Bizarre Rules Kody Brown Made The Sister Wives Follow

It's his way or the freeway for Kody Brown. The polygamous autocrat enforced strict rules on his "Sister Wives" to ensure they submitted to his will and catered to his every whim, whether they liked it or not. Unfortunately for Kody, three of the four didn't, and one by one, they jumped ship, resulting in his plural becoming single.

Kody claims he's changed since the marital mutiny, which was kicked off by Christine Brown announcing their 25-year union was over in November 2021. "The decision was a long time coming," she explained in a Cameo video. "And I feel like a much better person." Up next was another "spiritual wife." Janelle Brown confirmed she'd split from Kody after decades together in a December 2022 "Sister Wives: One On One" special.

Meri Brown was last to board the train to Singleville. "I value the relationship I had, and I look forward to stepping into 2023 and my future with grace, kindness, and power," she shared on Instagram. Meri was the OG wife and first addition to Kody's spousal collection. They walked down the aisle in April 1990 and divorced in September 2014. Kody married Robyn Brown three months later. Following Meri's departure, Robyn became the lucky last wife still married to Kody. Given his suffocating control issues and the strict rules he made the "Sister Wives" follow, some wonder why it took Christine, Janelle, and Meri so long to wave goodbye and why Robyn remained. We're checking out some of them.

Kody Brown wanted everybody to know that he was the man of the house(s). To ensure everything ran precisely as he wanted it to, one of the rules Kody made his four wives follow was to always worship and obey their shared husband. Although, given speculation that Kody has a God complex, it probably wasn't his orders that they had to obey; it was God's — he was just speaking through Kody.

Sadly, Christine Brown wasn't listening to God (or Kody) when she jumped ship in November 2021. So, to ensure the remaining three heard loud and clear, Kody laid down the rules, demanding: thou shalt "conform to patriarchy" and obey thy master. "I'm going to be the head of my household again, and so I'm not going to be circumvented in that," he decreed in a Season 17 episode of "Sister Wives" in October 2022. "I'm at a point now in my life where I don't have time to waste on people who won't respect me or treat me with respect," he insisted (via ET).

Good luck with that, Kody, because Janelle Brown wasn't buying what you were selling. She said she hadn't signed up for a Kody dictatorship. He begged to differ. "Janelle did sign up for patriarchy when her and I made an agreement that she would come into the family. She agreed wholeheartedly that she would run her will into mine," he claimed. Not surprisingly, Janelle flew the Kody coop a few episodes later.

Kody Brown had strict body modification rules that his "Sister Wives" had to follow. Specifically, no piercings. In Season 18 of the TLC show, Kody said he'd been taught as a child that God wasn't into ear piercings; therefore, they were a no-go in his household. In fact, he demanded Janelle and Christine Brown remove their earrings when he met them, something they both complied with.

It wasn't just Kody's wives that the rule applied to; his daughters (and presumably sons) were also forbidden from getting piercings. However, he set the cat among the pigeons when he allowed Robyn Brown to break the rule, much to the annoyance of his three other wives. She wore earrings when brought into the fold and continued to do so without issue. Adding to Janelle, Christine, and Meri's anger, Kody didn't just bend the rules for Robyn; he did a total 180 and openly flaunted them, taking his stepdaughter Aurora to get her ears pierced.

"Now, I'm going with Aurora, kind of like a sort of daddy-daughter experience, and we're going to go get her ears pierced," he explained, grinning widely. Oh Kody!

The "Sister Wives" once adhered to strict style rules. In early episodes of the show, the women dressed in baggy, long dresses with high necklines and three-quarter to long sleeves. However, as the seasons progressed, they started bending the clothing rules, busting out with pants, short sleeves, slightly lower necklines, and slightly higher hemlines.

Still, modesty remained key for the "Sister Wives" and their children. In the Browns' book "Becoming Sister Wives," Christine wrote, "One of the major problems I'm having these days is with how my older girls, Aspyn and Mykelti, dress. They insist on wearing shirts with low necklines that show an indecent amount of skin. All of the adults agree that even a suggestion of cleavage way oversteps the boundaries of what is appropriate."

Meanwhile, the rules were bent to almost a breaking point once Janelle, Meri, and Christine found sweet, sweet freedom again. In August 2021, Janelle posted an Instagram pic of herself in a tight T-shirt and shorts. Meri followed in September with a photo of herself wearing shorts and a sleeveless top during a Mexican vacation. Christine followed, posing in black shorts and a short-sleeve yoke neck top.

Another of Kody Brown's rules for his "Sister Wives" was their compliance to happily embracing "sacred loneliness." In a September 2023 episode of the TLC show (via People), Kody discussed how it was one of the "special requirements" that Janelle and Christine Brown had been ordered to meet when they joined the fold. It was one mandate you'd think nobody would object to, as it involved spending time away from Kody. However, Janelle and Christine objected to Kody's interpretation of the term, which was basically a way to excuse him from not being around, wrapped up in religious doctrine.

Kody explained it was essential because he was spread too thin to cater to four women's needs. "It's like, really, now you figured that out?" Meri Brown asked. However, Kody insisted that because they'd all agreed to be "Sister Wives," they needed to shut up and put up. "Sacred loneliness? Like you're supposed to honor the fact that you're lonely?" Christine interjected.

Well, Kody was sick and tired of hearing about their loneliness. As usual, he took no responsibility and played the victim card instead. Kody told the camera that he'd been forced to introduce the rule because Christine and Janelle had insisted on him marrying them, so it was all their fault, and he was being made to suffer because of it.

Kody Brown's strictest rule for his "Sister Wives" to follow was all about sharing. First and foremost was his insistence that the four women shared him joyously and without complaint. For obvious reasons, this was sometimes a tough one to follow — and enforce — because it's inevitable that plural marriage will involve a degree of jealousy and envy, especially when the husband is Kody.

Still, the women needed to suck it up, not so much for Kody's sake, of course, but for their own. "Sister wives have to make peace with other people being in their husband's life, or they'll drive themselves crazy," he wrote in "Becoming Sister Wives" (via SheKnows), admitting, "This is a tough pill to swallow for many." However, it was essential as it took multiple women to satisfy Kody. "To be honest, I am not sure if any one of my wives could fulfill all my needs," he wrote.

Robyn Brown told the Las Vegas Sun that, despite what many might think, there were plenty of benefits to sharing Kody with others. "We fight sometimes. But having a sister to gripe with about your husband or to celebrate the triumphs is great," she said.