Kody Brown has been having a rough year, with three of his four wives leaving him one after the other. He discussed the prospect of getting married again and how his prior experiences have influenced his ideas on commitment and love. “The idea of ever marrying again after the experience I’ve had, there’s no reason for me to do that,” Kody says in a cover issue of PEOPLE . “I feel like I’ve hit the bottom of a deep swimming pool, but I’ve pushed off and am headed to the surface.”
Kody and his four wives had dreamed of a joyful experience when they entered a plural marriage. However, they encountered chaos at almost every turn, including feelings of neglect among the children, jealousy between the spouses, and the potential legal ramifications of polyamorous relationships. “I went in with these ideas about how idyllic plural marriage was going to be — but it was really hard,” admits Janelle, 54. “Meri and I clashed on everything. Kody and I were amazing when it was just us, but the family dynamic was really tough.”
Kody’s three ex-wives are making an effort to maintain an optimistic mindset as they go on. Meri’s future, she says, is about “keeping the doors open and saying yes.” Noting that the “experience is what gave us the life that we have now,” Janelle says she doesn’t “have any regrets,” and added that she would “do it all over again.”
Furthermore, nearly two years after ending her polygamous marriage with Kody, Christine Brown maintains she has no regrets about the life she had with Kody. “Just because I left, it doesn’t mean we failed,” the Sister Wives star, 51, exclusively told PEOPLE in the cover story. “It [only] means there’s change.”
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She continues, “Our goal was to raise incredible children, and we did. It was a success for us.” Kody was once in a spiritual union with Christine Brown, Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, and Robyn Brown. Meri, who owns a bed and breakfast currently, got married to Kody when she was 19. In 2014, their formal marriage came to an end and evolved into a spiritual relationship. Meri has one child with Kody.
On January 20, 1993, Kody and Janelle, a real estate salesperson, were joined in a spiritual marriage. The couple went on to have six kids total—two girls and four boys—although amid a tumultuous marriage. March 25, 1994, saw Christine marry Kody for the third time, to Christine. The couple parted ways in 2021, with Christine relocating to Utah. Kody and Christine share 5 children Paedon, Aspyn, Mykelti, Gwendolyn, Ysabel, and Truely. Kody shares 2 other children with Robyn, his last and only legally wedded wife.
Spoiler alert! If you haven’t seen the season 18 premiere of ‘Sister Wives,’ proceed with caution. https://t.co/PHqP1RtBQz
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) August 21, 2023