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Christine Brown put her house on the market and got an offer on the Nov. 6 episode of Sister Wives. That meant she had to tell Kody Brown, as well as Meri Brown, Janelle Brown and Robyn Brown that she was leaving for Utah in a week’s time. She knew it was going to be a “tough” conversation, and her prediction was proven true. While Janelle was happy for Christine and at peace with the decision, Kody, Meri and Robyn were still hurt, frustrated and angry.
First, the family had a disagreement over Christine’s use of the word “divorce.” Robyn and Kody didn’t agree that he and Christine were “divorced,” while Christine had been saying that for months. “Christine just saying “I’m divorced” is sort of invalidating our beliefs,” Robyn admitted. “We’re spiritually married to Kody by our church. If we want a divorce, then we have to go get their approval. Usually they require counseling and lots of meetings. Technically, from my understanding, until Christine is physical with another man…she’s not divorced.”
However, from Christine’s point of view, she had already left the faith, so she didn’t need to abide by those guidelines. “I don’t have any legal contract that binds me with Kody [since we’re just spiritually married],” she explained. “There was no legal process we had to go through. Neither of us are part of that religion anymore, so me just saying “I’m divorced,” I don’t see a problem with that at all.”
Next, Kody reiterated his anger at Christine for telling other people in the family that she was planning on leaving before she told him. Robyn jumped into the conversation, and amidst a bit of miscommunication, she called Christine a “liar.” They eventually realized that they were talking about two different things completely, and were able to move on from the discussion.
Kody then pointed out that Christine’s decision to leave was the opposite of what the group had been trying to preach to the public for years. “We’ve worked so hard, begging the public to accept our marriage, our family,” he explained. “And in a moment she decides we’re divorced. It feels like it delegitimizes everything I’ve worked for for so long.”
Christine was confident in her decision, though. “When I chose to leave Kody, I knew I would be open publicly about it and this was decision that I was making that other people would know about,” she shared. “One of the things I was concerned about was if I would be considered a fraud and a liar. But I know, without a doubt, that I’ve tried for years to make this work. I have a clear conscience knowing I gave it my best. If people want to look at me and think otherwise, okay. I can’t do anything about that. Being a mom is my most important thing. I couldn’t, with a clear conscience, stay married to someone who had favorites and made it very known and someone who was breaking my kids’ hearts. I had to stand with them instead. I wanted to do it for them.”