‘Sister Wives’: Could ‘Favoritism’ Be the Reason Meri Brown Didn’t Leave Kody Brown and Christine Brown Did?

Since her divorce from Kody Brown, Christine Brown has gotten really honest about her feelings and the dynamic inside the Brown family. In season 17 of Sister Wives, Christine speaks, at length, about Kody having a “favorite” wife. Fans largely agree that Robyn Brown is now Kody’s “favorite” and that she has been his preferred partner for several years, but is Robyn Brown the only wife Kody has ever favored? Fans largely believe that Meri Brown, Kody’s estranged first wife, was the preferred wife before Robyn Brown. It might explain why Meri has been far more reluctant to leave than Christine was. 

Christine Brown insists that Kody Brown’s favoritism was the driving force behind her divorce 

Since leaving Kody Brown in 2021, Christine Brown has flourished. Her life looks substantially different now than before she decided to seek a separation. In the most recent season of Sister Wives, Christine has opted to drop the act. She is get honest about her feelings. The mother of six has spoken, at length, about her marriage and what she thinks went wrong. More specifically, Christine has stated that Kody has treated Robyn Brown as his favorite wife for years and that favoritism has bled over to how Kody treats his children, too. 

Most Sister Wives fans agree that Robyn is Kody’s preferred partner. While Christine largely blames that dynamic for her divorce, there seems to be much more at play. Christine likely had enough because she was never Kody’s favorite wife. She felt that way long before Robyn Brown became Kody’s fourth and, eventually, favorite wife. 

‘Sister Wives’ fans believe Meri Brown was the favorite wife before Robyn Brown 

Kody Brown didn’t suddenly decide that he was going to play favorites when Robyn Brown joined the family. Sister Wives fans didn’t get to see the family’s dynamic before Kody decided to court Robyn, but the family did write about their early life in their memoir, Becoming Sister Wives. While none of the wives came out and said it, Janelle and Christine alluded to the idea that Kody might have preferred his time with Meri Brown before the polygamist family opted to add a fourth wife. 

In one passage, Janelle noted that she felt awkward and uncomfortable during her early marriage because of how affectionate Kody and Meri were. She even indicated that Kody often took Meri with him on work trips and left Janelle to her own devices. In an early episode of Sister Wives, Christine suggested Kody preferred the quiet of Meri’s home. Christine’s house was more active.

Before Meri’s fall from grace, Kody seemed more affectionate with Meri than with Janelle and Christine. The dynamic has led several Reddit users to theorize that Meri, once upon a time, was Kody’s favorite wife. When they legally divorced, things changed.

Could Meri Brown’s former status be why she’s reluctant to leave her estranged husband for good? 

Christine had spent decades being inherently unfulfilled in her marriage. While she insisted they had just 10 to 12 years of bad times, it’s pretty obvious from what Christine has said over the years that she wasn’t happy with the level of attention she received from the beginning. That fact may have made it easier for Christine to separate from Kody. 

We think that Meri’s status as the “queen wife” early on in her relationship has made it more difficult for her to emotionally separate from Kody Brown. She remains committed to her marriage, despite Kody’s insistence that he doesn’t consider himself married to her and doesn’t wish to work on a relationship with her. While Sister Wives fans have been waiting for Meri to get fed up and leave, it seems less likely than ever. Her former status as the favorite wife could likely be keeping her emotionally attached to Kody when she really shouldn’t be.