Sister Wives has been gracing TLC’s airwaves since 2010 with the intent of educating viewers about polygamy.
Kody Brown quite possibly became the most well-known polygamist when he introduced his four wives to Sister Wives viewers.
At the time of the show’s inception, Kody was married to Meri, Janelle, and Christine Brown, and preparing to wed his fourth wife, Robyn Brown.
These days, Kody is no longer living the polygamist lifestyle — his second and third wives, Janelle and Christine, have both left him, and he no longer considers himself married to his first wife, Meri, leaving him in a monogamous relationship with wife number four, Robyn.
Over the years, Kody has done some stupid things — just ask Sister Wives viewers.
Here is a look back at the Top 10 stupidest things Kody Brown has done since his time on Sister Wives.
10. Kody Brown marries his former sister-in-law and step-sister
Kody’s second wife, Janelle, was formerly married to Meri’s brother, Adam Barber, while Meri and Kody were married before Janelle joined their plural union. This meant that at one point, Janelle was Meri and Kody’s sister-in-law.
Even more interestingly, Janelle’s late mother, Sheryl Brown, was married to Kody’s father, William Brown, making Janelle’s biological mother both her mom and her mother-in-law. This also meant that Kody and Janelle were technically step-siblings while (spiritually) married. Wild, right?
9. Kody legally divorces his first wife Meri Brown
Meri became Kody’s first wife in 1990 when they tied the knot before welcoming any sister wives into their union. Soon after, in 1993, Janelle became Kody’s second wife (although only spiritually, not legally), and Christine became Kody’s third spiritual wife in 1994. Robyn didn’t enter the family until 2010.
But, in 2014, Meri offered to legally divorce Kody so that he could legally wed Robyn. Since Robyn brought three children from her previous marriage to David Jessop — son Dayton and daughters Aurora and Breanna — Kody could then adopt Robyn’s kids, making them officially part of the Brown family.
8. Kody uproots the Brown family several times
When Sister Wives viewers first met the Brown family, they were living in Utah under one roof. Meri, Janelle, and Christine each had their own home within the same house, while Robyn was renting her own separate home nearby while she was still courting Kody.
With fears of being prosecuted for bigamy, a third-degree felony in Utah at the time, Kody decided to uproot his supersized family from Lehi, Utah, to Las Vegas, Nevada. Things seemed to be going well for Kody, his four wives, and their children while living in the cul-de-sac in Vegas. Each wife and their children had their own home, offering them autonomy and privacy, with Kody taking turns visiting each wife’s home every few days.
However, Kody then decided to uproot the family once again, moving them from Nevada to Flagstaff, Arizona, where most of them currently reside. Sister Wives fans have long thought Kody’s push to move to Flagstaff was fueled by Robyn’s son Dayton attending college there, although they claimed it was to live a slower lifestyle.
“We’re moving because we want kind of a slower lifestyle. We want some water,” Robyn said, while Kody added, “More than anything, we’re getting the mountains.”
The family purchased several plots of land on Coyote Pass, where they intended to build individual homes for each wife. However, financial struggles and Christine’s split from Kody have put a damper on their plans. Kody is still living with Robyn in their sprawling Flagstaff estate, Meri is still renting her massive home across town, while Janelle is also living in a rental. Christine has since sold her Flagstaff home and is renting a duplex in Utah.
7. Kody admits to ‘ick factor’ when he first met Robyn Brown
Robyn was still just courting Kody when Sister Wives viewers were introduced to her in 2010. During an interview, seen below, Kody said of meeting Robyn, “Initially, I had some personal reservations for whatever reason. I actually kind of shuddered. I actually had an ‘ick’ factor.”
Robyn explained that Kody’s reservations were based on the fact that she was divorced and was bringing three children into the relationship, something she called “a lot of work” to deal with. Although Robyn didn’t seem bothered by Kody’s comments, his interviewer, Natalie Morales, and his other three wives thought they were out of line.
6. Kody implements ‘inhumane’ COVID-19 rules upon his family
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Kody was on a mission to keep his ultra-large family from contracting COVID-19. Among his list of rules for his wives and children were to sanitize groceries with alcohol wipes before placing them inside their homes, change clothes after being in public, not allow other family members into their homes unless they abide by the list of protocols, and quarantining each of his four wives and their children.
Kody was the only person allowed to travel between houses, and he forbade his children who had different mothers from seeing each other unless they were spaced six feet apart. Kody and Christine’s daughters, Truely and Ysabel, called their dad’s rules “awful” and “inhumane.”
Although Kody claimed he was trying to protect his family members, especially those most vulnerable, his COVID-19 rules further divided his family.
Kody and Robyn both contracted COVID-19, despite being the most diligent of the Brown family members.
5. Kody calls second wife Janelle Brown ‘lazy’
Kody called Janelle “lazy” during a 2021 episode of Sister Wives. The curly-haired father of 18’s ultra-strict rules for his wives and children during the coronavirus pandemic were too much to bear, at least for Janelle and Christine.
Janelle followed the CDC’s guidelines but wasn’t willing to take the extra steps that Kody forced upon his family. This didn’t sit well with Kody, and he said of Janelle during a confessional, “She doesn’t want to hear it. Frankly, I think Janelle’s lazy about an ounce of prevention.”
4. Kody refuses to travel with daughter Ysabel for her back surgery
Kody and Christine’s daughter, Ysabel, suffers from scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine. Ysabel’s scoliosis was so bad that she required surgery to straighten her spine.
While they were still living in Flagstaff, Arizona, Christine scheduled Ysabel’s surgery in New Jersey. However, due to Kody’s fear of COVID-19 and his self-inflicted safety protocols, he refused to fly across the country with Ysabel for her surgery, angering Sister Wives fans and his ex-wife, Christine, who was also left with the solo task of handling Ysabel’s exhausting after-surgery care.
3. Kody admits he wasn’t attracted to third wife Christine Brown
During the episode, The Conversation, during Season 17 of Sister Wives, Christine admitted that her then-husband told her he wasn’t attracted to her and denied her intimacy.
Kody, however, denied saying any such thing, telling her, “Christine, I didn’t use those words… at all.”
2. Kody withholds sex and romance from first wife Meri Brown
While celebrating their 30-year anniversary, Meri tried to flirt with Kody, but the gestures weren’t reciprocated, and instead, were met with rejection. Kody felt as though in order to be intimate with Meri, they needed to have a strong marriage. But, their marriage had been on the rocks for quite some time at that point.
Kody admitted, “Romance and sex are saved, in my world, for people who are in love.”
1. Kody ‘grossed out’ by ‘chubby girl’ Christine Brown
In Kody and his wives’ book, Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage, the Brown family patriarch copped to being grossed out by Christine while they were still dating.
The father of 18 detailed a time that he and Christine took a road trip together and stopped for some munchies. Kody wrote, “… I was convinced that Christine was the cutest girl in the world, although she was a little chubby.”
He then detailed her eating “the largest portion of chili cheese nachos” in the backseat of his car. “The sight of those nachos turned my stomach. I couldn’t watch her eat them. She must have been starving, because she was eating so quickly, and there was chili sauce and nacho cheese everywhere. Looking back, I hate myself for the thoughts I had at that moment, but the sight of this chubby girl in my car devouring chili cheese nachos for breakfast put the brakes on our relationship.”
Little did Kody know that years later, Christine would find her worth and leave him and their plural marriage for a new life in Utah, where she’s currently living her best life as a single, monogamous woman.