Starting a new chapter. Christine Brown opened up about how she feels after announcing her split from her husband, Kody Brown — and it sounds like she’s thriving.
The Sister Wives star, 49, got candid about the breakup in a Cameo video she recently recorded for a fan. “Thank you for supporting me with leaving Kody,” the TLC personality said in the message. “The decision was a long time coming, and I feel like a much better person divorced than I ever did, and life is so great.”
Christine added that she “had no idea life could be simple,” asking her 25-year-old daughter, Mykelti, for confirmation that marriage could be easy. “It’s a phenomenal world,” she continued. “And I just hope that Kody and I can still remain friends during all of this, because we’ve been still [really] communicating with each other and stuff. I mean, good and bad days — don’t get me wrong.”
The reality star announced her split from Kody, 52, on November 2 — three weeks before the premiere of season 16 of their family’s TLC series.
“After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave,” she wrote via Instagram. “We will continue to be a strong presence in each other’s lives as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family. At this time, we ask for your grace and kindness as we navigate through this stage within our family.”
In addition to Mykelti, the pair, who married in March 1994, share children Aspyn, 26, Paedon, 23, Gwendlyn, 20, Ysabel, 18, and Truely, 11.
“Christine’s decision to leave comes with a great deal of sadness. We enjoyed many years together and I have a large amount of respect and admiration for her,” Kody wrote in his own statement on November 2. “Although we are moving forward on different paths, we will always remain committed parents.”
In her Cameo, Christine reiterated that she plans to keep things civil with her former spouse as they coparent their children. “We have a life still together after this because we have kids to raise, and Truely’s 11,” she explained. “We have to just be good and amiable and things like that. I think it’s just important to remember that.”
During the season 15 finale in April, Christine seemed to reach her breaking point with the family and told them that she wanted to move back to Utah — something no one agreed with.
After breaking down in tears, she admitted to fellow sister wife Meri Brown, “I can’t do marriage with Kody anymore,” later adding, “I don’t want to. … It’s not enough.”
One month earlier, Christine exclusively told Us Weekly that she wouldn’t trade her plural marriage to Kody for a monogamous relationship. “It’s so out there and beyond my understanding to have a guy around every night,” she said in March. “I felt, like, it would cramp my style a lot because I’ve never had that. As soon as Kody and I married, I was the third wife.”
She added, “I really liked the independence that I have, and I love the freedom that I have.”
At the time of Christine and Kody’s union, he had already been legally married to Meri, 50, since 1990. He was also in a spiritual marriage with Janelle Brown, which happened in 1993. He later legally divorced Meri in 2014 in order to marry his fourth wife, Robyn Brown, and adopt her children. He remains in a spiritual bond with Meri despite legally separating.
Sister Wives season 16 premieres on TLC Sunday, November 21, at 10 p.m. E.T.