Season 15 of Sister Wives saw Christine Brown pushed to her limits. Wanting desperately to move back to Utah, but finding no one else in her family had any desire to, and completely frustrated with the lack of support from her shared husband Kody, a tearful Christine told Meri she didn’t want to do this anymore. Viewers are eager to know if she will be the first sister wife to finally leave the unhealthy marriage that has left them all so miserable. But what else is there to know about Kody’s third wife? It turns out Christine has quite a strange family history, including a blood relation to her husband.

Christine was not Kody’s third wife by chance. She said on the show that she always wanted to be a third wife, even though that meant her marriage wouldn’t be a legal one, only a spiritual union. She couldn’t picture herself being the only spouse, and she described the second wife as a wedge coming between the first wife and her husband. She figured being the third wife would be an easy transition that would provide her with a large loving family of doting sister wives and shared children. Unfortunately, that’s not the experience she had. However, she has good reason for believing this to be the truth.

Related: Sister Wives: Christine Admits She Still Gets Jealous of the Other Wives

Christine was born on April 18, 1972, into a family with a long history of polygamy and a little murder. Christine’s great-great-grandfather was the brother of Kody’s great-great-grandfather, making Christine and Kody fourth cousins. Christine’s grandfather, Rulon Allred, led the Apostolic United Brethren, which preached polygamy as God’s will. Christine's great uncle, Ervil LeBaron, was also a polygamist and appointed himself a prophet, but was apparently jealous of other religious leaders. Ervil took out hits on multiple people, including Christine’s grandfather, who was killed when Christine was only five years old. Ervil was convicted of murdering 25 people.

Sister Wives Christine Brown showing hands wearing brown printed blouse

In her own family, Christine apparently thought they were all happy in the polygamous lifestyle, but her biological mother and her aunt, Kristyn Decker, both left their plural marriages. Decker has since become outspoken against polygamy, even writing a book called Fifty Years in Polygamy: Big Secrets and Little White Lies. She has talked about the misogyny of this extreme patriarchal community and explained that, as unhappy as Christine and the other wives are, they may not leave because of the religious implications, namely that they may not be allowed in heaven if they leave their polygamous lifestyle. Decker finally escaped polygamy when she was 50 years old, and Christine, who seems to be growing impatient with the lifestyle, is now 49 years old.

There are aspects of polygamy that Christine loves. She enjoys being a stay-at-home mom and, with the other wives working, she has taken on the responsibility of caring for all of the wives’ children. Sadly, Kody Brown’s inability to be a loving, supportive, and stable husband due to his selfish nature and commitments to his other wives, along with the inherent unfairness and jealousies of polygamy make it a miserable life even for these women who have chosen it. Viewers can follow Christine on Instagram @christine_brownsw.

Next: Sister Wives: Kody Dragged for Poor Attitude & Attacks on the Wives

Source: Instagram/Christine Brown