One man married to four different women with different wants, needs, and personalities. To many, this sounds like a disaster, but to Kody Brown, this was his dream come true.
Kody Brown married his first wife, Meri Brown, in 1990, but knew that living a polygamist life was what fate had in store for him. After Meri, Kody found love with Janelle, then Christine, and finally Robyn nearly 16 years later.
With his four wives, 18 kids, controversial beliefs, and questionable traditions, Kody took his large family into the realm of reality television with Sister Wives. Despite opening up their doors for cameras and letting the world into their family drama, there are still several things about Sister Wives that Kody wants buried deep forever.
20 Kody Divorced One Wife So He Could Marry A New One
Although Kody Brown has four wives, he can only be legally married to one of them. For 20 years, Kody was legally married to his first wife, Meri.
However, after courting Robyn, Kody divorced Meri on paper, so he could marry Robyn legally. The reason for the swap was so Kody could legally adopt Robyn’s children from another relationship.
19 Meri Brown Emotionally Cheated On Kody With A Catfish
In 2015, Meri got herself involved in a seriously embarrassing catfishing situation. Meri entered into an emotional online relationship with a person she believed to be a man named Sam Cooper. It soon came to light that Sam was actually a woman named Jackie.
Meri didn’t discover this before basically emotionally cheating on Kody and betraying her sister-wive family unit, though.
18 And Told The Catfish She Wanted To Leave Kody
During her relationship with the catfish, Meri shared intimate details about her family and her relationship with Kody. She also told the catfish that she was very unhappy in her relationship and that she wanted to leave Kody.
The world learned of all this when the catfish, Jacquie, released Meri’s personal texts and voicemails.
17 Janelle Left The Family For Two Years After Postpartum Depression
After giving birth to her fifth child, Kody’s second wife, Janelle Brown, temporarily left the family. Janelle sunk into a deep postpartum depression and with the stress of finances and sister wives, she took her kids and went to start her own life.
She returned to Kody when the family moved to Utah and got to have their own spaces in a big conjoined home.
16 Janelle Was Once Married To Meri's Brother
Meri and Janelle knew each other before Janelle became Kody’s second wife in 1993. Before becoming a sister wife, Janelle was actually married to Meri’s brother, Adam Barber, from 1988 to 1990.
Once Janelle entered the Brown family, her former relationship caused a lot of tension and arguments with Meri.
15 The Brown Family Once Ran From The Law
When the world first met the Browns, they were living in Utah. However, under Utah law, the Brown family’s idea of polygamy was considered illegal. According to NPR, “the law says it's a crime if a married person purports to marry or cohabits with another person.”
Before the state made their decision on whether to bring up charges on the family, they escaped to Nevada.
14 But Sister Wives Didn't Portray It As It Really Happened
The legal troubles the Brown family faced was all very intense when being played out on Sister Wives. However, according to Radar Online, the whole ordeal may have been completely fabricated. Leaving Utah was not some final decision forced on the family.
A close family member revealed the plan to move to Las Vegas was in the works long before Utah “chased” them out.
13 Kody And The Browns Were Permanently Kicked Out Of Their Church
Kody Brown and his entire family have been formally kicked out of their church, the Apostolic United Brethren.
Following several incidents, including Meri’s upsetting catfish affair, “the church elders told Kody that he would never be welcomed back, even if the family moved back to Utah Opens a New Window. ,” according to Radar Online. The reality TV family now practices their faith within their own home.
12 The Browns Have Been In Serious Debt
It’s easy for an averaged size family to fall on hard times financially, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that the Brown family of 23 has dealt with some serious debt over the years.
Kody, Meri, Janelle and Christine have all filed for bankruptcy at least once in the last 20 years. And despite making bank off Sister Wives, they sill have huge debt.
11 Kody Wants A Fifth Wife
Nineteen years after marrying Robyn, Kody now wants to bring a fifth woman into the family.
Rumor has it, after serious troubles with Meri, Kody went on the hunt for a new wife to bring life back to his family. If these rumors hold truth, Kody may have already found his new wife and she is only in her 20s.
