It has been a wild year for America’s favorite formerly polygamous family, Sister Wives. We say “formerly” because the original family of five has now dwindled down to just two, with former wives and family members branching out in all different directions. Some are on solo expeditions, and others are getting remarried, moving to different states, or even trying monogamy. It’s safe to say the family is more than a little scattered, which leaves us more than a little confused. Which is exactly why we felt it was time for a Sister Wives roll call. Here are where all the members of the Sister Wives crew are today and how they got there.
The world first met the Brown family when Sister Wives premiered on TLC in 2010. The show was fairly controversial as it followed the lives and loves of an openly polygamous family. However, it wasn’t long before the family won the hearts of viewers and the show has been on for 17 — soon to be 18 — seasons and counting. While each prior season has held its own surprises and dramas, the latest season, season 17 brought more changes than any of the others combined! While some of the Sister Wives’ futures remain unknown, one thing is for sure, the Brown family will never be the same. Here are where each of the original members stands. We will start with the founding member of the Brown family, husband Kody Brown himself.
Kody Brown
Kody Brown is a Wyoming native who began the polygamous Brown family back in 1990 when he legally married his first wife Meri Brown. As is customary in polygamous families, he legally married his first wife, then “spiritually married” his additional wives in ceremonies. However, Kody and Meri ended up divorcing in 2014 so that Kody could then legally marry his fourth and most recent wife, Robyn Brown. The reason, or so he claimed, was so that he could legally adopt Robyn’s children from her first marriage. Kody and Robyn legally married in 2014, and Meri became a spiritual wife.
Currently, Kody is only legally and spiritually married to Robyn Brown as the other Sister Wives have one by one departed throughout the previous seasons. Kody and Robyn are now in a legal and monogamous marriage and seem to plan to stay that way. Although there had been rumors of the two adding additional wives to the new Brown family, there is also news that the couple is happy with the way things are. If so, it is a change from Robyn’s ongoing claims of specifically wanting a polygamous marriage. Rumors of Kody’s preference for Robyn have plagued the couple since her appearance on the show in season one, now it seems the rumors have finally been verified as she is the last sister wife standing. The two remain in their home in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Meri Brown
First one in, last one out. Meri Brown was the first wife of Kody Brown as the two married in 1990, they were together for over 30 years, and share one child together, a daughter named Mariah. The couple legally divorced in 2014 but stayed spiritually married until recently. At least in Meri’s mind. Unfortunately, the most recent season revealed Kody did not feel the same way. In an interview with production, Kody revealed that he did not consider Meri to be his wife and said that if she decided to go off and “marry another” she would not “get any argument” from him. Meri was not aware Kody felt this way until she saw the footage. Yikes.
That being said, Meri and Kody’s relationship has been far from blissful and in recent years hasn’t even been good. As the relationship began to decline Meri reached out for comfort, unfortunately to the wrong person. Meri struck up an online relationship with a person claiming to be a man she could trust, but who turned out to be a woman that she couldn’t. Once Meri realized the truth and tried to break off the relationship, the woman, revealed as Jackie Overton went to the media and publicized all of Meri’s secrets. Meri was humiliated and her relationship with Kody was never the same.
Meri has since left the Sister Wives family following the reveal of the footage and is off on her own. She has moved back to Utah where she is originally from, and where she owns Lizzie’s Heritage Inn, a Bed & Breakfast and online clothing boutique. Meri was also reportedly spotted filming season 18, so while it is unclear exactly how the show will look moving forward, it is clear that Meri will be involved at least partially. As Meri is the most recent divorcee, and generally the most introverted of the group, there are still a lot of unanswered questions around what her new life will look like. Will she be interested in a new relationship? Will she join another polygamous family? Or will she spend her time focusing on her business and family? We will just have to wait to see what Season 18 holds, but one thing is for sure, Meri Brown has flown the Sister Wives coop and the Brown family once and for all. Go, Meri, go!
Janelle Brown
Janelle Brown is Kody Brown’s second wife whom he married spiritually in 1993. The two were together for almost 30 years and share six children together. Janelle and Kody had a fairly calm marriage, at least in comparison to his tumultuous relationship with his other wives, however, season 16 and 17 brought new struggles for the couple.
As the pandemic raged on, Janelle and Kody began to bump heads over their adult sons Gabriel and Garrison who were still living with Janelle. Kody pushed Janelle to kick them out of the house if they weren’t going to follow his somewhat-extreme COVID protocols. Janelle refused and pushed back, causing tension in the relationship. Kody and his sons continued to go head to head, until it culminated in the family’s relationship being all but ruined. Viewers found the exchange hard to watch, as did Janelle.
The resentment between the couple finally mounted and after Christine, Kody’s third wife, left the family, Janelle soon followed suit. Kody and Janelle split in 2022. Although as she was already living separately from Kody at the time they decided to part ways, the transition was fairly simple. Also as the two were spiritually and not legally married, there were no legal hassles for the couple either. However, while she may have left Kody, she has not left Flagstaff, Arizona, where the family resides. Janelle and Kody’s youngest daughter Savannah still attends school there, so it’s possible that is the reason Janelle hasn’t followed the family to other states. Although it is rumored she will soon be joining Christine in Utah, where Meri also resides. It’s almost like the Sister Wives family is relocating to Utah, just without Kody.
Christine Brown
Christine Brown is Kody’s third wife. They married spiritually in 1994 and were together for almost 30 years, and they share six children. Christine and Kody had a fairly difficult marriage, as Christine was certainly the most outspoken of the group. Christine also was very vocal about her feelings about Kody’s fourth wife, Roby Brown, and what Christine perceived as her less-than-graceful transition into the family. The disagreements finally culminated in Kody telling Christine he was no longer interested in a “physical” marriage to her. The following week Christine moved all of his belongings into the garage.
Christine then announced she was leaving the family for good in Season 17. While some members of the family — such as Kody — were shocked, others — such as Janelle — had seen the move coming. The season showed Christine’s move from Flagstaff back to Utah to be near her other children.
Christine is doing better than ever and living her best life. She has a cooking show on TLC titled Cooking With Just Christine, is spending her time visiting friends and family, and best of all — she is engaged! Christine just announced her impending (monogamous) marriage to David Woolley. David owns a construction company, and the couple have been dating since December of 2022. A whirlwind romance to be sure, but one that seemingly has swept Christine off her feet. The couple hasn’t announced any wedding details as of yet but it is certainly big news for the Sister Wives family.
Robyn Brown
Robyn Brown is Kody Brown’s fourth and legal wife, the couple share two biological children, and Kody legally adopted Robyn’s three children from a previous marriage. The two spiritually married in 2010 and legally married in 2014. Now the couple is technically in a monogamous marriage, as all the other wives have left.
Robyn has not exactly been a fan favorite, as her entrance in the family seemed to cause a lot of disruption both among the spouses and children. It has been a difficult few years for the family, full of tension and resentment that seemed to come bubbling over during the pandemic. In fact, Kody had three wives leave him in less than a year. Kody now isn’t “that into” polygamous marriage anymore according to sources, and a viral TikTok video shows Kody revealing he and Robyn are now in a monogamous marriage. There are conflicting reports regarding if they are in fact looking for a new wife or not, but one thing is for sure, the Sister Wives family is never going to look the same.
So there you have it, the status, situation, and location of each member of the original Sister Wives clan. Viewers have watched the family transition from a cozy family of four to a booming family of 23, and now back down to two. As the show rounds the bend heading towards season 18, it seems like viewers might need a chart to figure out which family member is going where and why. Yet hopefully we have provided the groundwork to at least jump start the viewer’s season 18 journey into the next era of the Sister Wives phenomenon.
Published: Apr 28, 2023 03:51 pm