Inside the 4 Sister Wives' unconventional journey: from polygamy, 18 kids and divorce

Kody is the man at the centre of the series; at the height of the show, he had four wives and welcomed 18 children with them. 

He is a polygamist and is only legally married to Robyn, his fourth wife, while he enjoyed "spiritual marriages" to the other three. 

While the family moved around to avoid persecution for their polygamist lifestyle, they celebrated the decriminalization of bigamy in Utah in May 2020. "This is news we've hoped to actually give our kids for ten years or more," Kody explained on the show. 

"This change in polygamy law is hard-earned and way overdue as the polygamist community in Utah has been marginalized for over a century. I feel that this is just the first step to destigmatize plural families," he said. 

Despite celebrating this change, Kody revealed on the show that he was struggling with the idea of polygamist marriage, especially after being left by his three other wives. 

"I'm struggling with sort of a state of regret and frustration," he said in 2022. "It's a weird thing to be getting left. It's made me question getting into plural marriage. Question my faith. The message we had to the world about functional polygamy seems so dysfunctional now."

The father of 18 is estranged from most of the kids now but believes he can repair their relationship. "What I'm thinking is with time going on and just a phone call once in a while, that these relationships will come back," he said on the show.

Meri was the first of Kody's four wives; the pair met in 1989 and married a year later before settling down in Utah to start their family. 

Meri gave birth to their only child together in 1995, who announced they were trans and used they/them pronouns in June 2022, legally changing their name to Leon. 

"Unfortunately, I grew up in a context that was incredibly gendered and restrictive," Leon wrote in an Instagram caption announcing the news. 

"So I continued to be socialized as a girl and later a woman. And here's the thing: I'm finally ready to share my favorite self with the world. And that self is incredibly genderqueer, trans, and unapologetic. Being queer and trans are definitely some of my favorite parts of myself." 

Meri and Kody divorced in 2014 in order for Robyn, his fourth wife, to legally marry him so that he could adopt her three kids from a previous marriage. 

While she remained "spiritually married" to Kody, Meri began to drift apart from her husband, with the 55-year-old calling his wife an "angry" person with "baggage" he wasn't aware of. 

"I can't live in a world where she is constantly angry at me," he said on the show. The pair went their separate ways in January 2023 after two of his other wives had already left him. 

He revealed on the show that he wants to remain friends with Meri despite the end of their almost 34-year relationship. 

"I'm looking at this triple breakup like Christine's, then Janelle, and now Meri. I don't want Meri to be in this place where she's taking this toll. This direction that both Christine and Janelle have taken." 

"That's why I'm trying to be in this place with Meri where it's like, 'Hey, can we just be friends and move on?'"

Janelle was Kody's second wife, and despite not legally marrying due to polygamy laws, they celebrated a "spiritual marriage" in 1993. The couple share six kids: Logan, Hunter, Garrison, Gabriel, Madison and Savannah. 

Cracks began forming in their relationship after the Brown clan moved to Arizona in 2018. "Our family has been feeling really challenged since we came to Flagstaff because we've had to be in four separate homes," Janelle explained on the show. 

Their marriage became even more tenuous during the COVID-19 pandemic when the families had little contact due to concern that the virus would spread. "I really don't know if I want to do the work," Janelle said on the show. 

"It feels like I'm being forced to choose between my children and this group. I don't feel like my children are welcome."

Ultimately, the pair split in December 2022, and Janelle became the second sister-wife to leave Kody. Sadly, their son Garrison passed away in March this year in an apparent suicide. 

Christine, Kody's third wife, met the California native in 1990 and remained friends with him until they went on a date in 1994, where Kody proposed. Their whirlwind relationship continued when they "spiritually married" a month later. 

The couple, who share kids Paedon, Aspyn, Mykelti, Gwendlyn, Ysabel and Truely, announced their separation via Instagram in November 2021. 

"After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart, and I have made the difficult decision to leave," she said. 

"We will continue to be a strong presence in each other's lives as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family. At this time, we ask for your grace and kindness as we navigate through this stage within our family."

Kody wrote, "Christine's decision to leave comes with a great deal of sadness. We enjoyed many years together and I have a large amount of respect and admiration for her." 

Christine found love again after leaving Kody; she met David on a dating app, and the pair instantly hit it off. "The first time that I got on [the app], I met David," she said on the show.

"His pictures were beautiful. It was him with these eyes." The lovebirds married in October 2023. 

Robyn is arguably Kody's favorite wife throughout the TLC series, and the pair legally married in 2014, four years after they first began dating. 

Robyn has three kids- Dayton, Aurora, and Breanna- from her previous relationship, and she welcomed Solomon and Ariella with Kody. 

Tension was brewing from the beginning of Robyn's introduction on the show, and towards the end of Christine's marriage with Kody, she explained the wives' dynamic. 

"I feel like to Kody, Robyn's more important, certainly, than I am," she said. "And I've been a third wheel for years now. And I know it, and everybody knows it. It's sad, and it sucks, but my relationship with Kody isn't as important. It's not. No matter what he says, it isn't."

Robyn revealed on the show that she has tried to keep the family together despite Kody's other three marriages breaking down over the last few years and his estrangement from his kids. 

"I miss my husband. Anytime I try and talk to him I get the anger thrown at me," she said. 

"I have tried to speak with the sister wives; I've tried to talk to Kody, but, you know, nobody's willing. I'm starting to feel really helpless."