This year marks Season 19 of the dramatic, often controversial reality series Sister Wives. The show features the Brown family, headed by Kody Brown, a devout Mormon who practices polygamy, along with his several wives and their 18 children.
When the show originally premiered in 2010, it followed Kody and his then four wives – Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn, the youngest and latest addition of the bunch, whose marriage to Kody initially caused a rift in the family dynamic. Of the four women, only Robyn remains legally married to Kody, and things seem like they're a far cry from marital bliss.
Robyn Brown's Life Completely Changed Living Alone With Kody
The initial conceit of Sister Wives was to give audience members a behind the scenes look into the world of polygamy. Mormonism has often been criticized for this practice, some calling it dated and others calling it misogynistic, as only men are allowed to have multiple partners while women are not.
Episodes of the show portrayed both the potential benefits and challenges of this kind of lifestyle. The women were able to help care for one another's children, for instance, but there were also more emotionally fraught moments, too. Complicated matters such as which of his wives Kody was spending the most time with often caused tension among the family.
Robyn stepped in as Kody's fourth and youngest of his wives, coming into the family just shortly before the series premiered on TLC in 2010. The two have a ten-year age gap between them, making her several years younger than his other partners. Her addition to the family also sparked contention with his previous wives, as it was Kody's first new marriage in a whopping 16 years.
Robyn's transition into the family was far from a smooth one; she faced jealousy and struggled to find her place within the Browns' existing family dynamic. Prior to meeting Kody, Robyn also had three children from her previous marriage to David Jessop. She and Kody would go on to have two children of their own together, Soloman and Ariella.
Another issue that the series has followed is that of the legality of polygamy. Currently, Robyn and Kody reside in Flagstaff, Arizona, though polygamy remains completely illegal throughout the entire country. It's no surprise that the family faced backlash for the practice once their lifestyle was aired on TV, adding further tension to the family structure.
Since the series began, three out of four of Kody's wives have divorced him, leaving Robyn as his sole spouse. His first wife, Meri, legally split from him in 2014. At first, however the two noted that they remained "spiritually married" to one another. At the time Meri said that her decision to legally divorce Kody was actually a strategic choice – doing so would allow Kody to marry Robyn and adopt her kids from her former marriage.
Even if this started as a clever strategy, though, it seems that the relationship continued to sour between Kody and Meri. After years of emotional turmoil, during which Meri cited she often felt neglected by the family patriarch in favor of his other wives, Meri announced in 2023 that their spiritual marriage had ended as well. Since then, she's spoken about how she's mustered the courage to venture back out into the dating pool.
Other splits were not far behind. Kody's second marriage to wife Christine occurred in 2021. Christine noted that she often felt a lack of intimacy from Kody and that she was seeking a romantic relationship that was more fulfilling than her current one. Kody's third wife Janelle separated from him in December 2022. Janelle spoke about how she and Kody had different views when it came to certain priorities and family dynamics, and that this ultimately lead to an irreconcilable strain on their relationship.
When did Kody's ex-wives divorce him?
Year | Wife |
|---|---|
2014 | Meri |
2021 | Christine |
2022 | Janelle |
Fans Feel Like Robyn Brown Aged Since Kody Changed His Marital Status
This leaves Robyn as Kody's only remaining partner. So how is she faring alone with the Brown family patriarch?
Concerned fans noted that, in recent photos, Robyn appeared to look particularly weathered and like she'd aged several years over a much shorter period of time. Though only 45 years old, she looked far from the fresh face they were used to seeing on the show.
Some mused that it was simply a poor choice of makeup and styling, while others posited that perhaps the stress and miserybeing stuck as Kody's only wife were taking their toll on her. One viewer even pointed out that while Robyn appeared to look older than her years, Kody's ex-wife Christine seemed to be "aging backwards" since her split from him.
Indeed, recent photos of Robyn appear to show her looking tired and sporting a semi-permanent frown. This comes on the heels of clips from Sister Wives where fans pointed out that Robyn seemed to be fake crying as a form of emotional manipulation. Some viewers have suggested that Robyn only pretends to cry for the sake of footage for the show, noting that she tips her chin up as if to prevent herself from breaking down, but that no tears are actually shed.
A long-running theme in the show is that Robyn always had designs to get Kody all to herself. It has long been speculated that Robyn was a "mastermind" who had always planned to drive away Kody's other wives, constantly saying that she wasn't getting enough attention from him and preying on his favoritism of her.
If this indeed the case, perhaps it is a bit ironic that Robyn now finds herself unhappy in a marriage of just two. Their journey has clearly not been one without its emotional ups and downs. In an interview with People, Robyn even admitted that one of Kody's new nicknames for her is "the wife left standing."
Outside of the marriage, it seems that Robyn may at least have work to occupy herself. In 2010, she founded "My Sisterwife's Closet," a clothing and jewelry line she began not too long after her marriage to Kody. While it hasn't been confirmed whether Robyn is still heavily involved in the brand, her Instagram bio notes that she is a "business owner."
Beyond that, it remains unclear whether Robyn has another form of income outside of that which she earns from being on reality TV. Regardless of whatever it may be, dedicated fans of the show are surely hoping that Robyn finds happiness just as many of Kody's former wives have done before her.
Sister Wives
TV-PG
Reality TV
Drama
Release Date
September 16, 2010
Main Genre
Reality
Cast
Kody Brown , madison Brown , Janelle Brown , Tamron Hall , Aspyn Brown , Robyn Brown , Andrea Canning , Gwendlyn Brown , meri brown , Logan Brown , Christine Brown , Sukanya Kirshnan
Seasons
18
Website
https://go.tlc.com/show/sister-wives-tlc
Cinematographer
Doug Monroe, Callan Griffiths, Richard Alexander Walkling, Anthony Derosa, Matthew Thompson, Ray Farmer
Distributor
TLC
Filming Locations
Nevada, Utah, Arizona
Main Characters
Timothy Gibbons, Kirk Streb, Deanie Wilcher, Christopher Poole, Bill Hayes
Producer
Deanie Wilcher
Production Company
Puddle Monkey Productions, Figure 8 Films
Number of Episodes
167
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