'Seeking Sister Wife' Fans Believe Christeline Petersen's Allegations Against the Snowdens

TLC’s hit reality show Seeking Sister Wife follows couples and families as they look for an additional wife to join their homes. While every couple (or throuple) is different, viewers of the show have begun noticing some unhealthy patterns. Plus, it’s not like we watch the show for its easy relationships. The drama is what makes it exciting!

However, for some families, the drama can be worse than just reality show fodder. The people on Seeking Sister Wife are real people after all, and it shouldn’t be too surprising that some polygamous dynamics can lead to abuse. One new sister wife, Christeline Petersen, came forward with abuse allegations against Dimitri and Ashley Snowden.

Christeline came onto Seeking Sister Wife in Season 3 as a potential third wife to Dimitri and Ashley Snowden, along with their second wife, Vanessa Cobbs. However, Vanessa mysteriously left shortly after her commitment ceremony. So Christeline was then welcomed into Dimitri and Ashley’s home along with her two children.

While Christeline and Ashley were hoping that this would bring more love into the Snowdens’ home, their home has actually been rife with abuse, according to Christeline. On April 27, TMZ reported that Christeline filed a restraining order against both Dimitri and Ashley due to the abuse allegations.

Christeline felt she was in so much danger that she needed to file two restraining orders against the Snowdens. In the documents, Christeline claimed that she was woken up by Dimitri “slamming my head into the headboard of the bed and he was yelling at me.” She said he continued to slam her head and actually filed a police report in that instance.

Christeline also shared that Dimitri was abusive during sex. “He choked me during sex, even though I told him not to,” she divulged. “The more I struggled, the more he enjoyed it,” so she just started to go along with it. 

In addition to her restraining order against Dimitri, Christeline filed an additional restraining order against Ashley Snowden. According to the court documents, Christeline claimed that Ashley “shoved me to prevent me from leaving the home my husband and I shared with her.” 

In addition, Ashley reportedly threw a bottle at her and was verbally abusive. Christeline’s children were afraid of both Dimitri and Ashley.

While the judge originally granted Christeline’s temporary restraining order against Dimitri, the judge did not grant the one against Ashley because the court needed more information about the nature of Christeline’s relationship with Ashley. This is one of the downsides of their unconventional relationship.

However, just one day later, the judge tossed the restraining order. Dimitri brought in text messages from Christeline in which she claimed to like choking during sex, so the judge could not figure out who was telling the truth and just tossed the case.

Unfortunately for Dimitri and Ashley, many viewers of Seeking Sister Wife believe this is an injustice. In a Reddit thread, fans of the show speculated on the psychology of wanting a polygamous relationship and that it is an easy lead-in for an unbalanced power dynamic that favors the husband.

Not only that, but some even speculated that Ashley wanted a sister wife to take some of the physical and sexual abuse off of her. It’s also very normal for victims of abuse to become abusers themselves, so the story from Christeline does make a lot of sense. For now, we’re hoping Christeline has the resources for her and her children to stay safe and far from the Snowdens.

Watch new episodes of Seeking Sister Wife Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on TLC.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.