Sister Wivesstar and polygamist patriarchKody Brownhasn’t always been honest with the people in his life, and here are eight examples of his seemingly endless lies. 55-year-old Kody made his television debut in 2010 alongside his massive plural family. At the time, he was already married to three women and was courting a fourth wife, 45-year-oldRobyn Brown. At the time, the whole family lived in Utah in a large house separated into separate wings.
Each of Kody’s wives lived in her wing with their biological children, and Kody would go from wing to wing. At first, the big, boisterous family seemed to be truly happy and in love with each other, but the good times didn’t last. Though the show was supposed to chronicle the lives of a functional polygamous family, it ended up filming their dissolution instead. WithSister Wivesseason 19on the horizon, three of Kody’s wives have left the marriage, leaving Kody and Robyn in a monogamous relationship that neither of them planned for.
It all started with Kody’s third wife, 52-year-old Christine Brown, leaving him in 2021, followed by his second wife, 55-year-old Janelle Brown, and his first wife, 53-year-old Meri Brown, in 2022. Some of Kody’s 18 children don’t even speak to him, and the ones who do continue to harbor resentment toward him. Though Kody carries a lot of bitterness towards his wives for everything that’s happened over the years,he’s the real villain of the story.
8Kody Would Never Spend Time With His Other Wives
They Were Miles Apart
Things were easier for thecast ofSister Wiveswhen the Browns all lived under the same roof in their home in Utah. The house was designed by a polygamist for a polygamist family, so it couldn’t have been more perfect for the Browns. DuringSister Wivesseason 1, Kody and his wives grew paranoid about Utah’s strict anti-polygamy laws. Fearing they’d be prosecuted,the Browns quickly packed up and left the state.
The Browns would never live under the same roof again.
Living in four separate homes proved to be incredibly challenging for family cohesion. Sometimes, the houses were as much as a half hour’s drive from each other, which meantKody had to drive long distances to see all of his wives and children. This left less time for Kody to actually spend with his family members, which led to a great deal of resentment, and it eventually became unsustainable, leading to the downfall of the Brown family.
7Kody Always Played The Victim
Victim Mentality
Throughout the years,Kody always saw himself as a victim, and judging by theSister Wivesseason 19 trailer, whichTLCrecently posted on YouTube,Kody’s more bitter and jaded than ever. His woe-is-me attitude has been a familiar, albeit unattractive, part of his personality throughout the long run of the beloved series, and it would appear that nothing has changed for Kody. At one point during the trailer, the polygamist patriarch mournfully asks, “What did I do to deserve this?”
“What did I do wrong?”
If Kody is genuinely confused about what he did wrong, he should consider watchingSister Wivesseasons 1 through 18 for a full accounting of his many mistakes, missteps, and terrible decisions. Furthermore, unless Kody pulls himself together,his last remaining wife will follow his first three wives out the door. His victim mentality is out of control, and if he continues to act this way, Kody may end up single.
6Kody Lied About The COVID-19 Rules
Nanny-Gate
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Browns were quarantined in four separate homes, and Kody would travel between them.The separation hurt the already strained family, so when Ariella Brown’s fifth birthday rolled around, the family decided to finally get together. They dutifully tested beforehand and carefully followed CDC guidelines. The birthday party took place duringSister Wivesseason 16, and it went on without any issues.
For a moment, as the Browns laughed together like old times, it felt like the troubled family had turned a dark corner and would reunite, but that wasn’t the case.
Days later,Robyn tells the family that they had all been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, whichRobyn and Kody blamed on the nanny. With Robyn and Kody not wanting to risk another exposure, that was the last time the Brown family got together in person. There has been speculation that the nanny never exposed the Browns to COVID-19 and that Kody and Robyn just wanted an excuse to spend less time with the family.
5Kody Secretly Kissed Robyn
Kiss And Don’t Tell
During aSister Wivesseason 18episode,Christine talked about being upset when Kody kissed Robyn before the wedding, which was against Brown family dating rules. Before courting Robyn, Kody and his wives had a rule against intimacy before marriage, which also banned kissing. Robyn, who expressed guilt about the kiss, said, “He kissed me, and I was like ‘All right, well, it’s done.'"
“It’s been done.”
Robyn blamed Kody for making the move on her, but she kissed him back and then helped him keep the secret. The fact that Robyn was willing to break her fellow sister wives' intimacy rules while being dishonest about it was a sign of things to come, asRobyn would continue to act as if the rules didn’t apply to her. It would also not be the last time that Robyn blamed her behavior on Kody in order to escape accountability.
4Kody Placed All His Marriage Troubles On His Ex-Wives
He Never Takes Accountability
Throughout the years,Kody never took accountability for his problems, and would often blame his wives. During COVID-19, Kody accused his wives and adult children of not respecting his health. When his older children struggled to follow his strict virus mitigation rules, he stopped seeing them.
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At one point, Kody demanded that Janelle kick their adult sons out of her home so Kody could visit, and her refusal to do so is what triggered her decision to leave Kody. During this time, Kody stopped speaking to several of his adult sons, including25-year-old Garrison Brown, who tragically passed away in March. Kody and Garrison weren’t on speaking terms when the young man passed away, which would probably haunt Kody for the rest of his life.
3Kody Told Robyn He Still Loved His Three Wives When He Didn’t
He Promised Her A Plural Marriage
Though Robyn was often accused of wanting Kody all to herself, this wasn’t true. It was clear thatRobyn wanted a plural marriage. She said that a big part of the reasonshe fell in love with Kody was because she fell in love with the whole family, wanting her children to be a part of the dynamic that only a big plural family could offer.
Robyn’s first marriage was monogamous, and it ended badly in divorce. After several years of being a single mom of three kids, Robyn met Meri, who introduced her to Kody and the Brown family. Robyn believed in the principle of plural marriage and never wanted to be Kody’s sole wife. With Meri, Janelle, and Christine gone, Robyn is all alone in a monogamous relationship with Kody. SinceKody doesn’t currently seem to have any intention of bringing another wife into the family, Robyn may come to decide that their marriage isn’t working for her.
2Kody Favored Robyn Over His Other Wives
He Lied About It For A Long Time
Kody married his first three wives over the course of four years, but a long16 years would go by before the Browns added another wifeto the mix. Bringing a new wife into his plural marriage upended the status quo, changing the dynamics between Kody and his other three wives. Things got worse whenKody openly favored Robynand spent more time at her house than with the other three wives. He claimed it was because they had small children together who needed him more than his older children, but that didn’t satisfy anyone.
It quickly became clear to the other wives that what he had with Robyn was different from what he shared with them. The fact that he preferred Robyn is what triggered his falling out with Christine, who became increasingly jealous of their relationship. Also, spending more time with Robyn meant spending less time with his other wives, andthe neglect wore on all of his relationships, including his relationship with his children.
1Kody Never Told Meri He Fell Out Of Love With Her
He Misled Her For So Long
Kody had neglected Meri even before he married Robyn, and it was always clear that she was his least favorite wife. While he favored Robyn, he was still attracted to Christine and Janelle, with whom he shared stronger bonds.Kody seemed to have zero interest in Meri, and he wasn’t honest about it, wasting Meri’s time instead.
With their only child together grown and out of the house, Kody had increasingly little reason to spend nights at Meri’s house, and he took advantage of it. Instead of valuing the marriage and working to make Meri happy,he increasingly ignored her and would reject herrepeatedly. Though he had fallen out of love with her, he never told her and continued to string her along.
DespiteKody’s mistreatment of Meri, she stayed loyal long after he told her he was no longer attracted to her. It wasn’t until the bitter end that he finally told her that he couldn’t see himself being in a real marriage with her, which is what prompted Meri to finally work up the nerve to leave Kody.
Sister Wivesseason 19 premieres Sunday, September 15 at 10 p.m. EDT on TLC.
Sister Wives
Cast
Sister Wives is a TV series created for TLC that follows Kody Brown and his four wives as they raise their eighteen children and tackle the challenges associated with their massive family dynamic and the stigma that comes with their way of life.
