No love lost? Sister Wives‘ Kody Brown and estranged wife Christine Brown are at a standstill when it comes to their relationship post-split.
“Kody wouldn’t go through with a ‘spiritual divorce’ from Christine,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “He left her on her own to make peace with the separation — it was her and God, not her and Kody.”
The Wyoming native, 53, and his third wife, Christine, didn’t have a “formal ceremony at a church” to signify the end of their spiritual union, the insider adds, noting that Kody is no longer 100 percent in the “polygamy headspace” after the breakup.
“He wouldn’t give Christine — or any of his other wives for that matter — the courtesy of going along with [a formal ceremony] since he feels betrayed,” the source explains, adding that the patriarch has “become more angry and bitter” recently.
Christine, 49, announced her split from Kody in November 2021, revealing that after more than 25 years together, they decided to part ways. The twosome spiritually wed in 1994 and later welcomed six kids: son Paedon, 23 and daughters Aspyn, 26, Mykelti, 25, Gwendlyn, 20, Ysabel, 18, and Truly, 11.
“Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave,” Christine wrote via Instagram at the time. “We will continue to be a strong presence in each other’s lives as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family.”
Kody was previously married to first wife Meri Brown from 1990 to 2014. He divorced her to legally wed Robyn Brown and adopt her three children — David, 21, Aurora, 18, and Breanna, 16 — from a previous marriage. Kody and Robyn, 43, also share two children of their own: Solomon, 10, and Ariella, 6.
The father of 18 is now spiritually married to Meri, 51, with whom he shares daughter Mariah, 26. He and second wife Janelle Brown spiritually tied the knot in 1993 and went on to have six kids together. They coparent sons Logan, 27, Hunter, 24, Robert, 23, and Gabriel, 21, and daughters Maddie, 26, and Savannah, 17.
In the wake of Kody and Christine’s split, the patriarch has seemingly grown more distant from Meri — which fans watched play out on season 16 of Sister Wives — and Janelle, 52, as he spends more time at home with Robyn.
His guiding compass has also shifted, with the source telling Us Kody “used to be very spiritual, but he has not been for a long time.”
The head of the Brown family still has “faith and his religion, but in terms of polygamy, he feels the women betrayed his higher patriarchy,” the insider says, revealing that Kody’s “spiritual bind” with his wives is “gone.”
Despite his recent ups and downs in some of his relationships, Kody “doesn’t believe in divorce and therefore will not participate in any spiritual divorce ceremonies,” the source adds.
Earlier this month, a second insider exclusively told Us that Kody is “considering starting fresh with new wives” after both Meri and Janelle previously spoke out about the possibility of leaving their plural marriages.
“He’s spending all his time with Robyn,” a third source exclusively told Us in January of Kody’s current relationship focus. “The others are in their own world, living their own lives.”
Sister Wives airs on TLC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Diana Cooper