‘Sister Wives’: Fans Theorize on Why Kody Brown Felt ‘Pressured’ Into Marrying Christine Brown

In a recent episode of Sister Wives, Kody Brown finally got honest about his marriage to Christine Brown. During a sit-down conversation with Christine, Kody admitted that he wasn’t attracted to Christine when they first met but felt pressured to marry her. Fans of the series have long wondered why the pair got married. Now they have a few theories about what Kody meant. Christine, however, remains perplexed by his statement. 

Kody Brown says he felt ‘pressure’ to marry Christine; fans think they know why 

Kody didn’t explain exactly what he meant by feeling pressured into his third marriage. He didn’t offer any follow-up or expand on what made him feel that way. However, Sister Wives fans have spent enough time watching the Brown family operate to posit some guesses. There are a couple of common theories. 

 One Reddit user suggests that Kody may not have meant that he was pressured into marrying Christine, specifically, but that he felt pressured to take a third wife. The user notes that in the early seasons of Sister Wives, the Browns repeatedly stated that a third wife was supposed to be the “peacemaker.” Since Janelle Brown and Meri Brown, Kody’s second and first wives, hated each other, he might have felt pressured to find a third wife to bring peace to the family. With her bubbly personality, Christine might have felt like a good fit. 

Other fans believe Kody might have felt pressure to marry Christine because of her family’s standing in the church. Kody was a relative newcomer to the faith when he married Meri Brown. Janelle joined the family’s religion so she could marry Kody Brown. Christine, however, was the granddaughter of Rulon C. Allred, the founder of the religion the Brown family once belonged to. Because Christine’s family was well-established in the church, Kody may have felt compelled to marry her to better his social standing. 

Christine Brown seems confused by Kody Brown’s admission 

While fans of the series have some theories about Kody’s motivation to marry Christine, the mother of six appeared perplexed by Kody’s sentiment. In a private confessional, Christine made it clear that their religion does not have arranged marriages; thus, he wasn’t “forced” to walk down the aisle. 

Christine described the revelation about her early marriage as “sad.” Fans can agree that it is sad, but was Christine truly shocked by the statement? There have been indications that Christine knew things weren’t right from the start. 

Christine was clearly aware that their dating life was non-traditional and that their wedding was anything but celebratory. She once described their wedding day as “morose.” In a previous episode, she stated that they married quickly because she didn’t like the idea of running around with a married man. 

Christine’s own family members have suggested things were never right 

If Christine was surprised, she might have been the only one. Christine’s family member, Kristyn Decker, once suggested that Kody and Christine were likely unhappy from the first day of their marriage. During an appearance on Reality Life with Katie Casey, Decker noted that Christine has probably always been disappointed in her romantic union but needed a long time to grow enough to accept that polygamy was not the answer for her. 

Decker spent years in a polygamist marriage as well. She has since walked away from the religion and the practice of polygamy. Since leaving the lifestyle, Decker has become a fierce activist who speaks about the danger of polygamy.