Christine Brown has put polygamy behind her. But at one point, the Sister Wives star was all-in on the idea of plural marriage. As a young woman, she was deeply committed to the idea of being one of many wives and eagerly embraced being Kody Brown’s third spouse. Little did Christine know that her own mother had deep reservations about the marriage, which she didn’t share with her daughter until years later.
Christine Brown was raised in a polygamous family
Christine grew up in a world where polygamy was the norm. Her mother, Annie, was her father’s first wife. When she was five, her dad entered into a spiritual marriage with another woman.
“Polygamy was one of the tenets of the faith,” Christine told Heather McDonald during an appearance on her Juicy Scoop podcast in December 2023.
“It was natural for me to want to live it … I thought it would be the best,” she added, explaining that she specifically wanted to be a third wife because she thought being a first wife was too much responsibility and that a second wife could potentially drive a wedge between a man and his first wife.
But when Christine was still a teenager, her family’s life was upended when her mom renounced polygamy.
“My mom left my dad and left the religion when I was 19,” the TLC star shared. “When my mom left it was a big shock to everybody. I had no idea she wasn’t happy.”
The ‘Sister Wives’ star didn’t realize her mom didn’t want her to enter a polygamous marriage
Christine met Kody Brown and his wife Meri Brown when she was still a teen. A friendship developed, but it wasn’t until a few years later – after Kody had married his second wife, Janelle Brown – that she and Kody decided to get married.
“He was the best guy that I knew,” Christine said of how she felt about her now ex-husband at the time. Marrying him would allow Christine to have the plural family she’d long wanted. And even though her mom had left polygamy, she was under the impression she approved of her relationship with Kody.
“So she knew Kody already … she liked Kody,” Christine recalled. “I didn’t know that she wasn’t in favor of me living polygamy until I left Kody. And then she told me.”
It was only after Christine’s marriage of more than two decades ended that Annie revealed that she’d been “sad” when her daughter got married.
“She was sad that I was going to live plural marriage. But she knew it was what I wanted, so she supported me,” Christine said. “And I never knew that she felt differently.”
Christine’s mother felt her daughter wouldn’t ‘thrive’ in her marriage to Kody Brown
Christine’s mother wanted to protect her daughter from the pain she’d experienced in her own polygamous marriage.
“She was just a little bit heartbroken that I was going to live plural marriage,” Christine said. “Because it was just so hard on her. And she was sad. She really felt like it wasn’t a lifestyle that honored women or respected women enough. So for her, she thought that I wouldn’t thrive in it. Because I was already strong and independent at that point.”
Annie’s concerns about her daughter’s relationship were justified. As the years passed and the Browns added a fourth wife – Robyn Brown – to the family, Kody and Christine’s marriage withered. In 2021, they divorced after 25 years together.
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