So I've been watching from day one, season one (like many of you I'm sure) as I know someone loosely affiliated with the family/show. Some piping tea they shared last time we got together:

-In seasons one/two they couldn't film for a long time because the entire family was unvaccinated and came down with a horrible case of the measles. Like, literally everyone got infected. This experience is why Kody totally freaked about spreading COVID and was insanely proactive despite his alt-right views.

-Meri and Kody were already at the "barely friends" stage in season one. Behind the scenes, there was zero going on romantically.

-Kodi and Robin have always had a crazy amount of chemistry and she has been "the favorite wife" from day one. The later seasons are just the first time we see it portrayed on-camera.

-Everyone is actually really nice and cool, at least on a surface level. I know there's a lot of Robin hate here but apparently she is very fun and enjoyable to chat with, as are all the wives -- and even Kody according to this person. (**FYI this is coming from a queer very liberal person who doesn't put up with any bs which is why I found that fact interesting.)

EDITED to add two more things I just remembered:

-At least at the start, Kody did seem to have more regular/functional marriages with Janelle and Christine. Janelle and him seemed to have a solid bond and be the most accepting of each other's quirks.

-This person hasn't watched the show in many years, and was surprised to find out Kody is claiming he never loved or was attracted to Christine. There definitely seemed to be chemistry/love from their POV, even if it wasn't as intense as what he shared with Robin.

Now that's really all I got! Hope it was at least a little interesting to someone out there.