TLC’s Seeking Sister Wife returned to the air on Sunday night…but one of the show’s original families— the Brineys— was noticeably missing from the episode.
Fans who watched Drew Briney and his wives April, Auralee and Angela search for a new wife to join their family last season were wondering why the Brineys were not on the Season 2 premiere. In a blog post to their family website, the Briney explained their absence, and revealed a major change in their family.
“Originally we were going to be but TLC pulled us at the last minute— literally a month before the season premiere,” the blog post reads.
“We filmed the whole season, but no one could have guessed the traumatic experience our family would have and try to recover from while filming Season 2. So besides the network feeling bound by HIPPA laws, our story was simply too heavy, with too much controversy, and we don’t blame them,” the family wrote.
They explained what “traumatic experience” led to the break-up of their family.
“Without getting into too many details here, simply put, April left our family and took Drew’s and her children out of state (back to Utah) under the pretext of taking them for a local hike not far from our Oregon home. She never came back. Nor would she accept any communication for the first month or so,” the blog post read. “This happened the first week of filming (on film, actually). The grief and heartache those of us left behind have been experiencing has been excruciating.”
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* The whole fam damily! (As seen on @tlc upcoming #SeekingSisterWife. Premiere’s Jan 14 10/9c.
According to the blog post, April bolted from the family on May 26, after the birthday party celebrating Briney family kids Lenny and Laurelei.
“It would be many months before we could even have open communication with any of the children and seven months before we would even get to see them,” the blog post reads. “We didn’t see the kids she took until December 21.”
The family blamed this event for TLC not wanting to film with them anymore.
“Heavy stuff, right? So we were dealing with our outrage and grief during the whole season of filming,” the family wrote. “We were left in the dark as to what her plans were and had many questions in our minds. To be filmed during this time was very hard on the one hand and very therapeutic on the other.
“The network had a very unique opportunity to tell a story that’s never been told before- that of the family left behind when a plural wife leaves. But again, we agree that this heavy of a story was not a good fit for this platform. The story of those who leave has been told many times, but we often don’t consider how the remaining family deals with that grief and how they try to move on in life.
“In any case, at the end of the day our story was a far cry from the intention of the show.”
As “Seeking Sister Wife” may remember, April was Drew’s only legal wife. (His other wives are “spiritual wives.”) This means that April will have to legally divorce Drew.
On her personal Facebook page, however, April still lists herself as “married.”
In their blog post, the remaining Briney adults accused April of bad-mouthing them.
“We have heard through mutual friends and acquaintances some of the accusations that April is making, which are not only false, but sad to hear,” they wrote. “The lifestyle and family she defended so fervently in the past of her own free will and choice, she now claims victim of. We’ll leave it at that.”
The family got in a final jab at April’s mental state before ending the blog post.
“Though she clearly has caused so much pain for our family, we wish her the best and are hopeful she will find the healing she needs. We know that the mentally stable April would not have done the things she’s done.”
The family gave fans an update on their lives, revealing that that they decided to leave Portland and move to Southern Oregon for a fresh start. The family seems to be open to other TV projects in the future, though.
“Perhaps we’ll be able to tell our story another way,” they wrote. “Stay posted and keep in touch.”
The Briney-less new season of ‘Seeking Sister Wife’ airs Sundays on TLC.
30 Responses
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IM GLAD APRIL IS GONE. SHE WAS SO TOXIC AND SELF SERVING. SHE DOSNT BELONG IN A PLURAL ANYTHING.SHE ONLY WANTS TO BE INCLUDED IF SHE CAN BE CONTROLLING.
I applaud April for leaving she has right to what she wants to do
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Good for April for waking up and getting herself and her children out of there. She’s the sane one imo and I applaud her. I haven’t seen a single show about polygamy that portrays this lifestyle as positive or healthy. I hope more and more women wake up and get themselves and their children out.
Yeah, I’m sure if my devoted religious husband suddenly had a “revelation from God” to say he needed more women to achieve his own planet in the celestial world, I’d be, “oh sure honey, boink some other woman/women if that’s what you need to do.” When pigs fly.
Good for April for waking up. Although if I’m being honest, that homely man was never good enough for you.
Is this the same family who lost a child in a fire after season 1 wrapped? If so, I would say this woman isn’t mentally stable as that would be absolutely horrific to go through. But like comments above, this is the type of storyline viewers would tune in for, not just a polygamist adding more wives but the real life struggles they face that aren’t camera friendly.
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That was a different family/show–Enoch Foster’s family from “Three Wives, One Husband” is the one that lost their son in the fire.
Different family-they never lost a child after season 1
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April got smart! She had told Drew several times she did not want to move there. Im glad she see her “family” for what they really are. And ate using religion for their perversions. I feel bad for the kiddos.
Sorry for your loss i guess mainly tge children. But from what ya’ll aired last year i would have left too. I really dont think its fair to blame her for everything you two were acting like little spoiled brats. You guys ended the season with her wanting to leave as it was so you had to.know it was coming.
The Brineys are a bunch of liars that want to put it all on April, when they are the ones ganging up on her and treating her like trash. Drew decided 8 years into marriage that he wanted to take more wives, and April just went along with it to save her marriage not because she ever wanted to be a sister wife. The blog reveals how dishonest the family is though. April apparently escaped with her children in May, yet the family blog posted in July “April’s Apology” where “April” took all the blaime for the toxic family dynamics and suggested mental illness. I’m willing to bet anything Angela wrote that phony blog and it was out there as a way to make themselves the victim and discredit April once the real story becomes public.
April certainly showed her true colors in the first season. I noticed a mean streak in her when talking to the other wives, and always with a very creepy, Haha smile. Be glad she’s gone girls. She is a total cuckoo!
Looking at how TLC kept airing the Duggar’s multiple train wrecks (they sure didn’t care about any laws when they helped coverup for Josh molesting his sisters)…I wonder if there is more to the story than the family is telling.
There is a cruel and mentally absusive tactic used in polygamy…blame all the problems on a certain sister wife or even her children.
Looking at all the other reality tv show clusterfu*k’s that TLC continues to air, I can’t believe they just pulled this for no reason.
All I can think is I’d Janelle and/or Christine would do this to Kody on Sister Wives, it would be ratings gold. Personally I believe the wife who left this midlife crisis masquerading as religion is the sane one.
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I am sorry for your family. I for one thought there was something wrong with her last season. Watching the show we knew she wasn’t telling the truth on certain issues. I hope you’re able to get visitation with your children. My prayers are with you all.
Sounds like they are trying to get ahead of a scandal. I don’t buy this one bit.
this sounds like the EXACT story i would want to see on a sister wives show
Exactly! They are saying April is mentally unstable, when in reality she’s the smart one. You would have to be unstable, as a woman to want to be one of many wives. Go April!
Hopefully they still air this footage in their own special or something. I understand why it wouldnt fit the premise of “seeking sister wives”.
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I don’t trust the Brineys version of things. That blog where “April” apologizes was over a month after she apparently escaped. I find it doubtful that she would be posting that in July after leaving in May. They all treated her like crap on the show and ganged up on her, it’s not surprising that one of them probably posted that phony apology accepting all the blame to make her look bad.
This story would actually be quite interesting to watch. Hope you will be doing recaps of this and Sister Wives, Ashley!
HIPAA must have to do with April’s mental capacity. April referenced in a blog last summer that she wasn’t in the right mental state during filming and got counseling after seeing the show. Also, the Briney’s referenced her mental impairment in their blog.
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That blog (July) was over a month after she supposedly left with her kids (May). I smell something fishy, and I think one of the dishonest Brineys posted that blog under April’s name to make her look bad.
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HIPPA is a medical law about patient confidentiality. You can’t share medical info without the patient’s permission.
And after getting slam by the Internet… She definitely was edited it to look like the bitch… But truth be told I could tell something was off with her.
I think HIPAA has to do with April’s mental stability. April posted a blog last summer, apologizing for her behavior and said something about getting counseling. Also, the family referenced her mental capacity in their explanation.
I’d love to see this footage! I’m surprised TLC would have pulled it because it would be great for ratings. There must be more to the story…
Also wonder what April’s accusations against the family were?
I’d love to see this footage! I’m surprised TLC would have pulled it because it would be great for ratings. There must be more to the story…
What does HIPAA have to do with any of this?
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They probably do not have April’s consent to air any comments about her health and mental stability.
They are just trying to make it look like she is the one that is crazy. When she was, she would not have been able to keep the kids.
I’m sure she could have had some kind of burn-out after leaving the family, but leaving was a very sane decision. They were horrible to her. I was very surprised there was so little love in that family.