‘Sister Wives’: Kody Brown Calls Himself a ‘Prisoner’ in Christine Brown Marriage

Sister Wives star Kody Brown says that he was a “prisoner” in his marriage to his former wife Christine Brown. Kody, 54, makes the comment in the Sister Wives Look Back: How It’s Going special, which premieres Sunday, December 31, on TLC. “She called me a coward because I was never willing to break up with her,” Kody recalls in the clip shared exclusively by Us Weekly. “It’s because, well, you’re not really allowed.”

During the episode, Kody, 54, and Christine, 51, rewatch a filmed conversation from 2021, in which Christine asked him, “Do you want to be married to me?” After Kody later asked Christine the same question, she replied, “No, I don’t want to be married to you.” In the old clip, Kody said he’s “good with that” and claimed, “Nobody’s a prisoner here.” Now, in the forthcoming special, he says, “I’m the prisoner here,” adding, “I can’t just go, ‘Hey, b—, I’m done with you.’”

Kody goes on to explain, “When a polygamist husband goes, ‘Hey, listen, I can’t deal with this woman anymore,’ he goes through the church authority channel.” He then stated that the “church authority” would just relay that he must stay in the relationship. “Once we’ve committed to marry a woman, the choice is gone.”

Eventually, Kody confesses to being “glad” Christine was “brave enough” to end their marriage, saying, “Because, no, I wasn’t in love with her. As much as I tried to love her, it just wasn’t working all the time.” Reflecting on their 2021 split, Christine remembered their conversation as the exact moment Kody “agreed I could go,” which felt “good,” she said, after all their tumultuous relationship. “That’s the day that I took my power,” she adds. “I stopped focusing on him and I started focusing on me and my life and my kids.”

Meri was Kody Brown’s first wife. They were married in 1990 and then legally separated in 2014 but remained together. Janelle Brown was Kody’s second wife, marrying him in 1993. They seemed to have separated in late 2020 and was confirmed in late 2022 that they are also no longer together. Christine became wife number three the next year in 1994. They split within the last year and Christine has since remarried. 

Finally, Robyn Brown married Kody in 2010, making her his fourth wife. She is also Kody’s only remaining wife, though it had been rumored he was still interested in taking another. Kody has a total of 14 kids. He and Christine share six children: Aspyn, 28, Mykelti, 27, Paedon, 25, Gwendlyn, 22, Ysabel, 20, and Truely, 13.