‘Sister Wives’ Season 17 Promotional Photos Hinted at Meri and Janelle Leaving the Family, and Literally, No One Noticed
The first part of the season 17 Sister Wives tell-all aired on Dec. 18. While the sneak peeks, and promo videos seemed to promise plenty of drama, the first installment started slowly. Despite that, fans of the famed reality TV series now know that Janelle Brown has been separated from her husband, Kody Brown, for several months, and Meri Brown no longer considers her marriage to the same man viable. Now that the fact that Kody has one functioning marriage is common knowledge, we can’t help but notice that Sister Wives photo released ahead of the season gave away that big reveal, and none of us realized it. You know what they say; hindsight is 20/20.
‘Sister Wives’ theorize that promotional photos hinted at Kody Brown’s marital troubles
When season 17 of Sister Wives opened, fans knew Christine Brown had left Kody Brown and moved to Utah. They didn’t know that Kody’s marriage to Janelle Brown would crumble under stress, too. No one saw Meri Brown admitting that her marriage was completely dead coming. The Browns revealed those bombshells in the most recent tell-all episode. Maybe, as fans, we should have seen it coming, though.
Now that the cat is out of the bag, Sister Wives fans on Reddit are looking back at past photos, and the promotional material released for season 17 is telling in hindsight. The body language of the Brown family seems to indicate who is in a functioning marriage and who is leaving their polygamist lifestyle behind.
There is a lot that fans can glean from the wives’ body language
While body language isn’t an exact science, there is a lot of information that can be gathered from the promotional photo. Now that we know what has happened to the family over the last season, the body language feels extremely telling. It is especially true when you look at the body language of the three women that have walked away from Kody Brown.
In the photo, Christine’s body is positioned away from the rest of the group. This one is the most obvious, her leg is bent forward, and one arm appears propped up on her hip. According to Reader’s Digest, this body positioning shows that Christine’s interest is being drawn away from the group. Her hand on her hip can be seen as a territorial move.
Janelle’s body language says a lot, too. The mother of six is also facing away from the rest of the group. Her arms, crossed over her chest, might seem defensive. According to Barbara and Allen Pease, the authors of The Definitive Book of Body Language: The Hidden Meaning Behind People’s Gestures and Expressions, there is a deeper meaning to it. The authors suggest that crossed-arm positioning might be a way of self-soothing. It is often used by introspective people or people concentrating on a particularly difficult task. Deciding to end your decades-long marriage would qualify as a difficult task requiring significant introspection.
Meri’s body language suggests that she’s trying to make space for herself, too. One arm is propped up on her hip, with her elbow pointed toward Janelle. Just like Christine, Meri Brown’s body language in the promotional photo indicates she’s trying to make room for herself. Considering the bad blood between Meri and Janelle, it would make sense that the mother of one would feel territorial when situated next to Janelle.
Kody and Robyn’s body language seems to indicate that they are happy together
While it’s clear that Kody’s first three wives, Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, and Christine Brown, want little to do with him, at least based on their body language in the promotional photos, there is another side to that one photo. Kody and Robyn’s body language is similarly telling, just in the opposite direction.
In the Sister Wives photo, Kody and Robyn Brfacecing each other. That was a conscious decision likely made by TLC, but there are more subtle aspects of their positioning that may have been a bit more subconscious. In the photo, Robyn and Kody are facing each other. Robyn’s leg is popped forward, moving closer to Kody. Kody’s feet point toward Robyn and appear to create a “V” shape. According to Science of People, V-shaped foot positioning is a subconscious way of showing interest in another person. Robyn’s leg, pushed toward Kody, might indicate she wants to be closer to him. The couple’s arms are dropped naturally to their sides, suggesting they are comfortable in each other’s company.
While some Sister Wives fans would love to see Kody and Robyn’s marriage falter, too, that doesn’t seem to be the case. At the very least, that wasn’t the case when the Brown family shot the promotional photos, and it doesn’t seem to be the case based on what we’ve seen from the tell-all episodes so far. Things could change at any time, though.
Part two of the season 17 tell-all episode is set to air on Jan. 1, 2023. Part three will likely air the following week. All seasons of Sister Wives are available for streaming on discovery+, including the most recent.
