“I like marriage — and I’m a repeat offender,” announced a chuckling Kody Brown in Sister Wives’ Sept. 26, 2010, debut as he introduced his plural family to a curious American public. The Utah ad salesman and wives Meri, Janelle and then-pregnant Christine had conceived a collective 12-½ kids and would soon add a fourth spouse, Robyn, her three offspring and then two more.
“We hoped people would be open-minded,” Christine tells Us of putting their lifestyle on display, but even at the grocery store after the premiere, “I was so nervous about being recognized, and I was worried people would think I was a freak or immoral and that they would be mean.”
They took the risk of going public to show that not all polygamist families were the same — and they definitely weren’t all Big Love. Airing since 2006, the HBO drama about a man (Bill Pullman) and his three wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin) was really the only reference point for most folks. And its fictional church bore a striking resemblance to the scandal-plagued Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. According to Janelle, the Browns were eager to prove “we all didn’t act, believe or even dress like the FLDS sects that were so often in the news.”
Explains Kody: “We felt that transparency was the safest and wisest approach to decriminalize polygamy in Utah.”
To which Janelle adds, “We were really risking a lot — careers, peace and potentially our freedom — by not staying in anonymity.”
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Who Was Involved
Turns out this unconventional family was surprisingly relatable, down to the eventual relationship disintegration. (Only Kody, 56, and Robyn, 46, are still together; Christine, 53, married David Woolley in 2023.) But at the start, we learned that first wife Meri, 54, was the magnet that attracted the others to the sister wives experience; second wife Janelle, 56, even joked that Meri’s function was “mergers and acquisitions.” And while Janelle worked 13-hour days, Christine stayed home to mind all the kids (and avoid dangerous toasters, a quirk of hers!).
Kody was enthusiastic and loose, though a little befuddled by which apartment in their large home he was supposed to be in. “The early shows are adorable, [with] us all working together really well and doing our best to raise our kids,” Christine recalls of those “idyllic” days. “When everything got harder, we showed that, too. We’ve always been vulnerable and honest.”
For Robyn, clearly giddy at being courted by her “soulmate” in season 1, becoming a Brown was rough: Time spent with her meant Kody had to subtract time elsewhere. “I was very hopeful and optimistic. I was looking forward to being a part of Kody’s family and building relationships with his wives and kids,” she tells Us. “Watching the jealousy and rejection of me unfold on camera in the beginning really was very painful, but I worked hard to give them grace and prayed for love and acceptance.”
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Robyn also hoped for love and acceptance from viewers who had already quickly established relationships with Meri, Janelle and Christine. What the newcomer found: “hate, suspicion and rejection.” From day one, Robyn explains, “Fans sided against me.” She believes the viewing audience didn’t have enough knowledge about plural families to see the nuances of the situation — they just labeled her a homewrecker.
“The viewers did not understand that jealousy and struggles in plural marriage were normal and that each wife coming in rocks the boat just by joining the family,” Robyn says. “They weren’t privy to the struggle and jealousy that occurred every time Kody married a new wife before me.” Despite that, she still supports the concept of sister wives, noting that these relationships “can be beautifully unique and special if they are healthy.”
Why We Remember It
Audiences already loved the spectacle of TLC’s other big broods, like the Gosselins and the Duggars. (That many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, really?) So watching the Browns cycle through a “simple” family dinner or life events like weddings, births and moves has always been entertaining.
The same holds true for those in front of the camera. Kody lists his best memories as “When [daughter] Truely was born, When [son] Solomon was born. When [daughter] Ariella was born. All the weddings and celebrations. Family dances. The victorious joy of family togetherness.”
The Browns have also resisted the urge to polish their raw emotions when bad things happened, from marital turmoil and risking their freedom before Utah decriminalized plural marriage to the tragic 2024 death by suicide of Kody and Janelle’s son Garrison. “In family discussions before the show, I know we felt strongly that we wanted to be authentic,” she says. “We wanted to be open about who we were and our family dynamics.”
Key Details
One of Meri’s favorite behind-the-scenes anecdotes: Early on, their producer started wrangling the kids with a game of Red Light, Green Light. She remembers: “Anytime the camera guys needed to reset for a new angle, everyone had to freeze in their spot so the shot wouldn’t get messed up. I think he often used that trick more for the adults than for the kids!” The game continues to this day to bring order to the filming process.
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The Aftermath
No “after” about it — Sister Wives is still thriving and about to launch season 20! Interestingly, the opening credits have evolved to reflect the family coming together and breaking apart. First, a graphic of a single ring was shown intertwined with three rings, then four. Years later, though, one of the rings fell off with a clatter… then two fell… then three.
“Some people might look at us now, after three divorces, and say, ‘See? Polygamy doesn’t work!’” Meri comments. “But if we’re being honest, the real truth is that sometimes marriage doesn’t work. I know people in plural marriages that are thriving, and people in monogamous ones that have ended in divorce. What our story has really shown is that we’re human. We’re normal. We’ve had our highs and our lows, just like anyone else.”
A New Perspective
“Sort of naive” is Kody’s verdict on his words “Love should be multiplied, not divided” — a philosophy that opened early episodes. “We all believed it at the time, and that was what we wanted — love,” he tells Us. “Sadly, I’m a little jaded now as the experience in whole has made me feel cynical. But love should be multiplied. That is still a truth, whether we choose to do it or not.”
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Where Are They Now?
On top of the cast’s imminent return, Kody is trying to survive Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, and Christine just released Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom.
Sister Wives returns Sunday, September 28, at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
