A Thoughtful, Nuanced Portrait Of A Gay Mormon Man And His Wife Was On...VH1?!

VH1 has, arguably, done more to destroy the fine reputation of the fine reality TV genre than any other single network, with shows like Breaking Bonaduce, Celebrity Rehab, anything involving Flavor Flav or spun off from something involving Flavor Flav (that means you, New York), and that one where one of the contestants turned out to be a murderer. But I'm Married To A... is doing a pretty great job of redeeming the network's reputation in the reality genre. It does show some of the hallmarks of thumbsy reality production (stagey-sounding conversations, for example), but on the whole it's a pretty straightforward documentary in which couples tell the stories of their relationships. Each episode features two couples who, as the series title suggests, have unusual marriages --  a woman married to a man who believes he's an alien abductee; a man married to a professional dominatrix; a woman preparing to marry a woman who's not out to her mother -- and presents them without comment or judgment.

It's a mandate I thought would be tested in the latest episode, which featured Josh, a gay Mormon man who married Lolly and has three children with her. If that sketch sounds kind of familiar, it may be because you read about him last year when his (self-told) story was going around the internet. For all the obvious reasons, it's hard not to respond to this particular marriage with skepticism that it could be satisfying for either partner, and sympathy for the fact that Josh observes a faith that prevents him from having relationships with people of the sex he's actually attracted to, and the opening segment doesn't really do much to dislodge the impression.

And when Josh and Lolly sit down with a gay couple who aren't that cool with Josh identifying himself as gay, having married a woman in order to start a family that he's...you know, still in, I kind of see where the dudes are coming from.

But when Lolly and Josh get the chance to explain themselves on a Mormon radio show, I kind of get it.

Lolly and Josh are eloquent in their explanation of the choice they've both (and each) made for themselves, and clear that they don't judge anyone who lives differently or expect anyone to follow their example. They may not win over any converts with this episode, but it's impressive that they have the courage to be this candid about what is, let's face it, kind of an unusual arrangement. Having seen both episodes, Mrs. Alien Abductee had things WAY worse.