The Jaw-Dropping Details Behind The Women Of TLC’s Show ‘Sister Wives’

Sep 03, 2021

The popular TLC reality series “Sister Wives” follows a polygamist family, led by husband Kody Brown and his four wives, Meri, Christine, Janelle, and Robyn as they raise their 18 children. The show has been on the air since 2010 and has introduced the public to the lives of plural families. Polygamy has been and still is a controversial topic that frequently causes issues for the family.

The show began with the Brown family living in Lehi, Utah, but they soon moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2011. The Browns currently have been living in the unincorporated township of Baderville, Arizona, since mid-2018. Kody and his wives have stated that they began the show to try and educate people about plural families and to combat prejudices surrounding the lifestyle.

Due to legal circumstances, Kody is only married to one woman, Robyn, while the other wives are his “spiritual” partners. He was originally married to Meri, but they decided to divorce so Kody could legally marry Robyn in 2014 and adopt her three children. After they were adopted, the three kids could begin receiving health coverage and other benefits as Kody’s legal children. The father’s relationships with Janelle and Christine have always been “spiritual unions.”

Meri, Robyn and Christine all come from polygamist families and Janelle’s mother entered into a polygamist relationship with Kody’s father when she was an adult. Before the TV series began, the family had kept their lifestyle mostly a secret from the public. Keep reading to learn more about the Brown family and to hear the truth about the struggles in their personal lives.

Kody and his wives have faced many ups and downs when it comes to the public’s opinion on their relationships. When the Brown family first went public in 2010 on “Sister Wives,” they became the target of a bigamy investigation by the Utah police. Lehi police officers investigated whether the family violated laws and turned over evidence to the Utah County attorney’s office. 

The modern Mormon church no longer supports members that have engaged in the practice of polygamy, which was disavowed by the church back in 1890. Bigamy is considered a third-degree felony in the state of Utah and is punishable by a prison sentence of up to five years. However, the charges against the family were dropped.

The attorney general’s office decided to maintain their resources for more serious crimes, like non-consensual polygamy and abuse cases. “It has been our office’s position not to pursue cases of bigamy between consenting adults. We want to use our resources wisely,” said Scott Troxel, the attorney general’s spokesman.

Kody and his family moved out of Utah to avoid further persecution and went to Nevada instead. In 2016, The Browns attempted to challenge the state of Utah’s ban on polygamy but their efforts were rejected. Their attorney, Jonathan Turley wrote, “The Brown family is obviously disappointed in the ruling but remains committed to this fight for the protection of religion, speech, and privacy in Utah. The underlying rights of religious freedom and free speech are certainly too great to abandon after prevailing below in this case.”

The family does their best to show the positive side of polygamy on their show, but the truth is they still face personal hardships. In 2014, when Meri divorced Kody, she was understandably distraught for a while. This led her to make some questionable decisions when seeking comfort outside of her relationship.

“During an emotional and vulnerable time earlier this year, I began speaking with someone online who turned out to be not who they said they were,” Meri said to People magazine in 2015.

She added, “I never met this person and I regret being drawn into this situation, but I hope because of it I can help others who find themselves in similar circumstances.” Meri stated that she never met this person, who was a woman pretending to be a man, and that nothing romantic happened between them.

“It sounded like a guy with a southern accent. We laughed a lot. It was easy to connect with him, just because there was so much in common,” says Brown in an exclusive clip from the 2016 special “Catching the Catfisher” on TLC. “He was very, very flirty with me. And I have guy friends and I am a little bit flirty too.”

Meri thought the conversations were harmless until the catfisher started to threaten to go public and attempted to blackmail her. “At the very beginning this person was fun, funny, just good conversation,” she told TLC.com. “At first it was kind of cool to have that kind of companionship.”

The Browns were there for Meri despite the difficult situation. “Throughout this ordeal, my family has supported and stood by me. I am grateful to them for their love and strength through this difficult time.”

What do you think about the catfishing scandal that Meri endured? Do you watch the show? Let us know and be sure to send this on to your friends and family.