Programs like “Toddlers and Tiaras,” “Say Yes to the Dress,” and “19 Kids and Counting” spring to mind when we think of the TLC episodes that defined the network. However, the Browns, a polygamist family headed by patriarch Kody Brown, would not have the same impact on the network as other ordinary families who became reality stars.
If you can believe it, “Sister Wives” debuted more than ten years ago and has provided viewers with wonderful insight into the lives of polygamists as well as the difficulties that can occur when more than one marriage is on the table. It would be an understatement to say that the show has been a shocker, an eye opener, and a surprise.
Given how long “Sister Wives” has been on the air, fans who regularly watch have witnessed Kody’s, and his family, of course, growth and development over time. But what was Kody’s life like before he and his four wives appeared on television, and how has he fared since then? Check out the changes he has undergone.
Kody Brown grew up in a polygamist family.
In 1969, Kody was born in Wyoming. William Brown, Kody’s father, was a polygamous Mormon who had several wives, including Kody’s mother. Kody’s father kept up his plural marriage and reared his various families on his ranch in Lovell, Wyoming, despite reportedly having issues with his religion.
Although Kody is famous for having four wives and a large family as a result, his own background provided as a useful comparison. His mother, Genielle Brown, and his father, who had 10 children between his three spouses, had a significant influence on both “Sister Wives” and Kody’s own life. In spite of his passing in August 2013, William’s “impact” is still felt throughout the family.
He and one of his wives have a mother in common.
That’s correct, because their parents were polygamists, Kody Brown and one of his wives, Janelle Brown, have a mother in common. We’re here to explain everything. According to InTouch Weekly, Sheryl Brown and William Brown were married for a while. William Brown is Kody’s father. Although Kody and Janelle do not share genetic parents, they are related as siblings and partners because Sheryl is Janelle’s mother. Janelle discussed the situation during a “Sister Wives” episode, revealing that she had introduced her mother to Kody’s father.
“I was friends with Kody’s family long before we started dating. My mother was concerned that I was joining a polygamous sect. But before Kody and I started dating, she ended up meeting Kody’s father, and they ended up falling in love and getting married “Janelle spoke up (via InTouch Weekly).
Sheryl and William remained wed until his passing in 2013, and in his obituary, along with his other two wives, Genielle Brown (Kody’s real mother) and Bobbi Brown, Sheryl was included as one of William’s spouses. the more you understand!
Kody got married in 1990.
Kody Brown started living a polygamist lifestyle long before he became famous thanks to TLC. He wed Meri Brown, his first wife, in 1990, and the two appeared to be inseparable. They were then two young adults who envisioned having a relationship. Us Weekly reported that Kody genuinely thought Meri was his “soulmate.” In his 2012 biography, “Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage,” Kody further opened up about his early experience with Meri. The couple was married less than six months after Kody proposed.
The patriarch of the Brown family stated of his first wife, “Meri was so cute and sweet when I met her that I had a terrible time controlling my hopelessly romantic nature.” Those early years were undoubtedly characterized by zeal and simplicity. Three years later, a previous relationship on Meri’s side of the family would bring about the second wife.
In 1993 and 1994, he wed two additional women.
While many of us search for that one unique person, Kody Brown already has his special people. Kody had an interesting encounter with Janelle Brown, his second love interest. From 1988 to 1990, Janelle was wed to Adam Barber, the brother of Meri, however the marriage was short-lived. Given that Kody and Janelle were able to consummate their “spiritual marriage” by January 1993, it was obviously meant to be for them.
Kody wed Christine Brown, his third wife, a year later. According to reports, Kody and Christine first met while Kody was chaperoning a teenage outdoor excursion in 1990. By 1994, Christine and Kody were dating as a result of the time she invested in getting to know both Meri and Kody. On Valentine’s Day, the patriarch of the Brown family proposed. Four years and three wives? That might be a record of some sort!
Kody Brown spent the second half of the 1990s courting and marrying Meri, Janelle, and Christine, the first of his three spouses. And as the children’s song goes, “Love comes first. The marriage follows. The infant then enters the baby carriage “- and the Brown family strictly adhered to the arrangement. Kody has a litter of offspring from his three women, as reported by Hollywood Life, giving him a total of 18 children. This number puts “Cheaper By the Dozen” to shame.
The summary is as follows: Maria, Kody and Meri’s daughter, is their only child together. Together, Kody and Janelle gave birth to six children: two daughters, Savannah and Maddie, and four sons, Logan, Hunter, Gabriel, and Robert. Another six children, born to Christine and Kody, were added to the Brown family: son Paedon and daughters Gwendlyn, Truely, Aspyn, Ysabel, and Mykelti. If you’re keeping score, there are currently 13 children.
In 2010, Kody Brown and his three wives made their television debut.
The first appearance of Kody Brown and his three wives on television occurred in the 2000s, after a journey through the 1960s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. A decade ago, the subject of polygamy was even more taboo than it is today, and the only way that anyone actually learned about the unusual marriage situation was through selective television or personal connections. But it would be an understatement to suggest that Kody, Meri, Janelle, and Christine Brown changed the game, and TLC definitely had a plan when they decided to screen a new program called “Sister Wives.”
Kody, his wife, and his kids entered people’s homes via their own in Lehi, Utah, when “Sister Wives” premiered on the channel in September 2010.
Kody admitted in the very first episode that he was a “serial offender” and that he liked marriage. “I’ve chosen a religion that approves of that way of living. In fact, it encourages it and likes to reward excellent conduct, so if you’re successful in one marriage, they assume you’ll be successful in two. I hope they believe they can trust me with four.”
When Kody Brown remarried in 2010, viewers of the polygamist reality show were treated to a plural marriage in real time. At a friend’s house, Kody first met Robyn, his fourth wife, and they started dating right away. After only four months, the two began to date seriously, and Kody introduced her to the other sister wives.
The same year, Robyn joined Meri, Janelle, and Christine as Kody’s fourth marriages, becoming his “spiritual” wife. The next year, Robyn and Kody made their first child’s birth official (hence the growing number of kids over time).
Kody and Robyn are still together as of the time of this writing, and an insider reportedly claimed in January 2022 that they are closer than ever. “She has him in the palm of her hand. They behave as though they just got married. They remain deeply in love “the shared source In what way is Robyn related to the other wives? That’s a little more difficult, as Us Weekly notes Robyn’s reluctance and “guilt” over the course of events.
Things start to get a little bumpy around this point. Only Meri was Kody Brown’s legal spouse; the rest of his couplings were referred to as “spiritual marriages.” In legal terms, the couples were not technically husband and wife. Meri was no longer recognized as Kody’s spouse legally after the couple split in 2014. Before you jump to assumptions, it wasn’t like that; Meri just decided to get a divorce as a result of a challenging situation Robyn was put in.
Dayton, Aurora, and Breanna were Robyn’s three children from a previous marriage. According to Robyn, their biological father “doesn’t financially support them” in any manner and is “missing from their life.” When Kody stated, “I’m their dad,” Meri acted on that assertion. She secretly visited a lawyer, who informed her that if she divorced Kody and he legally wed Robyn in the future, he could adopt her three children. That is what actually occurred.
Meri explained the problem by saying, “If anything happened to Robyn, we’d have no legal claim on Dayton, Aurora, and Breanna.” They are a member of our family.
While Meri Brown’s relocation in 2014 suggested that the Brown family and wives had a very cordial and understanding relationship, that changed in 2015. The first wife of Kody Brown joined online dating, met a man there, and started a virtual relationship. The “guy” in question, however, was a liar and was actually a female fan. Meri and Kody’s relationship was severely harmed and destroyed by the online romance. Kody remarked on Meri’s connection to the online personality “turned out to be quite cruel and exploitative. And as a result of that experience, Meri and I kind of watched as our marriage fell apart.”
Meri said she and the individual she met online “friended” each other and discovered they had similar humor. During a “Sister Wives” episode, Meri alluded to the sincerity she believed she was having with this virtual connection by saying, “He was saying all the right things to make me trust him and make me think that he was this actual person who really cared.”
Mormonism served as the foundation for “Sister Wives” and Kody Brown’s polygamous lifestyle in general. Since Utah is well recognized for having a sizable Mormon population, the Brown family’s decision to reside there was understandable. However, Kody, his wives, and his children all moved to Arizona in 2018, which shocked many “Sister Wives” watchers. What then led to such a drastic move? Some admirers appear to believe that Robyn Brown’s status as the “favorite wife” is the root of all the problems.
According to reports, Robyn’s son received a scholarship to attend a university in Arizona, and as a result of his admittance, the entire family relocated from their home in Utah. Robyn and Kodi, who spent nearly $900,000 on a five-bedroom, four-bathroom home, “bought the most expensive home in Flagstaff out of all the wives,” according to the story, adding salt to injury. According to one insider that Robyn is Kody’s favorite wife without a doubt because of her “new” position, as if that weren’t enough. The purported insider said, “Every single new lady who comes in is the favorite.” She’s young, attractive, and unquestionably favored.
Kody Brown provided insight into life during the epidemic in an exclusive interview he granted The List in April 2021. We have four families with four women who are essentially in command of their homes since they are operating them, according to Kody. “Big challenge for me, I don’t know if that’s because of poor leadership, poor decisions, or even what. However, it has been difficult for us to agree on how we should conduct in relation to COVID-19.”
The patriarch of the Brown family continued by explaining that he was attempting to prevent COVID-19 from “just tearing like a wildfire” among his relatives, but that not all of them were “standing by the same COVID procedures.” He continued, “Different mothers have different opinions on how to behave about it. “On certain days, we get everything down and work as a cohesive unit; on other days, we don’t.”
Some things are, indeed, simply too good to be true. Kody and Christine Brown separated in 2021. Following nearly three decades of marriage, the parents of six children, whose ages at the time ranged from 11 to 26, announced their split on social media.
In a message on Instagram, Christine explained, “After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart, and I have decided to leave. “As we raise our lovely children and take care of our amazing family, we will continue to be a strong presence in each other’s life. As we move through this phase in our family, we now beg for your care and grace.”
Kody, for his part, expressed his “respect and adoration” for his ex while expressing his sadness over Christine’s choice. Even though we are heading in different directions, we will always be dedicated parents, he declared.
Meri Brown’s relationship with Kody Brown hasn’t been nearly as good after the catfishing scandal. The once-legally married couple’s relationship has deteriorated significantly over the intervening years, and in the “Sister Wives” Season 16 reunion episode, they made it obvious how things stand now.
I’m never going to be married to Meri because I’m never going to have to through that emotional pain again, Kody declared. It’s just a lousy match; I’m not trying to make Meri sound awful. Kody continued by saying that there was “no genuine safety” between him and Meri since there was simply too much “damage” between them. When pressed for more information, he even went so far as to remark that he “just wouldn’t go there,” making it very evident that there was some unresolved pain.
During the reunion episode, Christine commented on how his previous wives’ reactions to Meri and Kody’s dynamic were painful, adding, “I don’t want to be in a relationship without love. I have no idea how she manages it. She seems to be more relaxed about it than I am.”
If you’re keeping count, you’ll see that two of Kody Brown’s four marriages have largely ended. Thus, it prompted the question of how things stand with his wives Robyn and Janelle Brown. Start with Janelle first.
Kody revealed that he and Janelle are “not in sync” and that their relationship is undoubtedly distant in February 2022. Kody remarked of Janelle, “We truly just are able to have a marriage that’s, if you will, lower in attachment. “I have no idea. We get along great and are close friends. It’s more of a devoted connection than anything else.” If asked if he was “in love” with his wife, Kody did not elaborate.
As for Robyn, it was already known that the two are still together and that she is said to be his favorite wife. They welcomed Ariella, Kody’s 18th child and their second child together, in 2016. (via People). Kody has apparently been “spending all his time with Robyn” and that they are “in their separate worlds, living their own lives,” according to a story from an insider in January 2022.