Tragic Details About Sister Wives Star Kody Brown

The following article includes allegations of child abuse and mentions of suicide.

"Sister Wives" quickly became one of the jewels in TLC's crown after debuting on the network in 2010. Indeed, the show which follows the ups and downs of the polygamist families led by bizarre-rule-setting patriarch Kody Brown has reached its 19th season, with audiences seemingly unable to get enough of all the marital strife that's ultimately made its title redundant.

Brown was, of course, only legally married to one of his four wives, with the other three lucky ladies instead joined in harmony via a "spiritual union." The unlikely reality TV star only signed up for the warts and all documentary series to erase the stigma surrounding the practice of polygamy. Unfortunately, he may have done more harm than good, particularly over the last few years as his brood has barely been out of the tabloid headlines, and largely for the wrong reasons.

While some of Brown's hardships have undoubtedly been of his own doing, others have been born out of unavoidable tragedy, fate, or simply rotten luck. From devastating losses and lifelong regrets to financial troubles and run-ins with the law, here's a look at some of these tragic aspects of his life.

At the start of November 2021, Kody Brown was a husband to no fewer than four different wives. Fast forward just 14 months later to January 2023, however, and that number had reduced to just one.

The revolution began when his third wife, Christine Brown, decided that enough was enough and left after 26 years of marriage, citing Kody's failure to support their daughter, Ysabel, during her scoliosis surgery (more on this later) as the final straw. Second wife Janelle Brown was also the second to leave, packing her bags in December 2022 after revealing on camera that she felt as though she was being forced to choose between her offspring and the rest of the Brown brood.

Just a month later, Kody split with his first wife, Meri Brown, after a lengthy period in which their relationship had turned strictly platonic. "It's been painful, a lot of finger pointing and blame," the reluctant monogamist told People about the rapid "domino effect." "But you have to hope we still have a friendship in the future. Because we're bound forever through our kids." To his credit, Kody did admit that he deserved a lot of the blame, remarking, "I could have done a lot better."

The fact that Kody Brown separated from three of his wives in the space of just 14 months didn't just affect his polyamorous lifestyle; It also heavily impacted his finances. Indeed, in 2024, he and fourth spouse Robyn Brown were forced to put their 4,476-square foot Flagstaff, Arizona home on the market for $1.6 million.

As recently as December 2023, Kody was planning to make renovations to the house. Land records revealed that he applied for permits to upgrade the property's water heater, panels, and various mechanical equipment as well as its roofing that month. The four-bathroom, five-bedroom house had already undergone several revamps since being bought by the Browns for $890,000 in 2019. Sadly, for Kody, the shifting family dynamics meant that he would likely need to downsize.

The ownership of the nearby 5-acre Coyote Pass — which was purchased with the intention to house Kody's four wives — has also been a bone of contention between the ex-spouses. In one particular Season 19 conversation about her share, Janelle explained to Christine (via The Sun), "I've actually thought about asking if he wants to buy me out. But we've got to pay it off, and he's not talking to me about it, so I think I'm going to have to lawyer up."

All of Kody Brown's precautions were breached in 2022 when both he and wife Robyn Brown contracted COVID-19. As shown in the oft-disturbing "Sister Wives," the polygamist had become obsessive about following pandemic guidelines, much to the detriment of various familial relationships. But after years of doing everything he could to avoid the dreaded positive test, he caught the virus.

Luckily, Kody only appeared to suffer a milder case. But it was a different story for Robyn, who had to be admitted to hospital after breathing troubles. "She sounds pretty bad," Kody told the "Sister Wives" cameras (via ET) about a particular phone call. "She says, 'I'm sitting here just wasting away.' I think that I was sitting there wondering if she was going to live."

Kody wasn't allowed to be at his wife's bedside at the time and didn't feel the need to seek hospital treatment himself. "Seems like a waste for me to be going in there and playing sick when there's people who might be dying or Robyn who's passing out," he explained about his decision to stay in the car. Thankfully, both Robyn and Kody made a full recovery.

As fans of the long-running reality show, "Sister Wives," will already know, Kody Brown had something of a tumultuous relationship with two of the sons he shared with his second wife, Janelle Brown. Indeed, the patriarch was often at odds with Garrison and Gabriel Brown, particularly due to the favoritism they perceived he showed towards their half-siblings and his most recent addition, fourth wife Robyn.

"They have for a long time perceived that Kody's focus, you know, his time, everything, was spent, the majority at Robyn's house, even when we lived in Vegas," Janelle explained on the show (via In Touch), referring to the main reason that things had become so tense between the three.

Kody didn't exactly help matters in 2022 when he forgot Gabriel's 21st birthday. The latter had spoken to his dad on the phone on the big day, but deliberately didn't mention his birthday to see if the subject came up. While Kody later called back and apologized for not remembering the milestone, Gabriel later revealed on film, "That's the last time I ever talked to my dad."

Kody Brown and his ex-wife, Janelle Brown, suffered every parent's worst nightmare in March 2024 when one of their six children, Garrison Brown, passed away. Garrison died by suicide at the age of just 25.

In a heartbreaking joint statement posted on Instagram, Kody and Janelle wrote, "He was a bright spot in the lives of all who knew him. His loss will leave such a big hole in our lives that it takes our breath away. We ask that you please respect our privacy and join us in honoring his memory."

Garrison was a regular face on "Sister Wives," particularly during Season 18 — the last to be filmed before the tragedy — due to his ongoing feud with Kody. The pair repeatedly clashed heads over claims that the patriarch was favoring the family he started with fourth wife Robyn and for his strict COVID-19 restrictions.

Kody Brown had sadly been estranged from his son, Garrison Brown, when he died in 2024. In his first major interview six months following the tragedy, Kody expressed sadness that things between the pair had become so fraught.

"The only regret is just, take advantage of the time," Kody remarked to People while discussing what he would have done differently as a dad. "I want to go out to dinner again. I want to sit down. I want to have a beer. I want [Garrison] to try and make me laugh because he was that way. The only regret is just, gosh, I would just do that more often."

Kody's devastating loss has also helped to change his entire outlook on life. Not only does he intent to seize the moment more often, he also hopes to stop worrying about the unimportant things and avoid resorting to pettiness in arguments. His biggest goal, however, is to watch his kids find peace: "I hope all my children marry and have children. That's what I hope. And I hope they find happiness in those places."

Kody Brown suffered heartbreak in the summer of 2013 when his younger brother died in a motorcycle collision at the age of just 34. Curtis Brown was the seventh child of Genielle and Winn Brown, and, as well as working as a gas and oil completions consultant, he was talented in the fields of both philosophy and poetry.

"Amazing man who'll be missed," Kody tweeted in tribute following the devastating news. The polyamorist's first wife Meri also took to the same social media platform to offer Curtis' widower Erica some comfort, posting (via Reality Tea), "You only have to miss him this lifetime, you'll have him forever. The love you share is an inspiration to me!"

Eagle-eyed viewers of "Sister Wives" may have spotted Curtis, who had three kids of his own, popping up in the fourth season episode, "Brown Boys Do Vegas." As its title implies, Kody was joined by Curtis and their two siblings, Michael and Scott Brown, for an all-guys' vacation which involved motorcycle riding, shooting range practice, and lots of drinking.

According to daughter Gwendlyn Brown, Kody Brown nearly paid dearly for his decision to live as a polygamist. For the reality TV star – whose TLC show is often rumored to be fake – was allegedly once threatened with jail time for his unorthodox lifestyle.

Gwendlyn revealed all during a YouTube recap of a "Sister Wives" episode, telling viewers there was one particular incident that the cameras never captured. "Police were actually coming to our door when I was a kid and being like, 'You have to leave,'" she explained about the time she and her family were residing in Utah. She even remembered that one particular policeman warned, "'We're gonna take your dad to prison.'"

The Browns ended up moving from the Beehive State to Arizona after an unsuccessful bid to challenge its laws against polygamy. "There's a part of it that will always be home to me, always, but it's not friendly to us," Robyn Brown explained in an episode of "Sister Wives" (via People).

Kody Brown and his third wife, Christine Brown, endured a major scare in the mid-2010s when their daughter, Truely, started to experience kidney failure. Then aged just 3, the youngster spent 11 days in hospital after her vital organs began to shut down. Luckily, she pulled through, but as her mom explained on Instagram nine years later, the trauma still runs deep.

Christine felt compelled to discuss the matter in 2023 after finding two drawings from the time Truely was receiving medical care. In the first, the youngster is hooked up to a dialysis machine in hospital, and in the second, she's the picture of health as she's preparing for a trip to Disneyland. Truely had been promised a trip to the Mouse House once she recovered, and her parents — who also share Aspyn, Mykelti, Paedon, Gwendlyn, and Ysabel — stayed true to their word. "That was the day she started to get better," Christine recalled in the post. "So glad I kept these pictures to remind me of miracles."

Truely Brown isn't the only child of Kody and Christine Brown to have suffered major health problems. In 2020, Ysabel Brown had to undergo back surgery to help with her scoliosis diagnosis.

But while Christine stayed with her daughter during her five-day stint in the hospital, Kody was nowhere to be seen. Determined to keep to his own strict COVID-19 guidelines, the polygamist refused to travel from his Arizona home to the East Coast, much to Ysabel's disappointment. Her resentment intensified when it was discovered that just months later, her dad had made the journey to officiate a pal's wedding.

Kody later tried to justify his apparent double standards, telling the "Sister Wives" cameras (via Us Weekly), "Ysabel's surgery was at a time and a situation where it would've required that I'm six or eight weeks away from home. No man can be away from work and from home and from family that long." He went on to explain that he only spent four days away from home for the wedding, but that excuse didn't wash with Ysabel or Christine with the latter remarking that she was no longer able to respect him.

During one particular episode of their podcast, "The Brothers Random," Kody Brown's siblings, Travis and Michael Brown, delved deep into their early years growing up in Wyoming's Apostolic United Brethren, a polygamist compound they describe as a "cult." They revealed that their father, Winn Brown, was abusive in both a verbal and physical sense toward all his children.

According to Travis, Winn had also grown up in a similar environment and on bringing numerous children into the world, he repeated such behaviors. Thankfully, both of the podcast hosts, who were often isolated as kids due to their unconventional upbringing, have broken the cycle since becoming parents themselves.

Sadly, Kody's childhood experiences have impacted on his own abilities as a father. "I have my own vast complexities with my parents," he once told the "Sister Wives" cameras (via Showbiz CheatSheet). "I have my own daddy issues. So now I've passed that on to my sons."

Kody Brown's eventful family life took another turn in 2024 when he was sued by his third wife, and second divorcee, Christine Brown, over the custody of their daughter, Truely Brown. In another twist, court documents revealed that she was also seeking confirmation of their youngest's paternity, as the polygamist's name wasn't present on her birth certificate.

That wasn't all that Christine, who has since remarried, was asking for, either. She also filed papers for child support and to obtain a domestic relations injunction. The latter is designed to reduce the possibility of any domestic violence and to avoid one parent making significant decisions without the other's input.

Things between the former husband and wife appeared to start getting ugly when Christine left the rest of the Browns in Arizona to go and live in Utah with Truely. At the time, she claimed that the move was in everyone's best interests, but Kody undeniably disagreed. He told the "Sister Wives" cameras (via Us Weekly), "For Christine to think that she's saving my relationship with Truely by taking her away from me and just 'preserving' it — that's such B.S. rationalization."

The polygamist lifestyle isn't particularly conducive to financial stability. Just ask Kody Brown, who alongside his four wives, has had no fewer than 18 mouths to feed. Plus, before the TLC cameras and the TLC money came calling, keeping the family's head above water was an even more mountainous task.

It's little surprise to discover, therefore, that in 2005, Kody and his first spouse, Meri Brown, declared bankruptcy. At that moment in time, fourth wife Robyn hadn't joined the fold, but second and third wives Janelle and Christine had, and their collective offspring tally stood at 12. Kody was earning $4,000 per month as a sign shop salesman, while Meri brought home $625 per month as an awards company engraver.

According to Radar Online, the United States Bankruptcy Court stated that the only legally married couple barely had $10 to call their own and were being constantly chased by debt collectors for various agencies. Meri and Kody reportedly owed nearly $137,000 in mortgage payments alone, while they also racked up approximately $40,000 on their credit card and a near-$8,000 tab at their nearest Home Depot, plus more. The pair were ordered to pay most of the sum back once the case closed in 2007.

After losing three wives in the space of just 14 months, Kody Brown unsurprisingly felt a little deflated. His mood didn't improve much when two of them made plans to take their respective families away from the Browns' main residence in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Christine Brown was the first to jump ship, taking her and Kody's daughter, Truely, along with her to move to Utah in 2021. She was also overjoyed on hearing that fellow ex-wife Janelle Brown was upping sticks, too, deciding to live the RV life and flitting between North Carolina and Flagstaff, Arizona.

In 2023, Meri Brown confirmed that she also intended to relocate to the Beehive State. The collective departures essentially got Kody thinking that his exes had executed some kind of vengeful masterplan. "They know that I suffer from FOMO about my family, fear of missing out, OK?" he told the "Sister Wives" cameras (via E!). "So anything they can do that excludes me is a punishment to me."

If you or anyone you know may be the victim of child abuse, or is struggling or in crisis, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.
• Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.