Season 18 of Sister Wives is upon our doorsteps. After months of waiting for the latest edition, it is almost time to check back in with Kody Brown and his three ex-wives, Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and one legal spouse, Robyn Brown. Like many loyal viewers, this writer has taken hours of their life to rewatch some of her favorite seasons and thought it was a good idea to share with other TLC fanatics.
Season 17 showed Christine finally walking away from the polygamous family, while Kody felt like he had been “stabbed in the kidneys.” A bit dramatic for our taste, but hey, that is just who the father of 18 is. During the tell-all, it was also revealed that Janelle and Meri decided to call it quits too, leaving Robyn as the cheese standing alone. But what exactly caused the Browns to dissolve into anarchy? A look back at the past seasons should be able to give us some clues.
Season 1
Unfortunately, at times, the whole series moves at a glacial pace, with TLC showing a lot of recaps. However, if you really want to get a feel for the show, you have to start at the very beginning. Season 1 gives viewers a context when they move on to more recent seasons. The first few episodes show just how happy the Browns were. While we can’t say if it was true happiness or a facade, this season made viewers feel like polygamy could actually work. Kody had his three wives at the time, Meri, Janelle, and Christine, living in one home in Utah, and was courting his fourth wife, Robyn.
The setting seemed to be ideal. Christine stayed home and raised the family’s children while Meri, Christine, and Kody all went to work. However, knowing what we know now about the family fallout, Season 1 also showed the first inkling of the father of 18 playing favorites. He was caught kissing Robyn before they were married and even helping her to pick out her wedding dress.
Season 9
Skipping ahead a few seasons to Season 9 shows how Meri was truly unhappy with her marriage to Kody. This season, in particular, revealed how Meri had actually had an emotional affair with a catfish. In 2015, Meri met a man she believed to be named “Sam” while on Twitter. The friendship bloomed shortly after Meri divorced Kody legally in order for him to marry Robyn. The mother of one felt lonely and thought she had found someone who truly saw her for who she was.
Unfortunately, Meri revealed during the season that her knight in shining armor was a loser in aluminum. “Sam” turned out to be a well-known online scammer named Jackie Overton. Naturally, Meri was embarrassed, as she divulged she had sent sexual snaps, including a suggestive banana photo, to this woman. Kody was utterly turned off, with Season 9 becoming one of the most interesting ones of all time.
Season 17
Kody lost his plot during Sister Wives Season 17, and fans loved it. This last season was one of the first times that any of his wives, let alone three of them, stood up to the patriarch. Kody was asking for unquestioning loyalty, telling his wives, “I’m going to be the head of my household again, and I’m not going to be circumvented in that. If everybody’s willing to conform to patriarchy again…’cause I’ve been fighting to make everybody happy.”
Whether Kody was trying to be a cult leader or completely delusional, his comments didn’t fly. Janelle, Meri, and Christine had all had enough of Kody’s clear-cut motives to please his fourth wife. Viewers loved seeing the women band together to shut Kody down.
Christine found her voice during this same season, which led to the other wives questioning their marriages. Kody’s only goal when first starting the show was to share with the world that polygamy and plural families could work. However, after more than a decade on TV, the dream looks like it turned into a nightmare.
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