Summary

• Sister Wives star Kody Brown saw three marriages end after moving to Flagstaff, leaving him and wife Robyn living in monogamy.
• The Browns struggled to live separately in Flagstaff, causing division and disagreements, leading to a lack of polygamous lifestyle.
• Disagreements over the Coyote property drove further family apart, with dream home never materializing, and land challenges arising.

Christine Brown left the family first, followed by Janelle Brown and Meri Brown, leaving Kody and wife Robyn Brown living in monogamy. The Brown family had moved many times prior to the show, and in season 2 they moved from Utah to Las Vegas to avoid prosecution for their polygamous lifestyle.

In Las Vegas, the Brown family lived in four custom-built homes next to one another at the end of a cul-de-sac. The setup appeared ideal, with each wife having her own space while Kody was able to move freely between the homes. The family even planted a tree to signify establishing their roots, which made Kody’s proposal to relocate yet again in season 13 even more shocking. Kody and his wives ended up making a haphazard move to Flagstaff, Arizona, with the intention to build homes on a lot referred to as Coyote .

The Brown Family Learned How To Live Separately In Flagstaff

Kody's Wives Found Independence

The move to Flagstaff put a huge strain on the Brown family. While waiting to begin construction on Coyote , the family struggled to find rental homes that would meet their needs. Kody’s four wives and their children ended up spread around the city. Unlike in Las Vegas, Meri, Robyn, Christine, and Janelle were suddenly living very separate lives. They did not see each other every day and, more importantly, they did not see Kody or know where he was spending his time.

With Meri, Janelle, and Christine living apart from Kody and their sister wives, they became accustomed to the separation. The Browns were essentially divided geographically, and the wives found that with the absence of large family gatherings, they were hardly even living a polygamous lifestyle. The idea of living as a plural family was suddenly less important once they recognized the ease of living independently.

The Family Would Have Been Forced To Agree On COVID-19 Rules In Vegas

Distance Allowed Them To Stay Divided

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, each unit of the Brown family socially distanced from one another. Each wife and her own children isolated together, with Kody occasionally moving between homes. The siblings and sister wives were not able to gather unless outdoors and at a distance. Kody, for the most part, stayed at Robyn’s home because she had young children. Kody claimed that Robyn followed the correct COVID-19 protocols while his other wives and children continued to travel and socialize. The first deep divisions within the family began with their disagreement over how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kody thought his children, particularly Janelle’s boys, were being irresponsible by continuing to socialize and he therefore did not want to see them. Because the family had grown accustomed to living separately, there was not an urgent need to come to an agreement regarding social distancing guidelines. If they still lived in Las Vegas in close proximity, the Brown family would have been forced to agree on guidelines in order to maintain daily . With daily a thing of the past, months slipped by without a clear agreement on requirements for the family to gather in person.

Disagreements Over The Coyote Property Drove The Family Further Apart

Their Dream Home Never Materialized

The Browns briefly considered building a single house for the entire family in Coyote . When Christine made it clear she would never agree to live in a shared home, the family moved forward with dividing the property into individual plots. Kody and the other wives, who had mixed feelings about living together, began to realize that they would never live as a single family unit again.

The Brown family’s communication issues were brought to the forefront when each wife was afraid to state which plot they really wanted out of fear of upsetting one another.

Dividing the land posed another challenge, as the lots in Coyote were not all the same. Arguments broke out between Kody and his wives and spilled over into the relationships between the sister wives. The Brown family’s communication issues were brought to the forefront when each wife was afraid to state which plot they really wanted out of fear of upsetting one another. It was also clear that Kody was ultimately in charge, having the final say over which wife was assigned each piece of land.

The idea of living on the idyllic land with a mountain view is what drew the wives to Flagstaff. However, the land had to be paid off before construction could begin, and the volatility of the real estate market made that more challenging than expected. The homes in Las Vegas were slow to sell, rentals in Flagstaff were difficult to find, and the family ended up draining their reserves to buy homes for Christine and Robyn. Meanwhile, Janelle was left living in an RV and small apartments, and she began to realize that she was not a priority to Kody.

It is easy to believe that the Brown family had the perfect arrangement in Las Vegas and would have remained happy there. However, moving to Flagstaff did not create the family’s problems; it only illuminated them. While the move to Flagstaff on its own did not cause the Brown family to fall apart, it certainly allowed the wives to consider how a future without Kody would look. Once the Sister Wives stars were essentially no longer living a plural lifestyle, officially breaking away from their marriage did not seem like a big leap.

Sister Wives seasons 1-18 are available to stream on Discovery+ and MAX.