If you thought a family of one man with four wives would be filled with drama, well, you'd
be 100 percent right.
From divorces to bankruptcies and State bigamy laws, there are plenty of headaches the cast
of Sister Wives has weathered before, during, and after their hit TLC show became famous.
Matrimonial musical chairs
In a truly head-scratching move, Kody Brown, the patriarch of the Sister Wives family,
divorced his one legal wife, Meri, in February 2015.
Why?
So he could legally marry one of his other wives, Robyn.
As TMZ explains—and a basic understanding of marriage law reinforces—Brown is only
allowed to be legally married to one wife at a time.
His decision was reportedly driven by his desire to adopt Robyn's three children from
a previous marriage.
The report explains that Kody wanted to ensure they "have security within the family, such
as insurance and access to other benefits."
For her part, Meri—who was legally married to Kody for over 20 years—took the decision
in stride, saying during a Sister Wives reunion special that it's all about the kids and the
unity of the family.
Still, she remained honest about the emotional impact the divorce had on her.
"I'm not gonna lie: I've got that mixed emotion going on.
It's an end of something that we had had, in a way, for 24 and a half years.
But at the same time, I know it's not [the end], because I have eternity with him; I
have eternity with the family.
I know it's not the end."
Cue the music…
(singing) "Stand by your man..."
Felony bigamy charges
When the show first premiered in 2010, the Brown family became the subject of a police
investigation over whether they were in violation of Utah's bigamy laws.
There are strict rules about wanting to marry or even live with another person while you're
already married to someone else.
In the wake of the scandal, the Brown family packed up and moved to Nevada, which has more
lenient laws.
The Browns filed a lawsuit challenging Utah's bigamy laws.
Meanwhile, the police investigation of the Brown family was subsequently dropped in June
2012.
According to the Associated Press, Utah County chose to stick with state policy by not pursuing
bigamy charges "unless there was evidence of a victim or fraud."
Brown's suit against Utah's state laws, however, remains open as of the making of this video.
USA Today reported that, after a federal judge ruled that parts of Utah's bigamy laws were
unconstitutional, the case was brought before an Appeals court in Denver in January 2013.
Postpartum depression
In their 2012 family memoir, Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage,
wife Janelle admitted she once "sank into a horrible postpartum depression" that caused
her to leave her family for two years.
She wrote: "I felt overwhelmed by having had so many children in quick succession, and
felt seriously depressed at our lack of financial means."
Janelle's severe depression ultimately caused a rift between herself and one of Brown's
other wives, Meri.
"I was at my breaking point.
I couldn't see my way out of my depression.
I told Kody I was leaving.
That night, I got into the car and drove to my mother's house."
Janelle lived apart from the family for two years, until Brown revealed he was moving
the family to a new house with much more space in Utah.
"We were able to be together as a family in a normal and relaxed way.
I had my own space, but my kids had their siblings and the other mothers in the same
building."
They've been together ever since.
'Catfished'
In October 2015, Meri Brown shocked fans when she admitted to being "catfished" online by
a woman pretending to be a man.
Meri told People magazine:
"During an emotional and vulnerable time earlier this year, I began speaking with someone online
who turned out to be not who they said they were.
I never met this person and I regret being drawn into this situation, but I hope because
of it I can help others who find themselves in similar circumstances."
The embarrassing revelation ultimately had devastating effects on Meri, who said that
the situation gave her a lot of anxiety.
However, during a two-hour special in November 2015, the Brown family showed nothing but
love and support.
Kody explained:
"What I see is somebody she made friends with, somebody she felt safe with, but she was just
having a communication."
Janelle added:
"I visualized us all suiting up in armor and circling around her.
We were going to go to war to protect her."
Bankrupt
Amid Meri's catfishing scandal, RadarOnline uncovered court documents that revealed Meri
and Kody filed for bankruptcy in 2005 because they were having trouble supporting their
ever-growing family.
According to the report, the Browns accumulated almost $230,000 in debt, with bills ranging
from $137,000 in mortgages to $8,000 at Home Depot and $1,300 at Best Buy.
Even worse, the couple reportedly said they had $10 in cash and $5 in five separate joint
bank accounts.
Radar reported the case was ultimately closed at the end of 2007, at which point they were
ordered to pay a little less than $188,000.
Good thing there are nearly 20 kids around to help out with that debt.
That's a lot of paper routes...
Rejecting the polygamous lifestyle
In September 2015, Maddie Rose Brown, the daughter of Kody and Janelle, announced she
was engaged to her 28-year-old boyfriend, Caleb Brush.
The engagement was viewed as a step away from the Brown family's polygamous lifestyle, which
the couple later confirmed in an interview with People magazine.
Brush said:
"We are not living plural marriage.
We support Maddie's family with their choice of living plural marriage and they support
us with our choice in just marrying each other."
In a not-exactly-surprising twist, RadarOnline later discovered that Brush is the brother
of Maddie's aunt and Kody's sister-in-law, Erica Brush Brown.
And while we're on that subject...
All in the family
In a twist that could only happen to the cast of Sister Wives, RadarOnline reported in October
2015 that Janelle was previously married to a man named Adam Clark Barber, better known
as the brother of Meri.
According to court documents, the couple finalized their divorce in June 1990.
Janelle got to keep their house, while Adam received two cars and a motorcycle.
Incidentally, Radar is quick to point out that Janelle purportedly met Kody while she
was still married to Adam, based on her official TLC bio, which states she met Kody in the
fall of 1989.
Janelle wrote:
"When he walked into the room I looked at him and had that feeling of remembering something
I had forgotten.
It was a singular experience."
Man…this family!
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