‘Sister Wives’: Were Christine, Meri, Janelle, and Robyn Brown Ever Friends?

Things are not panning out well for the Brown family and their desire to show polygamy in a positive light. While the cast of Sister Wives once suggested they were one big happy family, it is clear to viewers that they are anything but. Kody Brown, the family’s patriarch, alleges the discourse within his family is all about jealousy between his four wives. Meri Brown, Kody’s first wife, isn’t buying into it. Fans are curious, though, have the women of the Brown family ever been friends? It looks like the answer is a resounding “no.”

Meri and Janelle never saw eye-to-eye  

Kody’s first and second wives, Meri Brown and Janelle Brown have a complicated history. Janelle, who was initially married to Meri’s brother, joined the family about three years after Kody and Meri wed. In the family’s book, Becoming Sister Wives, Janelle described feeling like a third wheel during the early years of her marriage. In fact, Janelle has never seemed sold on the concept and admitted that the first 20 years of her marriage have been pretty unhappy.

Meri and Janelle’s relationship was so strained at one point that Janelle moved into her own private home and refused to reconnect with the family unless she had a private space. Over the years, Janelle formed an alliance with Christine Brown, who happily provided child care while Janelle worked. It’s hard to suggest the friendship between Janelle and Christine was ever warm, though. Frankly, it has long seemed like a symbiotic, but distant, relationship.     

Christine and Meri haven’t gotten along for years  

Kody’s third wife, Christine Brown, and Meri were once friends. In fact, it appears as though Meri is the one who pushed the idea of Christine joining the family. Kody even suggested he wasn’t physically attracted to Christine, at first. Once she became a wife, though, things apparently changed.

In a 2012 interview, Meri admitted that while she never felt threatened by Janelle as a romantic partner, the same was not true when it came to Christine. Perhaps it had something to do with Christine’s eagerness to please Kody or the fact that she was younger than the other wives when she joined the family. Maybe it had a little something to do with the way Kody interacts with each wife. Janelle suggested her bond with Kody was more “cerebral,” while Christine was profoundly interested in romance, according to Soap Dirt.

Christine and Meri may have never been the very best of friends, but their relationship really took a turn for the worse following Meri’s catfishing scandal. For one reason or another, Christine seemed to take the online affair personally. She even admitted that Meri continued to make her uncomfortable, years after the scandal broke.

Fans think Kody is pitting Robyn against the rest of his wives

Robyn is primarily believed to be Kody’s favorite wife. In fact, many believe the couple is actually in a monogamous relationship, at least when it comes to physical affection. Meri and Robyn may have once been friendly, but that no longer seems to be the case, and most fans believe Kody is to blame.

Without a Crystal Ball, a YouTube channel dedicated to discussing reality TV personalities, reportedly spoke with an insider. The insider claims that it’s not uncommon for husbands in a plural marriage to pit his wives against each other. The source, who was not named, also claims that Kody is verbally and emotionally abusive and often manipulates his wives to get his way. It’s plausible that Kody would want his favorite wife to hate the others, so he feels like he has an ally within his home. The plan, if that’s what is happening, appears to be working out swimmingly for Kody.