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It’s a full house! Between his three spouses, one ex-partner and 18 children, Sister Wives star Kody Brown has his hands full at home.
The salesperson’s family became the subject of intrigue when the first season of the TLC reality series premiered in September 2010. At the time, Kody was courting Robyn Brown, his fourth wife and the first new spouse to enter the family in 16 years.
Kody was legally married to his first wife, Meri Brown, from April 1990 until their September 2014 divorce. While they are no longer considered a wedded couple by law, they continue to be “spiritually married.” However, their relationship hasn’t been smooth over the past several years.
“Meri and I have been in a very dark place for a very long time,” Kody told Us Weekly exclusively in February 2021 ahead of the season 15 premiere of Sister Wives. “It’s been more about trying to get ourselves out of this hole that we dug ourselves into. … I hope that some communication heals things. It’s been a long time and it’s been very difficult.”
Though things between them aren’t always perfect, Kody said that he can’t bring himself to completely abandon any of his wives. (Along with Meri and Robyn, he also “spiritually married” his second and third wives, Janelle Brown and Christine Brown.)
“In plural marriage, I don’t feel like I’ve got the right to say, ‘This is over, this is ending,’” he told Us at the time, acknowledging that there’s a “double standard in some senses” in the polygamous community. “I feel like [my wives] need to understand that — that they can leave. If it’s not working for them, they can leave. Nobody’s going to be a prisoner here.”
Trouble hasn’t only been brewing between him and Meri, however. While his family adjusted to the coronavirus pandemic throughout 2020, Kody noticed a “psychic tension” between him and all of his spouses.
“I feel like my wives are living four separate lives, but I don’t feel like I’m living four separate lives,” he told Us in February 2021. “I’m sort of strung out on this relationship conveyor belt. … In fact, it seems like my wives are in four different worlds. They’re all actually at different stages of their life. … It’s been a real challenge.”
In November 2021, Kody and his third wife, Christine, announced they called it quits after more than 25 years together.
“Christine’s decision to leave comes with a great deal of sadness,” Kody wrote in a statement at the time, following Christine’s split announcement. “We enjoyed many years together and I have a large amount of respect and admiration for her. Although we are moving forward on different paths, we will always remain committed parents.”
As Sister Wives grew more popular, the Brown family sparked plenty of controversy. In 2011, they sued the state of Utah and challenged criminal polygamy laws. The Browns were successful when the case was brought to a district court in 2013, but a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously dismissed the lawsuit three years later.
Keep scrolling to learn more about Kody and his unique family.
It’s a full house! Between his three spouses, one ex-partner and 18 children, Sister Wives star Kody Brown has his hands full at home.
The salesperson’s family became the subject of intrigue when the first season of the TLC reality series premiered in September 2010. At the time, Kody was courting Robyn Brown, his fourth wife and the first new spouse to enter the family in 16 years.
Kody was legally married to his first wife, Meri Brown, from April 1990 until their September 2014 divorce. While they are no longer considered a wedded couple by law, they continue to be “spiritually married.” However, their relationship hasn’t been smooth over the past several years.
“Meri and I have been in a very dark place for a very long time,” Kody told Us Weekly exclusively in February 2021 ahead of the season 15 premiere of Sister Wives. “It’s been more about trying to get ourselves out of this hole that we dug ourselves into. … I hope that some communication heals things. It’s been a long time and it’s been very difficult.”
Though things between them aren’t always perfect, Kody said that he can’t bring himself to completely abandon any of his wives. (Along with Meri and Robyn, he also “spiritually married” his second and third wives, Janelle Brown and Christine Brown.)
“In plural marriage, I don’t feel like I’ve got the right to say, ‘This is over, this is ending,’” he told Us at the time, acknowledging that there’s a “double standard in some senses” in the polygamous community. “I feel like [my wives] need to understand that — that they can leave. If it’s not working for them, they can leave. Nobody’s going to be a prisoner here.”
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Trouble hasn’t only been brewing between him and Meri, however. While his family adjusted to the coronavirus pandemic throughout 2020, Kody noticed a “psychic tension” between him and all of his spouses.
“I feel like my wives are living four separate lives, but I don’t feel like I’m living four separate lives,” he told Us in February 2021. “I’m sort of strung out on this relationship conveyor belt. … In fact, it seems like my wives are in four different worlds. They’re all actually at different stages of their life. … It’s been a real challenge.”
In November 2021, Kody and his third wife, Christine, announced they called it quits after more than 25 years together.
“Christine’s decision to leave comes with a great deal of sadness,” Kody wrote in a statement at the time, following Christine’s split announcement. “We enjoyed many years together and I have a large amount of respect and admiration for her. Although we are moving forward on different paths, we will always remain committed parents.”
As Sister Wives grew more popular, the Brown family sparked plenty of controversy. In 2011, they sued the state of Utah and challenged criminal polygamy laws. The Browns were successful when the case was brought to a district court in 2013, but a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously dismissed the lawsuit three years later.
Keep scrolling to learn more about Kody and his unique family.
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Credit: AP/Shutterstock
Kody Brown
The Wyoming native was raised Mormon by parents Genielle Brown and William Brown, who was also a polygamist later in his life and had three wives. “Every polygamous man has thought to himself how wonderful [monogamy] might be,” Kody told Us exclusively in February 2021. “You know, ‘The grass is greener.’ … But every family in polygamy is very different.”
Credit: Courtesy of Meri Brown/Instagram
Meri Brown
Meri, Kody’s first wife, grew up in California in a family of 25 siblings. The pair were introduced by one of Kody’s sisters in 1989 and tied the knot in April 1990. They welcomed their only child five years later. Kody and Meri were legally married until September 2014, when they got divorced in order for Kody to wed his fourth wife, Robyn.
In February 2021, Kody told Us that his relationship with Meri had been “in a very dark place” for quite some time. “It’s been more about trying to get ourselves out of this hole that we dug ourselves into,” he explained. “I hope time heals things. I hope that some communication heals things. It’s been a long time and it’s been very difficult.”
In June 2022, Meri and Kody’s child, Leon, came out as transgender and queer. “I was pretty young & unfortunately I grew up in a context that was incredibly gendered & restrictive,” they wrote via Instagram, adding that they also go by “Leo” and prefer to use they/them pronouns. “So I continued to be socialized as a girl & later a woman. and here’s the thing, I’m finally ready to share my favorite self with the world. and that self is incredibly genderqueer, trans, and unapologetic.” Meri shared Leon’s post via her Instagram story, proudly proclaiming, “You are my sunshine.”
During the Sister Wives: One-on-One special in December 2022, Meri revealed that Kody “already decided” their fate when he claimed he no longer “considered” the pair to be married. “We have a lot of history and I love him,” she said during the tell-all. “And he has chosen not to love me and not to want a relationship with me.”
Credit: Courtesy of Janelle S. Brown/Instagram
Janelle Brown
Meri introduced Kody to his second wife, Janelle, who was not brought up experiencing polygamy in her family. The couple were “spiritually married” in January 1993 and later welcomed six children: sons Logan, Hunter, Robert and Gabriel, and daughters Maddie and Savannah.
The Arizona resident previously told Us in April 2020 that she thought “there would be more camaraderie” between her and Kody’s other wives if they spent more time together amid the COVID-19 crisis. “I really think it would have been easier to deal with being quarantined if we were all under one roof because we’re having to be so separate,” she said at the time, noting that it would be “easier” for them all if they weren’t taking care of “separate households.”
Janelle and Kody became grandparents when Maddie and her husband, Caleb Brush, welcomed two kids of their own: son Axel in January 2017 and daughter Evangalynn in August 2019.
In December 2022, Janelle confirmed during the Sister Wives: One-on-One special that she and Kody had been “separated for several months.” Kody, for his part, confirmed the news, saying, “Yes, we’re separated. … Janelle has made it pretty clear to me that she’s enjoying her life without me.”
Credit: Courtesy of Christine Brown/Instagram
Christine Brown
Kody met Christine through her sister in 1990 and the pair became fast friends. During their first date on Valentine’s Day in 1994, Kody proposed. They were “spiritually married” one month later. Kody fathered another six children with his third wife: son Paedon and daughters Aspyn, Mykelti, Gwendlyn, Ysabel and Truely. In September 2020, Mykelti announced that she was expecting her first child with husband Tony Padron.
Having grown up in a polygamous family, Christine wanted the same situation for herself. “I only ever wanted to be a third [wife]. I never wanted to be a first, at all. … I only ever wanted to be a third because it sounded the easiest,” she once said. However, Kody told Us in February 2021 that the dynamic was starting to get “weird.”
He added, “It feels more and more like it’s just these independent relationships and we’re less and less a family.”
The twosome announced in November 2021 that they were going their separate ways. “After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave,” Christine wrote in a statement at the time. “We will continue to be a strong presence in each other’s lives as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family.”
Credit: Courtesy of Robyn Brown/Instagram
Robyn Brown
Kody and Robyn, a divorced mother of three, met at church in 2009 and were “spiritually married” one year later. The duo welcomed son Solomon in October 2011 and daughter Ariella in January 2016.
In December 2014, Kody and Robyn were legally married so that Kody could officially adopt his fourth wife’s children from her previous marriage: son David and daughters Aurora and Breanna. While speaking with Us in February 2021, Kody hinted that he might want to keep expanding his blended family.
“I think it’s up to Robyn,” he said at the time. “But whenever I ask her, she always goes, ‘Well, it’s up to us. We make this decision together.’”
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Meredith Nardino
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