Most of what is known about Kody Brown’s wives Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn is what viewers have seen on Sister Wives. They family mostly talks about the beautiful, spiritual side of polygamy, when they’re not arguing or crying. But each of these women had a life before the show started filming and even before marrying Kody. With a little digging, you can find out some interesting tidbits about each one of Kody’s wives that aren’t commonly known or often discussed among fans.
Meri has created a life for herself separate from the Brown family by creating her dream bed and breakfast. Meri’s mother used to help her run it, but sadly passed away unexpectedly in 2021. Meri closed the bed and breakfast for a time while she mourned. Now that Meri has reopened Lizzie’s Heritage Inn, fans are wondering if Meri will use it as an excuse to live apart from the family and possibly eventually break free entirely.
Robyn once dabbled in acting. She appeared in an episode of the 90’s sitcom Just Shoot Me. However the role wasn’t exactly her big break. She played a model and while she may have filmed more scenes, in the final product, she ended up only being seen via a picture hanging on the wall. She also played a cheerleader on Country Music Television’s 2000 Countdown. When Robyn Brown unexpectedly became pregnant, she married the father, David Jessop, and apparently that was the end of her acting pursuits.
Janelle Brown is the wife who seems most content in polygamy, but it wasn’t always that way. When she joined the marriage as Kody’s second wife, she and Meri constantly butted heads. It only got worse after Christine spiritually married Kody. After being married to Kody for about eight years, Janelle took her kids and left. As she tells it, she was just dealing with some depression and needed some time to think, but “some time” turned into several years. Living with her mother wasn’t exactly far from Kody, as Janelle’s mother was married to Kody’s father. When Kody, Meri, and Christine were preparing to move into one house in Utah, Kody was finally able to convince Janelle to move back.
Kody wants people to know that not all fundamentalist polygamous Mormons are like the notorious FLDS cult of Warren Jeffs. Kody is glossing over some of the cult-like aspects of their church, though. He once called Christine a princess because of her notable ancestors in their polygamous faith. Her grandfather was a leader and prophet in the faith that Christine and the Browns follow today. He lived on a compound in Mexico, though he wanted his followers to work outside the compound to make money for the compound. He married an estimated 23 women and had 48 children. He was murdered by his brother and fellow prophet, Ervil LeBaron. All of those are things people associate less with an ordinary church and more with a cult.
Kody’s wives are all experiencing two lives at once. Sometimes they are living as a wife with a husband, but more often, they are living as single mothers, trying to raise their children and support their families. Kody doesn’t contribute much to the family’s finances or helping with the children. Having a part-time father or husband isn’t the happy life suggested by the polygamist ideal. Unfortunately, none of the adults on Sister Wives were able to experience a healthy monogamous relationship before deciding to pursue polygamy, so they have no idea of the alternative.