Kody Brown From 'Sister Wives' Has Many Brothers, One of Whom Tragically Died in 2013

While TLC's Sister Wives follows Kody Brown's immediate family with his three ex-wives, Meri, Janelle, and Christine Brown, and his current only wife, Robyn Brown, and their 18 children, fans have met many of the Browns's extended family members. The family has brought fans along to meet their parents, sisters, other polygamists, and everything in between.

During his time on the long-running reality show, Kody has introduced us to some of the siblings from his parents' family. In previous seasons, he and his family have opened up about the loss of the Brown patriarch's brother, Curtis Brown. Here's what happened and what his other brothers have said about his upbringing.

During an earlier season, Kody introduced Sister Wives fans to his brother, Curtis. At the time, he and the rest of the Browns lived in Las Vegas, Nev. Curtis appeared on an episode of the show's third season in 2013, "Brown Boys Do Vegas," per InTouch Weekly. The episode included Kody and Curtis bonding with their other brothers, Scott Brown and Michael Brown, over shared interests such as alcohol, shooting ranges, and motorcycle racing.

Nearly a year after his Sister Wives episode aired, Curtis tragically died in a motorcycle accident. Kody confirmed the news on his X (Twitter at the time) account and expressed condolences to his brother's wife, Erica Brown.

"Curtis Brown, brother of [Kody] & husband of [Erica Brown], passed away [June 17],” he wrote. “Amazing man who’ll be missed!”

Meri also expressed her condolences to Curtis's family and addressed Erica's grief in her message.

"You only have to miss him this lifetime, you’ll have him forever,” Meri tweeted. “The love you share is an inspiration to me! Love you, Erica.”

Kody grew up with nine siblings, some of whom were born from his dad's marriages to other women. The TLC star's father, William Winn Brown, converted to polygamy when Kody was in his early twenties. At the time, he married Meri and ultimately decided to convert their family, and he married Janelle not long after.

Unfortunately, Kody's relationship with his father wasn't the best, per his words and those of his younger brothers, Travis and Michael Brown. In March 2023, his brothers developed a podcast, The Brothers Random, where they accused their father of being "verbally and physically abusive" towards them during their childhood. According to Without A Crystal Ball, the abuse was allegedly a repeated cycle passed down from his father's upbringing.

"Travis alleged that Winn was abused by his father," the Instagram account read. "Instead of breaking the cycle, Winn repeated the brutality by beating his children. Travis and Michael claim they have broken the cycle and don’t abuse their kids. Though they also lamented all kids have grievances against their parents."

Kody hasn't addressed the allegations that he was abused during his childhood publicly. However, he alluded to having problems with his dad during his childhood. During Season 17, he fell out with his and Janelle's sons, Gabriel and Garrison Brown, the latter of whom died in March 2024, over his refusing not to see them if they didn't follow — not the CDC's — guidelines. As he became estranged from his sons, Kody admitted to harboring "daddy issues" he hoped he hadn't passed along to his sons.

“I have my own vast complexities with my parents,” Kody admitted. “I have my own daddy issues. So now I’ve passed that on to my sons.”

Watch new episodes of Sister Wives on Sundays on TLC at 10 p.m. EST.