Content Warning: This article references suicide, and may contain some triggering material. Reader discretion is advised.
Sister Wives may be known as the extraordinary true story of Kody Brown, the Mormon patriarch of the polygamist Brown family, and his (then) four wives, but perhaps the size of the Brown family as a whole is the most shocking story of all.
Kody has been practicing polygamy for over thirty years, having married his first wife Meri in 1990, before marrying Janelle, Christine, and Robyn in 1993, 1994, and 2010, respectively. With four families in one, Kody boasts an impressive eighteen children through his multiple marriages, as well as five grandchildren. Here’s what we know about the exceptional family dynamic.
Kody and Janelle’s kids
Kody and his third wife, Janelle, were the first to bring children into the Brown family fold. Their oldest child, Logan Brown, was born in May 1994. They share another five children – Maddie (born 1995), Hunter (born 1997), Garrison (born 1998), Gabriel (born 2001) and Savanah (born in 2004).
On March 3rd, 2024, Janelle and Kody’s son Garrison died unexpectedly. He was 25 years old. His sister Savanah later confirmed that her brother had died by suicide, in an Instagram post paying tribute to him.
Through their daughter Maddie, Kody and Janelle have three shared grandchildren — Axel (born 2017), Evie (born 2019), and Josephine, born in February of this year.
Kody and Meri’s kids
Kody and his first wife, Meri Brown — his sole legal wife until 2010 — have one child together, Leon Brown, born in 1995. Leon, who uses they/them pronouns, came out as transgender in 2022, having previously come out on the series as a lesbian.
Earlier this year, Leon married their partner, Audrey Kriss, in a ceremony that reportedly did not have any witnesses in attendance, including Leon’s parents, despite Meri’s vocal support for Leon on social media — although these reports may be false, as Leon is rather private about their personal life.
Kody and Christine’s kids
Kody and Christine share six children together — daughters Aspyn (born 1995), Mykelti (born 1996), son Paedon (born 1998), and daughters Gwendlyn (born 2001), Ysabel (born 2003), and Truely (born 2010).
Christine was the first sister wife to permanently separate from Kody, as shown in the season seventeen finale, when Christine departed their Arizona home for their original state with Utah, along with their youngest daughter Truely. Kody and Christine’s disastrous childcare negotiations and post-split family get-together plans played a big role in season eighteen, causing a ripple effect among Kody’s other wives and children, leading to arguments that led to the breakdown of Kody’s marriages to Meri and Janelle.
Kody and Robyn’s kids
Kody and his sole remaining wife, Robyn, married in 2010, after Kody requested a legal divorce from his only legal wife, Meri. While controversial and hurtful for his and Meri’s “spiritual” marriage thereafter, this shift occurred in order for Kody to adopt Robyn’s kids from a previous marriage – David (born 2000), Aurora (born 2002), and Breanna (born 2005).
Kody and Robyn went on to have two biological children together after their wedding – Solomon, born in 2011, and Ariella, born in 2016.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).