‘Sister Wives’ Season 17 Teaser Shows Christine Brown’s Exit From Plural Marriage With Kody Brown

Sister Wives Season 17 is bringing some high tensions to a boiling point with a new teaser trailer revealing Christine Brown moving out of Kody’s house and exiting the plural marriage. The new season debuts in about a month, and if the new teaser that TLC released on Monday is any indication, the Brown family is continuing to unravel. Among the revelations is that Christine and Kody’s relationship appears to be irreparable.

While sitting for a Sister Wives confessional, Christine shares how she has “decided to leave,” stating, “I’m gonna leave Kody.” She is also seen telling him to his face, admitting, “It’s been heartbreaking being your wife for years.” Later, Christine returns to the confessional: “I agreed to be a sister wife. But I agreed to be an equal wife.” Christine previously announced that she’d separated from Kody, in November 2021, so Sister Wives fans are finally getting to see the events and conversations that led up to the split. The pair had been together for 25 years and share six children together.

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Earlier this year, Sister Wives star Meri Brown confirmed that she was sticking by Kody despite their marriage woes, and Christine was part of the reason. In a Sister Wives bonus scene, Meri spoke briefly about a Season 10 moment when Christine was expressing being upset about moving to Arizona from Utah. “I can’t do marriage with Kody anymore,” Christine said at the time. Speaking to Sister Wives tell-all host Sukanya Krishnan in a one-on-one, Meri opened up about the impact that moment had on her relationship with Christine. 

“It was from about that point on, that [Christine] was not very open to me and I started realizing that she just wasn’t open to communication with me,” Meri confessed. “And I just hoped that things were getting better … because I understand the rollercoaster in a relationship. I just was praying for her.” Sukanya stated that it appeared to viewers that Christine lost her desire to fix things between herself and Kody after witnessing Meri and Kody’s struggles. The host pointed out that Meri appeared to garner support from her family until she could revive a “full fellowship with Kody in the true sense of a husband and wife.”

Meri was Kody’s first wife. They were married in 1990, and then legally separated in 2014. Janelle Brown was Kody’s second wife, marrying him in 1993. They seem to have separated in late 2020. Christine became wife number three the next year in 1994. Finally, Robyn married Kody in 2010, making her his fourth wife. Sister Wives Season 17 premieres Sunday, Sept. 11 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.