Kody Brown is down to one wife, Robyn Brown, who thinks she knows why his other three wives left their plural marriage.
The Sister Wives star recently opened up about the demise of the Browns’ polygamous union, which involved four wives sharing one husband.
According to Robyn, the shift began when the family was still living in Las Vegas, and several of the older kids were flying the nest.
In an interview with PEOPLE, the 45-year-old TLC star revealed what she believes was the beginning of the end.
“I think it started with when we were in Las Vegas,” Robyn began.
“So their focuses started to shift to kids that have left home to go live their life instead of focusing on their relationship with Kody,” she continued to explain.
Robyn felt as though Janelle, Christine, and Meri began to neglect their marriages to Kody during that time and their commitments to each other as sister wives.
When the Browns were living in Las Vegas, it seemed as though they had the perfect setup for a polygamous family who wasn’t fond of living under the same roof.
Each of Kody’s four wives built their own home on a cul-de-sac, which made it much easier for the father of 18 to split his time between his four wives and all of their kids.
But once they relocated to Flagstaff, Arizona, they led much more separate lives, with each of Kody’s wives in separate homes spread around town.
Robyn Brown says moving to Flagstaff made her, Meri, Janelle, and Christine feel ‘more independent of each other’
“That made us feel more independent of each other,” Robyn said of their move to Flagstaff. “It was easier just to not spend time together because it was harder to get in the car and go hang out at someone’s house and then try to figure out if you get through the snow to home and things like that. And so I think that was the next step.”
Robyn also noted that Kody, Meri, Janelle, and Christine’s disagreement about whether or not to share a home resurfaced during that time, causing further turmoil among them.
Then, when COVID-19 hit in 2020, the Browns were forced even farther apart. As Robyn put it, the pandemic became a “perfect storm” that caused them to lose unity and live more independently.
Another factor that Robyn blames for the demise of their plural marriage? Growing older and losing interest.
“What I’ve heard is that you get to a point where you aren’t as interested or care as much,” Robyn added.
“Or you just become more independent as a woman in a marriage and as obsessed with or interested as much in maybe your hubby and everything.”
Robyn also divulged that she heard Janelle, Christine, and Meri mention that there were certain aspects of their marriage that no longer interested them and she began to question whether they wanted to remain in their polygamous union.
Sister Wives viewers watched as Christine, Janelle, and Meri walked away from their plural marriage
These days, Robyn is left as Kody’s only wife after Christine, Janelle, and Meri decided to break free.
Christine was the first to leave, and she and Kody formally announced their split in November 2021. Janelle followed suit, separating from Kody in 2022 following an explosive argument that played out during Season 18 of Sister Wives.
Meri was the last to go, telling her fans that she was reclaiming her “power” in the caption of an Instagram post shared by herself and Kody, letting the world know they had finally decided to cut ties after 33 years together.
Part 2 of the Sister Wives Season 18 Tell All, One on One, airs on Sunday, December 3, at 10/9c on TLC.
No Robin, it was you!