‘Sister Wives’: The Brown Family Isn’t Unique, Divorce Isn’t Uncommon in Polygamy
In 2010, the Brown family agreed to document their life on Sister Wives. Initially, Kody Brown and his family insisted that they aimed to show the world how polygamy can work and create a functional, loving family unit. More than a decade later, it is clear that polygamy did not work for the Browns. Kody is racking up divorces in quick succession and is currently living in a monogamous marriage. Is the Brown family’s divorces all that uncommon within the culture? Not really.
Kody Brown has two divorces under his belt and counting
Brown family patriarch, Kody Brown, is living as a monogamist. He has been for a while, but the Brown family has only gone public with that disclosure in recent months. Christine Brown kicked off the trend when she announced her separation from Kody in November 2021. Christine later revealed that she considers herself spiritually divorced from Kody.
In January 2023, Janelle Brown shocked fans when she revealed that she and Kody Brown are officially separated. However, she’s yet to use the word “divorce” when discussing her turbulent spiritual marriage. A few weeks later, Meri Brown, Kody’s first wife, took to Instagram to announce that she and Kody had permanently severed ties. The couple legally divorced in 2015 so Kody could legally wed his fourth wife, Robyn Brown. They had kept up the pretense of being spiritually married but estranged for the last five years or so.
Are the Brown family’s issues uncommon in polygamist families?
Kody Brown’s marital woes have highlighted some major issues with polygamist family dynamics. The family’s earlier ascertain that they were one big happy family proved to be nothing more than a facade. Are the Brown family’s issues unique within polygamy? Some practicing polygamists want to blame reality TV, greed, and ego for the Browns’ problems. Joe Darger, a family friend, blamed Kody’s ego for the problems inside the family instead of the practice as a whole. As it turns out, divorce isn’t all that uncommon.
Following the news of the Brown family’s dismantling, a few other polygamist families announced their breakups, too. According to the U.S. Sun, Nathanael Richard’s family fell apart around the same time the Browns started having issues. The Richard family appeared briefly on Sister Wives, although their lifestyle markedly differed from the Browns. Both of Nathanael’s wives have moved on and are no longer living polygamy following their divorces. Nathan Collier, who also appeared on the show, split from one of his two wives, as well.
There have been divorces within the Brown family’s extended family, too. Christine Brown’s mother, Annie, left her polygamist marriage behind, as did Christine’s aunt, Kristyn Decker. Annie remains relatively quiet about polygamy, while Kristyn is an outspoken opponent.
While it is difficult to track just how common divorce is within polygamy because the sects are relatively secretive and most marriages aren’t legally documented, there is some reason to believe it happens fairly regularly. An article published in a 1978 journal suggests thousands of divorce decrees were granted in the 20th century to polygamists. Given the number of known polygamists in the country, according to the publication, it would appear divorce is more common in polygamy than in the general population. Again, there is no official paperwork to collect data from, so why the marriages failed remains a mystery.
