Before Dannielle Merrifield revealed her surprise pregnancy, Seeking Sister Wife’s Garrick Merrifield and Nathalia Lima were “purposely trying” for a baby of their own.
Fans watched during the Monday, May 6, episode as Garrick, 40, Dannielle, 35, and Nathalia, 25, discussed the “surprise” pregnancy upon Dannielle’s arrival in Brazil. While Dannielle was all smiles about the baby news, Nathalia only looked to the ground and said she was “mentally tired” about the whole ordeal.
“I definitely think Nathalia is depressed and devasted because of the wedding getting called off and on top of it, dealing with the disappointment that she thought she was pregnant because she was late,” Garrick said in a private confessional. “We were purposely trying to have a child. Me and Dannielle was a total accident, like whoops.”
Dannielle traveled to Brazil after spending more than a month apart from Garrick. Garrick initially traveled to the South American country to make preparations to marry Nathalia, but a judge denied their marriage request due to their polygamous background.
“I really hoped that Nathalia would be pregnant. I feel like there’s apprehension in the air and uneasy feelings between us because of the baby situation,” the mom of three told producers. “And her thinking that, I possibly did this on purpose but I hope that it brings us together seeing the baby on the monitor.”
Dannielle hoped her future sister wife would come around as she said one of the “beautiful things about a plural lifestyle” was being able to share those family moments together and not just “a husband.”
The Colorado native first revealed her pregnancy to her sister-in-law during the April 22 episode. Dannielle admitted that she and Garrick “weren’t in the best place” before he left for Brazil and that was why her husband opted to be away for so long.
“Us kinda taking like a little separation break is the longest we were ever apart,” Dannielle recounted to her family member. “It’s like a realization that I could be a single parent ‘cause I don’t know if we’re gonna stay together.”
When the trio finally reunited in person during the April 29 episode, they had a tense conversation about the pregnancy. Nathalia questioned if Garrick and Dannielle had unprotected sex on her fertile days, to which Dannielle replied, “Oh yeah, I’m sure.”
Nathalia was confused why Garrick and Dannielle were surprised about the pregnancy if they weren’t using contraceptives and Dannielle explained she and Garrick had been having sex on “fertile days” for 14 years without getting pregnant.
“You know, right now I’m not sure I made the right choice coming down here,” Dannielle admitted. “I feel awkward with Garrick and I feel awkward with Nathalia. I feel like she’s trying to be happy that I’m here, but I don’t think that she is. It feels like she’s angry at me for being pregnant. I think she thinks I purposely got pregnant to keep Garrick and save our relationship.”
Garrick and Dannielle were married for 11 years before trying to add a sister wife to their existing family. During season 3 of Seeking Sister Wife, they divorced so Garrick could legally marry Roberta “Bert” Pache from Brazil. While that relationship didn’t work out, Garrick and Dannielle tried again with Nathalia after initially meeting her on a dating app.
