4 wives and 18 children? A catfishing scandal? A favorite wife? These are just some of the aspects
of "Sister Wives" star Kody Brown's transformation over the years. Keep watching to find out more!
If you've ever tuned into "Sister Wives" and wondered how Kody got
into a plural marriage in the first place, you're probably not alone.
Back in 1969 when Kody was born in Wyoming,
Kody's father was a Mormon polygamist who had 10 children and 3 wives,
including Kody's mother. While he did reportedly struggle with his religion, Kody's father
maintained his plural marriage and raised multiple families on his ranch, according to Screen Rant.
Considering Kody is known for having four wives and a whole herd of children,
that early polygamist household clearly guided Kody's own life path.
"I'm a polygamist. But we're not the polygamists you think you know."
Way before the world was introduced to Kody through TLC,
he began his journey into the polygamist lifestyle. He married his first wife,
Meri Brown, in 1990 and the two seemed absolutely smitten with one another.
Back then, the two young adults dreamed of living their lives together. According to Us Weekly,
Kody truly believed that Meri was his "soulmate." They tied the knot just half
a year after Kody popped the question, and in his 2012 memoir, Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of
an Unconventional Marriage, Kody further opened up about his early experience with Meri, writing,
"Meri was so cute and sweet when I met her that I
had a hard time suppressing my hopelessly romantic nature."
"One thing lead to another and I got her a ring."
Those early days were certainly marked with enthusiasm and simplicity.
Kody met his second romantic connection, Janelle Brown,
in an unusual way. According to Entertainment Tonight, Janelle was married to Meri's brother,
but it didn't last. Kody and Janelle entered into a spiritual marriage by January 1993.
And there's more. Kody and Janelle actually share a mother. According to InTouch Weekly,
Janelle introduced her mom to Kody's father — so even though Kody and Janelle
don't share parents genetically, they're linked as both siblings and partners.
During an episode of "Sister Wives," Janelle opened up about the dynamic, explaining,
"Before Kody and I were really courting, I was actually friends with his family. My mom was
worried I was getting sucked into some polygamous cult. But she ended up meeting Kody's dad and
they ended up falling in love and getting married before Kody and I started courting."
A year later, Kody married his third wife, Christine Brown. Kody and Christine reportedly
first crossed paths in 1990 when they met while chaperoning a youth wilderness hike,
according to ABC News. Christine took the time to get to know both Kody and Meri
and by 1994, she and Kody were an item. Fast forward to Valentine's Day,
and the Brown patriarch popped the question. Three wives in four years!
The family continued to grow as the children started coming. Kody now has
a whole litter of kids from his wives: 18 children at the time of this video!
When Kody and his three wives made it onto television for the first time, the topic
of polygamy a decade ago was even more taboo than it is now. It was only through programs like this
that the average person really knew about the unique marital environment in the modern world.
To say that Kody, Meri, Janelle, and Christine Brown changed the game is an understatement,
and TLC clearly knew what they were doing when they decided to air the new show.
"I like marriage and I'm a repeat offender, so."
"Sister Wives" dropped on the channel in September 2010, and Kody, his wives, and their children made
their way into people's homes. Speaking about his marriages in the very first episode, Kody said,
"I have adopted a faith that embraces that lifestyle.
In fact, it recommends it and [likes] to reward good behavior,
so if you're good with one marriage, they figure you'll be good with two."
"I hope they think I'll be good with four."
Fans of the polygamist reality show were treated with a plural marriage in real time when Kody
married again in 2010. According to The Sun, Kody initially crossed paths with his fourth wife,
Robyn, at a friend's house and quickly entered a courtship. Just four months later,
the two solidified their romantic relationship — and Kody introduced her to the other sister wives.
"I spent the first 3 months of our courtship
telling Robyn how much I loved Meri, Janelle, and Christine."
That same year, Robyn became a "spiritual" wife to Kody and his fourth union alongside Meri,
Janelle, and Christine. The following year,
Robyn and Kody announced that they were having their first child together.
As of 2022, Kody and Robyn are still going strong, with an inside source
allegedly telling Us Weekly in January that they're closer than ever. The source shared,
"She has him wrapped around her finger.
They act like they're still newlyweds. They're still very much in love."
As for Robyn's relationship with the other wives? Well, that's a bit more complicated, with the
outlet noting Robyn's hesitation and "guilt" as things have apparently been strained at times.
"Those jealousies are there with every one of them."
Here's where things start to get a little rocky. Kody was only legally
married to Meri — the rest of his unions were considered "spiritual marriages."
The couples were not technically husband and wife in the eyes of the law. However, Meri's
status as Kody's legal spouse changed in 2014 when they got divorced. But it's not what you may
think — Meri simply made the call to divorce due to a difficult circumstance Robyn was forced into.
According to Hollywood Life, Robyn had three children from a previous marriage.
Their biological father was reportedly absent from their lives and didn't financially support
them in any way. Kody, for his part, asserted that he was their father,
and Meri took action from there. She paid an under-the-radar visit to an attorney,
who told her that if she divorced Kody and he subsequently married Robyn legally,
he could adopt her three children. So that's just what happened. Meri claimed,
"If anything happened to Robyn, we'd have no legal
claim on [Robyn's kids.] [...] [They're] part of our family."
"The divorce is final”
“It's final?” “It's done.”
“That sucker's done, huh?” “Yeah."
While Meri's move in 2014 signaled a sweet and understanding nature between the Brown family
and wives, 2015 changed that. According to People magazine, Kody's first wife started online dating,
met a man on a dating site, and began a virtual relationship.
As it turns out, though, the man in question lied and was actually a female fan of the show.
The online relationship became an incredibly toxic and destructive force in Meri and
Kody's relationship. Speaking about the bond between Meri and the online figure, Kody said,
"[It] turned out to be extremely exploitative and abusive.
And from that experience, Meri and I sort of saw our marriage just dissolve."
Meri shared that she and the person she met online became friends and shared a sense of humor.
Alluding to the genuine nature of the virtual connection, Meri said in a "Sister Wives" episode,
"He was saying all the right things to make me trust him
and make me think that he was this real person that really cared."
"Being very kind and very compassionate and understanding and I trusted him."
Utah is very well known for its large Mormon community,
and so it made a lot of sense that the Brown family called the state home.
However, in 2018, Kody, his wives, and kids all moved to Arizona — a move that came as
a big surprise to "Sister Wives" viewers. So what prompted such a stark relocation?
Some fans seem to think that it all had to do with Robyn Brown and her status as the "favorite wife."
According to The Sun, Robyn's son reportedly obtained a scholarship to an Arizona-located
university, and after that admission, the whole family moved from their home in Utah.
When The List sat down with Kody for an exclusive interview back in April 2021,
he revealed what life was like during the pandemic. He explained,
"We've got four homes, four mothers who basically, because they're running their
household, are kind of in charge of their household. Big struggle for me,
whether that's from bad leadership or whether that's bad choices, or I don't even know what.
But it's been a struggle for us to get on the same page on how we behave regarding COVID-19."
The Brown family patriarch went on to tell us that he was trying to stop COVID-19 from,
in his words, "just tearing like a wildfire" through his family,
but each house wasn't following the same COVID protocols. He went on to say,
"Different mothers have a different opinion about how to behave about it.
Some days we get it all dialed in and we're a united team, and other days we don't."
"I want, I want, I want all the thoughts to be held for just a second, okay?"
Well, some things are too good to be true. In 2021, Kody and Christine Brown called it
quits. As noted by People mag, the parents of six kids, then ranging in ages from 11 to 26,
announced their separation on social media, sharing with fans that after almost three
decades together, they were going their separate ways. Christine revealed in the Instagram post,
"After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the
difficult decision to leave. We will continue to be a strong presence in each other's lives
as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family. At this time,
we ask for your grace and kindness as we navigate through this stage within our family."
For his part, Kody said he was saddened by Christine's decision,
but expressed his "respect and admiration" for his ex. He went on to say,
"Although we are moving forward on different paths, we will always remain committed parents."
Ever since Meri Brown's catfishing scandal, her relationship with Kody wasn't nearly what it
used to be.
"My relationship with Meri is at best just distant and amicable."
In the years that have followed, the bond between the once-legally married pair has
pretty much dissolved, and in the "Sister Wives" Season 16 reunion episode, the duo cleared
up any confusion regarding the status of their relationship. According to Us Weekly, Kody said,
"I'm not ever going to be in a conjugal relationship with [Meri]
because I'm not going to go through that emotional torture ever again.
I'm not trying to make Meri sound bad, it's just a bad match."
Kody went on to say that there was just too much "damage" between him and Meri, and that there was,
quote, "no real safety" between them. He even went as far as to say that he simply wouldn't
go there when asked about details, clearly indicating that there was some deep-seated pain.
As for his other wives' reactions to the dynamic between Meri and Kody,
Christine shared during the reunion episode that their struggles are heartbreaking, saying,
"I don't want to be in a loveless marriage.
I don't know how she does it. I guess she's more fine with it than I am."
If you're keeping score, two out of Kody's four marriages are more or less defunct. So it raised
the question: where do things stand with his wives Janelle and Robyn Brown? Let's start with Janelle.
According to People magazine in February 2022, Kody shared that he and Janelle are, quote,
"not in sync," and that their relationship is certainly at arm's length. He said of his wife,
"We actually just are able to have a marriage that's,
if you will, lower in attachment. I don't even know. We're good friends,
we get along well. It's more of a, like, just a committed relationship."
Kody wouldn't elaborate on whether or not he was "in love" with his wife.
Regarding Robyn, well, she's rumored to be his favorite wife,
and the two are still going strong. In 2016, they welcomed their second child together,
Kody's 18th child. An insider reportedly told Us Weekly in January 2022,
"[Kody has been] spending all his time with Robyn [and they are] in their own world,
living their own lives."
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