The Real Reason Dannielle Merrifield Agreed To Polygamy (It Was Garrick Merrifield’s Idea)

Summary

• Dannielle fears losing Garrick, hinting she permitted polygamy to maintain their relationship.
• Garrick’s unconventional biblical views justify polygamy as he aims for multiple wives.
• Nathalia, Garrick’s new interest, shows focus only on him, reflecting threats to Garrick and Dannielle’s bond.

Seeking Sister Wife season 5 reintroduces viewers to Garrick Merrifield, the show’s most notorious villain, and his wife, Dannielle Merrifield. Viewers were first introduced to Garrick and Dannielle in season 3 when the couple dated Roberta Pacha. Complicating matters, Roberta lived in Brazil and spoke little English, so they had to rely almost entirely on translator apps.

Garrick and Dannielle continued to date Roberta throughout Seeking Sister Wife season 4 and even introduced Roberta to their teen sons. Unfortunately, Roberta used the couple for money and dumped them via text by the end of the season. Garrick and Danielle are back to try their luck again in Seeking Sister Wife season 5. Having learned nothing from their marriage to Roberta, they proposed to Nathalia, another Brazilian woman who speaks zero English. Though Dannielle pretends to support Garrick’s desire for more wives, she may have her own reason for agreeing to live in polygamy.

Dannielle Is Afraid Of Losing Garrick

She May Have Already Lost Him

Though Garrick claims that he’s pursuing polygamy because it’s God’s will, Dannielle may have more Earthly reasons for agreeing to live in a polygamous marriage. During episode 7 of Seeking Sister Wife season 5, Dannielle addressed her reason directly. She complained that Nathalia wasn’t being a good sister wife to Dannielle, which caused a rift between Garrick and Dannielle.

”
Honestly, I think I’m just at a place where I don’t know where my relationship is with Garrick
.”

As Garrick leaves to spend a month in Brazil with Nathalia, a crying Dannielle is left at home wondering. “Honestly, I think I’m just at a place where I don’t know where my relationship is with Garrick,” Dannielle explains. After watching this season, it’s easy to speculate that Dannielle agreed to let Garrick take more wives in a misguided attempt to keep Garrick from leaving her. Dannielle sensed Garrick’s dissatisfaction with their marriage and decided that the only way to keep him from leaving her was to let him pursue other women.

Dannielle & Garrick’s Journey

He’s No Biblical Scholar

Garrick and Dannielle were married for 13 years, in a monogamous relationship, and have two children together: Geremiah and Solomon. The couple’s decision to explore polygamy stemmed from Garrick’s unique biblical interpretation. Garrick and Dannielle are Christian, not Mormon, and Garrick was inspired by the bible to open his marriage to a second wife. Without being affiliated with a specific religion, Garrick cited God’s embrace of people in the bible who had plural marriages as part of his momentum to become a polygamist.

”
A lot of the scriptures, the terms where it says he fills you with the holy ghost, it’s actually a sexual term. It actually means, like, sperm going into, like, intimacy that way
.”

During the Seeking Sister Wife season 5 premiere, Garrick explains how his reading of the bible led him to polygamy. With Dannielle seated beside him during an interview, Garrick says, “A lot of the scriptures, the terms where it says he fills you with the holy ghost, it’s actually a sexual term. It actually means, like, sperm going into, like, intimacy that way.”

As Dannielle struggles to keep from laughing, he continues, ”
And even scientifically, we’ve found that, you know, when a man and a woman become one, and his sperm goes into a woman and his DNA becomes part of her.”

What Happened To Roberta?

The Merrifields Got Played

After Seeking Sister Wife season 4, Roberta dumped Garrick and Dannielle via text. The breakup was surprising to the Merrifields, who had made several life changes to accommodate Roberta. Not only had the Merrifields moved to a larger home to make room for Roberta, but Garrick divorced Dannielle to marry Roberta so she could come to the U.S.

Roberta, who was ironically jealous about them wanting a third wife, ultimately abandoned them at the end of
Seeking Sister Wife
season 4, after accepting thousands of dollars from them.

What We Know About Nathalia

Out With The Old, In With The New

Seeking Sister Wife season 5 found Garrick and Dannielle already dating Nathalia, a new Brazilian woman. Much like Roberta, whom the Merrifields had to communicate with entirely through translator phone apps, Nathalia doesn’t speak much English. The language barrier adds another layer of struggle to the already complicated dynamics of a polygamous relationship. Unlike during seasons 3 and 4 of Seeking Sister Wives, Dannielle is less than enthusiastic about jumping into a plural marriage, still stinging from the experience with Roberta.

Another difference between Roberta and Nathalia is that Roberta seemed more committed to developing a sisterhood with Dannielle. On the other hand, Nathalia is entirely focused on Garrick. Her behavior suggests she’s more interested in keeping Garrick all to herself than in being a second wife. With Garrick heading to Brazil on his own to spend a month alone with Nathalia, it’s unclear what will become of the Merrifield’s marriage.

”
I really feel like God promised our family, uh, more than just Dannielle
.
I mean, I had a vision years ago that I had five wives and they were good
.”

Will Garrick Want More Wives?

Most Certainly

During the fourth episode of Seeking Sister Wife season 5, Nathalia takes Dannielle aside to ask if Dannielle has doubts about moving forward with the marriage. When Dannielle admitted to having some fears, Garrick was visibly irritated that Dannielle was honest with Nathalia and implied she was trying to sabotage the dynamic. In a one-on-one interview with producers, Garrick says, “I really feel like God promised our family, uh, more than just Dannielle.” He went on to add, “I mean, I had a vision years ago that I had five wives and they were good.”

Garrick has made it clear he intends to take several more wives and has conveniently insisted that doing so is God’s will. Dannielle initially agreed to live in a plural marriage, likely hoping to keep her husbandbut she’s now rethinking her choices. If things don’t change, Garrick and Dannielle are headed towards the dissolution of their relationship before the Seeking Sister Wife season 5 finale.

The Merrifield’s Romantic Prospects:

Seeking Sister Wife

airs Mondays at 9 p.m. EDT on TLC.