'Sister Wives' Season 16: Why did Christine and Kody Brown split up?

The couple called it quits after a solid 25 years of togetherness. What went wrong?
UPDATED NOV 19, 2021
Cody and Christine Brown from 'Sister Wives' (Instagram - @christine_brownsw)
Cody and Christine Brown from 'Sister Wives' (Instagram - @christine_brownsw)

In the finale of Season 15 of 'Sister Wives', Christine was obviously at her breaking point with the family and said that she wanted to move back to Utah; something that no one agreed with. Christine and Kody tied the knot in 1994 and share six children. The controversial American reality TV series began airing on TLC in 2010. The show documents the everyday life of a polygamist family, including father Kody Brown, his four wives, and their 18 children. The family of 23 began the series while staying in Utah but moved to Nevada, and later to Arizona.

Kody Brown and his wives were vocal about their participation on the show; the reason being to create awareness among the public for polygamist families. Kody also believes that his arrangement is legal since he is legally married to only one woman (Robyn Brown), while the other 3 marriages (to Meri, Janelle, and Christine Brown) were all just done in a spiritual manner. Season 16 of the show is bound to get more rocky as we hear one of the wives talking about 'everything crumbling'. So as you wait for the show to make its entry on TLC, let's take a look at the family who makes up all the drama. 

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Christine entered into a plural marriage with Kody in 1994. Back then, he was already married to his first wife Meri Brown, and second wife Janelle Brown.
Robyn Brown later joined the arrangement in 2010. Four years later, Kody and Meri, separated officially so that he could legally marry Robyn.

Earlier this month, Christine announced her separation from Kody, on Instagram, after 25 years together. In her post, Christine said, "After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave". She added, "We will continue to be a strong presence in each other's lives as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family. At this time, we ask for your grace and kindness as we navigate through this stage within our family".



 

Christine later added that she saw this decision taking place long ago, seems a lot happier after the divorce, and is living her best life. 

During Season 15 of the reality show, Christine said, “I can’t do marriage with Kody anymore, I don’t want to. … It’s not enough".



 

What's more, in the trailer of Season 16, Christine states once again that she is not happy at all, and that marriage to Kody is just plain sad, hinting at marital issues. She says, “Why would I want to live on the same property with a dysfunctional marriage, where right over there he’s got a fully functioning marriage? Who would ever want to live like that?”, she asks. 

In Kody's statement, he said that Christine's decision came "with a great deal of sadness". 

Season 16 of 'Sister Wives' premieres on November 21, 2021, on TLC.

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