For seven seasons, Discovery Channel's Alaskan Bush People has captivated viewers.
While Billy and Ami Brown claim to have raised their seven children by living off the land,
soaring show ratings have brought heightened scrutiny over the family's so-called "bush
living."
We're going off the grid to uncover the untold truth of Billy and Ami Brown.
Billy's wealthy past
According to Capital City Weekly, Billy Bryan Brown led a privileged life in North Richland
Hills, Texas, receiving lavish gifts including "a new ski boat" at 14, "a new Camaro" at
15, and "the family Cessna 172 at 16.
But everything changed in 1969, when at the age of 16, he lost his mother, father, and
only sister in a plane crash.
According to Billy's two memoirs, One Wave at a Time, and The Lost Years, he became a
ward of the state, and was duped out of any inheritance by scheming judges and lawyers.
Broke and homeless, he, quote, "criss-crossed America over the next 10 plus years," eventually
ending up with Ami and their two young sons in Alaska.
Ami's estranged family
According to Juneau Empire, after 37 years of estrangement, Ami's mother, Earlene Branson
attempted to surprise her daughter with a visit, "[making] the 3,500 mile trip without
confirmation from the Browns" only to find out they were vacationing in Malibu at the
time.
The 83-year-old Branson said of her daughter,
"I want to hug her neck and see my grandchildren.
I just want to see her before I die."
Ami accused her relatives of exploitation, and said that her father's alcoholism tore
their family apart, saying,
"Watching these things as a child, you learn from it.
That is the reason why I don't let them know where, physically, I am."
Ami's alienated kinfolk have accused Billy of being extremely controlling, and effectively
brainwashing Ami against them.
Billy's "secret kid"
One of the big plot points in season 5 was Billy being reunited with a supposed "long
lost daughter", Twila Byars, from a previous marriage.
Except according to Channel Guide Magazine, it was quickly revealed that not only had
the family known about Twila for quite some time, there's also evidence on social media
that Twila and the Browns have actually been in contact over the years.
Defrauding the state of Alaska
In January 2016, Billy and second oldest son, Joshua, plead guilty to falsifying information
for the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, or PFD, according to Juneau Empire.
The PFD is "An annual dividend that is paid to Alaska residents from investment earnings
of mineral royalties."
To qualify, you have to have lived in Alaska for one entire year, and plan to be an "Alaska
resident indefinitely."
It was revealed that Billy and Joshua "previously signed written statements admitting they left
the state in October 2009 and didn't return until August 2012," but continued to collect
PFD funds through that time.
In total, the family swindled the state out of $20,938 in PFD money, and the ordeal proved
that the Browns have likely never lived entirely off the land.
The cabin fire
Billy has given three different accounts of how the family lost their original bush cabin.
According to The Discovery Channel's website, "the cabin where they lived for years was
seized and burned to the ground for being in the wrong location on public land."
But according to Radar Online, Billy wrote in his memoir that the fire was accidental.
And in yet another variation of the story, when talking about the fire on the show, Billy
claimed, "My cabin burned and I wasn't home…
That's all I can say."
Something's not adding up.
Ami's battle with cancer
As of 2017, the Brown family is in the midst of Ami's ongoing fight with lung cancer.
As chronicled on the show, her treatment has brought the family out of the bush, to Colorado,
so that she can receive the best care possible.
In an exclusive August 2017 interview with People, Billy revealed the doctor's grim diagnosis,
"It's cancer.
And there's no primary but we're gonna call it lung cancer."
"At least 3B.
It's in both lungs, in the middle and sides of the lungs."
Ami said the reason she wanted to keep doing the show was to help people who may be going
through a similar battle.
She said,
"I realized early into this that it's very easy to want to give up and just die.
And on the pessimist side, it could be my last days.
But I have the will to fight."
The diagnosis has affected even the youngest Brown, daughter Rain, who opened up on Instagram
in October 2017, about her own depression, as well as saying of her mother,
"I just wish I could change it somehow.
I’m very scared for her.”
Though they may have a dubious backstory, it's undeniable that the couple loves their
children dearly, and are now dealing with a devastating situation.
We're hoping the best for Ami, so this lovable wilderness family can continue their adventures.
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