were seeing her “raw emotion” in that moment. She also denied playing things up for the cameras.
“I am not an actress. Trust me,” she said.
The ‘Seeking Sister Wife’ star says Garrick just wants to find a wife who is ‘kind’
The traumatic end to their relationship with Roberta has not dissuaded the Merrifields from pursuing polygamy. In Seeking Sister Wife Season 5, which is currently airing on TLC, they’re courting a young woman named Nathalia, who is also from Brazil.
Despite the similarities between Roberta and Nathalia, Dannielle said she and Garrick weren’t deliberately seeking out non-American women to date. Brazilians are simply more open to polygamous relationships, she claimed. Dannielle also said that Garrick wasn’t just considering physical attributes when choosing a potential sister wife.
“Garrick is not a superficial man. He really is not … he’s very much an emotional man,” Dannielle said. She added that her husband of two decades wants a “kind” woman who “has a heart to please God.” The Merrifields have said that they decided to practice polygamy for religious reasons.
Still, looks matter when choosing a sister wife, Dannielle confessed.
“There’s gotta be some sort of attraction,” she said. “That’s natural. But the true thing is the heart.”
Seeking Sister Wife airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on TLC. Episodes also stream on Max.
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