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On the Jaden Jeffs podcast, Mel and Corey share their experiences growing up in the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) polygamist community in Utah and Montana. Mel was raised with 34 siblings and four mothers, and says her father, David Watson, is the current AUB leader; Corey grew up in a United Order compound in Pinedale, Montana with his father’s nine wives and 39 children. They discuss AUB origins as a split from the FLDS in 1958, how leadership succession works in practice, and how marriage/courtship is arranged with an “illusion of choice.” Mel describes being married spiritually shortly after turning 17 to a 25-year-old, pressure to help court a second wife, and later learning her husband hired prostitutes while leadership would not grant her a release because he claimed there was no physical contact.
00:45 Meet Mel & Corey: Raised AUB, Massive Families, and Their Channel
02:20 AUB Origins & Leadership Succession: Splits, Prophets, and Power
04:41 Leaving the AUB: Excommunication, Returning, and Finally Walking Away
06:16 How AUB Courtship Works: “Illusion of Choice” and Teen Marriage
08:25 Life in a United Order: One House, Many Wives, Work, and Childhood Trauma
15:15 Is Polygamy Ever “Worth It”? Advice, Obligation, and Belief in Heaven
19:04 Why They Questioned It: Favoritism, Hypocrisy, and Cory’s Excommunication Story
25:05 Mel’s Breaking Point: Forced Courting, Abuse, Divorce Limbo, and Getting Out
32:50 Sex Rules, Last Names, and Leadership Scandals: Abuse, Cover-Ups, and Control
43:28 “We’re the Good Guys”… Until You Look Closer
44:25 ‘We Live Polygamy Better’: Age, Consent, and Double Standards
45:38 ‘Mature for Her Age’: How Families Justify Child Marriage
47:54 Control, Shame, and the ‘Exorcism’ Night
50:23 Modesty Rules & Temple Garments: Washings, Anointings, and Long Underwear
54:01 Leaving Again & Meeting Cory: Divorce, ‘Releases,’ and Starting Over
01:00:03 Joining the LDS Church… Then Seeing the Same Patterns
01:05:35 Deconstructing After Religion: Community Loss and Identity Rebuild
01:07:14 Divorce, ‘Nesting,’ Remarriage, and Learning Healthy Communication
01:10:02 Plant Medicine, Deep Healing, and Why They Started the Podcast
01:20:30 Where to Find Them + Final Advice for Anyone Trying to Leave
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