Christine Brown Opens Up About Family Crisis and Her Journey to Freedom
In her newly released memoir, “Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom,” Christine Brown shares deeply personal experiences that ultimately led to her departure from her plural marriage with Kody Brown. The 53-year-old former Sister Wives star reveals how a medical emergency involving her daughter Truely in 2013 became a pivotal moment that began to unravel her relationship with both Kody and fellow sister wife Robyn Brown.
Christine recounts a terrifying incident when she was away shopping for commitment ceremony dresses and received a call that her then 3-year-old daughter Truely was ill. When she contacted Kody for help, he allegedly dismissed the situation, saying, “The girls are there. They can take care of it. I have a lot to take care of at Robyn’s house.” This response deeply wounded Christine, especially as Truely’s condition worsened to kidney failure, requiring an 11-day hospital stay. During this crisis, Christine felt abandoned by Kody, who seemed more concerned with his responsibilities at Robyn’s home than with their critically ill daughter. The incident left her questioning not only Kody’s priorities but the entire foundation of their spiritual marriage that had lasted over 25 years. In a vulnerable moment, Christine confided in Robyn, telling her, “If Truely had died, I would have left Kody. Because she didn’t matter to him. Because he was more focused on doing laundry at your house than helping our daughter.”
What followed only deepened Christine’s sense of isolation within the family. Rather than keeping their conversation confidential, Robyn shared Christine’s comments with Kody. Instead of apologizing for his absence during the medical crisis, Kody became angry with Christine for discussing the matter with Robyn. This betrayal of trust marked the last time Christine would open up to Robyn about personal matters. “I felt she betrayed my trust by telling Kody something I said in confidence,” Christine writes in her memoir. This breakdown in sisterhood within the plural marriage added another layer of complexity to an already strained family dynamic, and further isolated Christine at a time when she needed support the most.
The memoir also provides insight into the changing family dynamics that began years earlier, particularly when Kody started courting Robyn while Christine was pregnant with Truely. In one poignant excerpt shared on Instagram, Christine recalls how during her labor, “A camera crew followed Kody leaving that day, too. He rushed home to Robyn. He needed to check in on, I don’t know, the kids [or] her feelings about my labor.” These small but significant moments accumulated over time, painting a picture of a husband whose attention and affection were increasingly divided, with Christine feeling she and her children were no longer priorities in Kody’s life. The incidents with Truely’s hospitalization years later only confirmed what Christine had perhaps long suspected—that the family structure was fundamentally unbalanced.
After more than two decades together, Christine finally announced her separation from Kody in November 2021 through an Instagram post stating, “After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave. We will continue to be a strong presence in each other’s lives as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family.” Her departure would mark the beginning of the end for Kody’s polygamous family as portrayed on TLC’s long-running series “Sister Wives.” Within a year of Christine’s exit, Kody’s relationships with Meri and Janelle also ended, leaving Robyn as his only remaining wife—the very dynamic that Christine and others had feared would eventually develop within the family.
Christine’s journey from plural wife to finding her own path culminated in her 2023 marriage to David Woolley, representing her transition to a monogamous relationship built on mutual respect and love. Her memoir serves not only as a personal account of her experiences within the Brown family but also as a broader examination of faith, identity, and the courage required to start anew. As “Sister Wives” enters its 20th season premiering on September 28, viewers will witness the continued evolution of a family once united by the principles of plural marriage now navigating separate paths. Meanwhile, Christine’s memoir stands as testimony to her resilience and determination to create a life aligned with her own values and needs, rather than sacrificing her happiness for a family structure that no longer served her or her children.
