The drama is so real! Sister Wives stars Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn Brown spilled some serious tea during part 2 of the season 16 tell-all, which aired on Sunday, February 6.
The TLC stars covered everything from their family becoming divided because of Kody’s strict rules amid the COVID-19 pandemic to the awkward tension among the wives. However, a hot topic was the family patriarch’s split from third wife, Christine, 49, which the couple publicly announced in November 2021.
The Lularoe retailer admitted she had been “running on empty” after trying to be the “peacemaker” for so long in the family.
“I was just the constant,” Christine said, describing her former dynamic in the family, to which Robyn, 43, admitted that she “didn’t know” the pain her sister wife felt.
Despite their relationship coming to an end, Kody, 53, commended Christine for “lightening that burden” while he tried to navigate their plural family dynamic for years before Robyn joined the mix. “What Christine has shrugged, Robyn was picking up,” he acknowledged.
That being said, Christine confirmed she and Kody are “divorced” after she announced she was “leaving” her husband. The former couple wed, spiritually not legally, in 1994 and share six kids — Aspyn, Mykelti, Gwendlyn, Ysabel, Truely and Paedon.
However, Robyn admitted she wished Christine “decided to keep trying” in her marriage with Kody. “I love Christine, and I have always wanted her and Kody’s relationship to be strong,” she said, adding that she didn’t see their split as finalized.
“Technically, in my head, they’re not because their marriage was done by our church officials, and they haven’t granted them a divorce,” Robyn said before Christine chimed in, “In our church, polygamous women can leave. They are not trapped.”
Christine continued, “I haven’t been a member of that church for a long time … I don’t really care. I think that God’s fine if I just want to be happy.”
As far as a polygamous divorce, In Touch spoke exclusively with Michael J. Higdon, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Law at University of Tennessee College of Law, who explained that Christine and Kody have no legal obligations to one another.
“There is no such thing as a polygamous divorce,” the attorney, who has written specifically about polygamous marriage and monogamous divorce, said. “A person can only have one legal spouse, and that is true in every state.”
Keep scrolling to see the biggest bombshells from the Sister Wives tell-all part 2!