‘Sister Wives’: Did Meri Brown Fool Robyn Brown Into Joining the Family?

When Sister Wives aired its first season, the Brown family hoped to show the world how good polygamy could be. 10 seasons later and flaring tension has revealed the problems with plural marriage instead of the benefits. While Kody Brown and his four wives, Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and Robyn Brown, would like the world to think the troubles are something new, Meri seemed to hint at deception in the courtship process more than a decade ago.

When did Robyn Brown marry Kody Brown?

Robyn was recently out of a difficult marriage when she met Kody and Meri at a church event. Kody once revealed that he fell in love with Robyn at first sight. Meri approved the union and even managed to play matchmaker for the pair. By 2010, The Browns had sold Robyn on joining the family. The couple had a spiritual ceremony, then a honeymoon away from the rest of the family. While Kody was courting Robyn, his third wife, Christine, was pregnant with her youngest child.

Robyn initially joined the family as Kody’s spiritual wife, but in 2015, that all changed. To adopt Robyn’s children from a previous relationship, Kody divorced his first and legal wife, Meri, to legally wed Robyn. The divorce and subsequent remarriage are what many believe initially fractured Meri and Kody’s bond.

Meri Brown admits to “pulling the wool” over Robyn’s eyes during their courtship

Before Meri and Kody stopped speaking to each other, she served as one of the main ways he met his wives. In fact, Meri was responsible for bringing all three of Kody’s other wives into the family. In the family’s book, Becoming Sister Wives, Meri admits to playing matchmaker for Kody and Janelle, Kody and Christine and Kody and Robyn.

Kody’s courtships with Christine and Janelle seemed pretty pure, but something a bit more deceptive may have happened between Kody and Robyn. In TLC’s sneak peek video, Robyn notes that she initially wanted to join the Brown family because she liked the way they functioned as a unit. Meri jumped in and quipped that they “pulled the wool” over Robyn’s eyes. While Meri may have meant it as a joke, fans can’t help but wonder if they did hide a lot of the in-fighting to earn Robyn’s trust and buy-in.

Will Season 10 of Sister Wives end in a divorce?

It’s easy to see that the Brown family dynamic has become increasingly toxic as the years have carried on. Now living in Flagstaff, Arizona, in four separate properties, Kody and his four wives appear to have less in common with each passing day. After Kody’s comments about plural marriage in TLC’s sneak peek video, it seems possible that the family is heading for a serious shakeup. Could divorce be on the horizon?

Kody appears to have a problem with at least three of his four wives. Kody and Meri have been on the outs for more than five years, and their relationship seems to be moving further away from repair than closer to it. In recent months, Christine has expressed interest in returning to Utah. Some fans think that Robyn, who has seemed sullen and troubled since joining the family in 2010, has made it clear that she isn’t interested in continuing without the presence of the other sister wives. So, is divorce imminent? It seems improbable, considering the family’s beliefs. That doesn’t mean they’ll ever live as one big family again, though.