A NEW BEGINNING for the SISTER WIVES

ALL FIVE STARS OF THE HIT REALITY SHOW OPEN UP ABOUT THEIR POLYGAMOUS MARRIAGE FALLING APART AND HOW THEY'RE REBUILDING THEIR LIVES

- EMILY STROHM

For decades Janelle Brown was happy in a polygamous marriage. “It was really wonderful. We had something amazing,” says the 54-year-old, who married “spiritual husband” Kody in 1993 and lived in Lehi, Utah, as one of four “sister wives,” members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect. Her decision to leave after nearly 30 years, however, came down to a growing rift that couldn’t be repaired. “This was our dream, and I really did mourn the loss of the family we had been building together,” she says. “We tried as long as we could—until we didn’t fit anymore.”

Janelle’s exit followed the departure of Christine, 51, in November 2021. Then Kody’s first wife, Meri, 52, left in January. Meri’s decision completed the unraveling of the polygamist family, whose lives have been documented for the past 13 years on the popular TLC reality series Sister Wives. Now, on the brink of the show’s 18th season, premiering Aug. 20, the five Browns—and their 18 combined children, aged 7 to 29—are adjusting to their new normal and facing the future with optimism. “I feel like I finally took my first breath,” says Christine. “I’ve never felt happier in my life just being me.” Adds Janelle: “We’re all settling into the new path. There’s only possibilities in front of us.”

It’s been a more difficult transition for Robyn, 44, who remains married to Kody as the self-described last wife standing. “I feel like we failed,” she says. “The commitment we made—we were all in this together. We screwed it up.”