After 25 Years, One of the ‘Sister Wives’ Announces She’s Leaving Her Plural Marriage

In 2010, TLC launched a new reality show, Sister Wives, that introduced us to a unique family. Living in Utah at the time, the Brown family were polygamists.

The husband, Kody Brown, had multiple wives, and through the seasons we’ve come to learn a lot about Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and Robyn Brown — plus, the 18 children they have between them.

But now, after 25 years of marriage, one of the Sister Wives announced she is separating from their plural marriage and leaving Kody. Why is Christine leaving? Here’s what we know.

On Nov. 2, 2021, Christine Brown, the third wife of Kody, and mom to six of Kody’s children, announced on social media that she was stepping away from Kody. Sharing an Instagram graphic, Christine explained that she was leaving her marriage.

"After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave," Christine said in the shared statement.

"We will continue to be a strong presence in each other's lives as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family. At this time, we ask for your grace and kindness as we navigate through this stage within our family."

In the caption of the announcement, Christine wrote: "Thanks for your understanding and compassion!" She included hashtags like #changeisgood and #changeisscary.

Kody was initially only legally wed to Meri, but they divorced on paper in 2014 in order for Kody to legally marry Royn. Has said that he is spiritually wed to all of his wives.

On his own social media account, Kody also addressed the split. "Christine's decision to leave comes with a great deal of sadness," he explained. "We enjoyed many years together and I have a large amount of respect and admiration for her."

He added, "Although we are moving forward on different paths, we will always remain committed parents.” Kody and Christine are parents to Paedon, 23, Aspyn, 26, Mykelti, 25, Gwendlyn, 20, Ysabel, 18, and Truely, 11.

Fans of the family’s show aren’t likely too surprised by the announcement. On Season 15 of Sister Wives in 2021, Christine had touched on feeling unhappy in her marriage for a long while.

"I don't want to look at the mountains and remember the angels, how they were singing and I felt this pull. I agreed to move to Flagstaff and I followed Kody here, but it's been a struggle the whole time," Christine said during the Season 15 finale.

"I'm tired of feeling like I don't matter. I'm tired of not having his support when I really need it. I'm just tired. I need a partnership. I need something different than this."

In a teaser promotion video for Season 16, which does feature Christine, she addressed some struggles in their marriage.

"Why would I want to live on the same property with a dysfunctional marriage where right over there, he's got a full-functioning marriage?" she said. "Who would ever want to live like that?”

Sister Wives returns for Season 16 on Nov. 21 on TLC.