Inside ‘Sister Wives’ Star Gwendlyn's Terrifying Childhood, When Police Threatened to Arrest Dad Kody
Editor's note: This article was originally published on Apr 27, 2023. It has since been updated.
Sister Wives star Gwendlyn Brown recalled a traumatic moment from her early childhood when authorities came to her family's Utah home and threatened to arrest her father, Kody Brown, for being a polygamist, leading them to flee to Nevada. Kody and Christine Brown's 21-year-old daughter addressed their family drama and rumors surrounding his plural marriage ahead of the season 18 premiere, dishing about her father and his fourth wife Robyn Brown's spending habits in a YouTube Q&A.
Although hints at Kody's brushes with the law for his controversial relationship choices were mentioned in the first season of the popular TLC series, details were kept to a minimum on the exact situations that led to their sudden move. There has been a lot of debate around whether the drama of that initial move was real, though. Some fans and extended family members insisted the urgency was manufactured for ratings.
In 2016, Christine Brown’s aunt and a former polygamist, Kristyn Decker, spoke to Radar Online about the family’s move. Decker told the publication that she believed the Browns always planned to seek refuge in Las Vegas. She then theorized that the urgency of the move was fabricated for Sister Wives. Her thoughts align with those of many who watched the storyline unfold. Gwendlyn insisted it was real, though. In a recent video, she revealed that the Utah State Police were actively involved with the family before they left Utah.
"Utah seems like really weird to me because I don’t know how the Dargers are still living there comfortably with like, not been gotten rid of yet," the 21-year-old explained during an April 21 YouTube Q&A with fans, as she referred to another polygamist family currently residing in the Beehive State. "Because police were actually coming to our door when I was a kid and being like, ‘You have to leave. We’re gonna take your dad to prison'," Gwendlyn continued. "I don’t know how the Dargers are doing so well."
According to OK! Magazine, the Dargers were previously featured as acquaintances of the Brown family in Season 5 of Sister Wives. They also had their own TLC special titled My Three Wives. It is unclear whether or not they have had similar legal issues with the Utah police following their television appearances.
Later in the video, Gwendlyn admitted that a move to Montana or Wyoming would have likely been a better choice than Nevada but credited their move to Sin City for her outspoken nature. "There’s no way I would have had this vocal personality if I were living in b***f**k nowhere Wyoming. It was just a weird decision to me, but I’m glad," she added. Now in her 20s, Gwendlyn followed the family from Vegas to Flagstaff, Arizona, in 2018. She now lives with her fiancee, Beatriz Queiroz, in Arizona. The duo got married in July of this year.
