The Tragic, Real-Life Story Of Sister Wives Star Kody Brown

This article contains mentions of suicide.

For fans of reality television with a polygamist twist, there's no more complicated a figure than Kody Brown. First introduced to America in TLC's "Sister Wives" in 2010, Kody was then the proud husband of three wives — Meri, Janelle, and Christine Brown — and was in the process of bringing a another into the mix, eventual fourth wife Robyn Brown. At the time, he explained why he and his family decided to be followed by cameras in order to open up their lives to television viewers. "Part of the reason for coming out and is not only gaining acceptance but lowering prejudice," he told Variety. "We hope this helps to have all of society understand it." 

Over the course of numerous seasons spanning more than a decade, the show has attracted legions of fans. Those viewers have watched the family's polygamous lifestyle transform from one of harmony and contentment to an endless stream of tabloid-friendly drama, full of anger, recrimination, and harsh words. At the center of it all sits Kody Brown, who's been catapulted to reality-TV stardom while enduring some deeply heartbreaking situations.

Kody Brown took the first step in his journey to polygamy when he married his first wife, Meri Brown, in 1990. After several years of struggling to have a baby, the couple welcomed their first child together in 1995, Leon, who came out as transgender in 2022.

Leon is actually Kody's third child, with subsequent wives Janelle and Christine Brown each bearing children before Leon's arrival. Due to Meri's issues with infertility, Leon is the only child of Kody's with his first wife. While he's never publicly stated that Meri's difficulty getting pregnant influenced his decision to become "spiritually married" to Janelle in 1993, and then Christine in 1994, it's easy to see how Kody's inability to father a child with Meri would lead the aspiring polygamist to try — ultimately successfully — to do so with another wife. 

In the book, "Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage" published in 2012, Meri described her desperation to give Kody another child, and how overjoyed she was when she miraculously became pregnant more than a decade after her first. Sadly, that pregnancy proved to be unviable. "My joy, however, was short-lived, and I lost the baby after only a couple of months. I was devastated," Meri wrote. 

Taking on two additional wives in short succession sent Kody Brown hurling headfirst into the world of polygamy. Looking back at his third wife, Christine Brown, entering the picture so soon after his second wife Janelle Brown, he realized that he'd bitten off more than he could chew. "I was 25, I already had two wives, and Janelle was expecting our first child," he wrote in "Becoming Sister Wives." "The thought of trying to bring Christine into our family gave me serious pause," he added, admitting he was a nervous wreck at his third wedding. "Suddenly, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders."

In an episode of "Sister Wives," Kody reminisced about their wedding, and remembered just how freaked out he was at the time. "I had a thousand-yard stare, and I wasn't engaged into the experience," he recalled. "It was hard."

Years later, Brown was far less diplomatic when looking back at Christine's entry into the family when he accused her of pushing herself on him before he was ready. "Christine forced herself into my life, she basically just insisted that we be married," Brown complained while speaking in a "Sister Wives" confessional during a 2023 episode.

One of the more traumatic episodes of "Sister Wives" dealt with Kody Brown divorcing Meri Brown, who at the time was his only legal spouse. The reason behind that particular bit of conscious uncoupling was so that he could legally wed fourth wife, Robyn Brown, and adopt her children from a previous relationship. As Robyn explained during a 2015 episode, the biological father of her children was not a part of their lives, and provided no financial support. "If anything happened to Robyn, we'd have no legal claim on Dayton, Aurora and Breanna," said Meri.

Kody, however, worried about how divorcing Meri would impact their relationship. "Nothing is going to change for you and I?" he asked Meri. Meanwhile, Janelle Brown expressed her own concerns, that Kody would start to favor Robyn at the expense of his other wives.

Getting divorced and losing her status as Kody's only legitimate wife was something that Meri was able to cope with on an intellectual level. On the emotional plane, however, she felt as if her knees had been knocked out from beneath her. "It's an end of something that we had had, in a way, for 24-and-a-half years," she said during that emotion-packed episode. "But at the same time, I know it's not, because I have eternity with him; I have eternity with the family. I know it's not the end."

Anyone who'd been watching TLC's "Sister Wives" regularly could probably see that fractures were forming within Kody Brown's polygamous family. The tensions that viewers saw on the screen bubbled up to the surface in November 2021, when his third wife, Christine Brown, dropped a bombshell. "After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave," she wrote in an Instagram post. "We will continue to be a strong presence in each other's lives as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family."

Kody was still reeling when, just over a year later, second wife Janelle Brown issued her own announcement that she had also decided to leave, breaking the news in a "Sister Wives" special. As she later divulged in an interview with People, watching Christine bolt from the family made her realize that she was just as unhappy in her relationship with Kody than Christine had been. "But I still felt like I should be loyal out of obligation," she said, explaining why she hadn't left earlier. When she finally admitted to herself just how bad things had become, and how much she wanted to start over, everything crystallized for her. "This burden came off me, and I thought, 'Wow. Okay, it's over,'" Janelle said. "If [Christine] hadn't left, I might've stayed."

In an episode of "Sister Wives" that aired in September 2024, Kody insisted he never would have left his wives, despite how strained those relationships became. "I wasn't ever going to leave them, no matter how much I didn't love them," he bluntly declared. "But they made choices that separated us. And maybe I made choices that separated us, but they eventually moved on."

After Janelle Brown's exit from the family, Kody Brown was left with just two wives, Meri and Robyn Brown. That number winnowed down to one when Meri followed Janelle and Christine Brown out the door. "After more than a decade of working on our relationship in our own unique ways, we have made the decision to permanently terminate our marriage relationship," Meri announced in a January 2023 Instagram post. 

When the new season of "Sister Wives" aired later that year, viewers watched her make the emotional decision to leave Kody. "I know it's not fair for me to be alone like I have been for years," Meri said in a November 2023 episode. "I really feel like I was emotionally abandoned by him many, many years ago." Suddenly, television's most famous polygamist could no longer lay claim to that title, given that he now had only one wife — and one to whom he legally married, at that.

In a 2024 episode, Kody became reflective about what had gone wrong between him and his wife No. 1 Meri. "I didn't know who she was when we got married. She was very different," he said in a confessional interview. "I think just there's some baggage that Meri had that I didn't know about initially. I felt like I could live with it. ... I can't live in a world where she is constantly angry at me."

With three of Kody Brown's wives severing their relationships with him, those weren't the only cracks that had formed in his family. In fact, he also had fractious relationships with two of his sons with Janelle Brown, Garrison and Gabe. During a February 2022 "Sister Wives: One on One" special, Kody confirmed he was on the outs with those sons over their refusal to follow his house rules relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. "[We're] not good. Not talking," he said. "It's like one of those relationships where we've gotta do a lot of work." The situation ultimately became so strained that Kody was on the verge of kicking the two boys out of the family home. Things between Kody and Gabe grew even more tense when, as recounted in a 2023 episode, the 21-year-old sobbed on camera after his father completely forgot his birthday.

By 2024, Kody's relationship with Gabe was hanging by a thread. In an October "Sister Wives" episode, Gabe told his mom that Kody had called him to say hi, but seemed to be in search of an apology — something Gabe didn't believe was warranted. "Eventually, I was just like, 'Hey, unless you're, like, actually ready to have a relationship and fix things, then we're not going to talk anymore,'" he said, recalling that Kody then texted him and suggested they forgive each other. "I was like, 'Forgive me for what?' Like, what's going on here? I told dad that if he doesn't change and he can't take accountability, then I just won't ever see him again. And I'm perfectly okay with that."

Kody Brown's issues with sons Garrison and Gabe haven't been the only conflicts that he's had with his children. In an episode of "Sister Wives" that aired in October 2024, he accused some of his offspring of distancing themselves from him. "They're purposefully leaving me out of their lives to punish me for a crime I did not commit," he said. "I am only guilty of not falling madly in love with their mothers."

Later in that same episode, he shared the gripes he had with daughter Madison "Maddie" Brown Brush, one of his kids with wife Janelle Brown. "Every time I talk to her, she spreads gossip about me to the rest of the family," he complained. "Our family was killed by gossip." While his daughter didn't specifically respond, a lot can be surmised from a message that she posted on Instagram Stories shortly after that episode aired, addressing how to handle family members who attack one's integrity. "A snake only sheds its skin to be a bigger snake," she wrote. "If others fall victim and walk away from you because of that, let them ... Sooner or later the snake will bite them too."

Kody was apparently not too happy to be ostracized by Maddie, who revealed in a podcast that she'd cut him off entirely, and was no longer in contact with him at all. When a "Sister Wives" director asked him about her during a confessional segment, Kody coldly retorted, "I won't talk about her. Nope."

After three of his wives left him, Kody Brown found himself in a place he hadn't been since the early 1990s — and one in which he hadn't ever envisioned himself: in a non-polygamous marriage, with Robyn Brown now his sole spouse. Prior to the season premiere of "Sister Wives" in 2024, Robyn opened up in an interview with People about how much her relationship with Kody had suffered since the others' exits. "No one should be married while they're going through a divorce," she said. "It's been hell." She then claimed that Kody had been attempting, consciously or not, to sabotage their relationship, something she refused to let happen.  

Kody Brown was also having a difficult time with his new one-wife reality. "Robyn and I are really, kind of, in a struggling place," he said in a 2024 episode of "Sister Wives." "We're probably doing the worst we've ever done in our marriage," added Robyn in that same episode. "It's been tough between us."

As she divulged, Kody was feeling hurt and defensive, and had not started to fear that Robyn might be contemplating following her fellow sister wives out the door. "Kody's feeling a lot of rejection, so I think he's kind of looking at me going, 'Are you going to reject me too?'" she explained.

In March 2024, Kody Brown experienced every parent's worst fear when he took to Instagram to reveal that his son, Garrison, had died. "Janelle and I are deeply saddened to announce the loss of our beautiful boy Robert Garrison Brown," he wrote in the caption, accompanying a photo of Garrison. "He was a bright spot in the lives of all who knew him. Our loss will leave such a big hole in our lives, that it takes our breath away."

As the Los Angeles Times reported, the cause of death was suspected to be suicide; a disturbing text he'd sent warranted a wellness check, which was when he was discovered dead. 

Interviewed by People, Kody brown opened up about the biggest regret he had about their relationship at the time of Garrison's death, wishing he'd spent more time with him. "I want to go out to dinner again. I want to sit down. I want to have a beer," Kody said. "I want [Garrison] to try and make me laugh because he was that way. The only regret is just, gosh, I would just do that more often."

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

In August 2024, E! News reported that Kody Brown and remaining wife Robyn Brown had quietly listed their home in Flagstaff, Arizona. The home — on a two-acre patch of land upon which he'd planned to build additional homes for his now former wives — had been dubbed Coyote Pass by the "Sister Wives" patriarch. According to the outlet, the five-bedroom, four-bathroom home boasted a four-car garage — and a $1.65-million price tag. 

An alleged reason for his attempt to sell was put forward by a source who told The Sun that Kody and Robyn were forced to place the home on the market for financial reasons, despite the outside appearance of Kody Brown's lavish lifestyle. "Kody and Robyn listed their home because it's become a huge expense that they no longer can afford, especially now with the family torn apart," a so-called "insider" told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, all the ambitious plans he had to develop the property had apparently evaporated. "They haven't done any work on Coyote Pass because of how much it will cost to build and, of course, stopped their plans altogether once the wives left," the source added.

Kody Brown was once the proverbial poster boy for polygamy, with the success of "Sister Wives" bringing him a combination of fame and notoriety that made him arguably the best-known polygamist in America. All that changed when three of his four wives left their plural marriage, leaving Brown with one wife in a shockingly traditional marriage. 

In a 2023 interview with People, Kody observed he'd been perfectly happy with his polygamous marriage while remaining unaware of just how unhappy Janelle, Christine and Meri Brown had become. "I loved [our situation]," he said. "It just seemed like not everybody else did." Despite the outcome, Kody insisted that he really wanted everything to work out, but in the end simply could not make that happen. "It broke my heart that we couldn't transcend our differences," he said. "It's part of life. I loved the life we have." Somewhat grandiosely, he compared the dissolution of his plural family to "a Shakespearean love story that's a tragedy," adding, "It's just we loved and we lost."

Casting an eye toward the future, Kody admitted that he had no idea what tomorrow would bring, but looked forward to a day that he could escape the funk he was in and approach the future with hopefulness. "Maybe I'll find that optimism for the future," he said. "In the end, hopefully we just love each other and let each other move on."