“Sister Wives” stars Kody Brown and Christine Brown have called it quits after 25 years.
The plural wife took to Instagram on Tuesday where she announced that the longtime couple had “grown apart.”
“After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave,” the 49-year-old said in a statement. “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.”
“Thanks for your understanding and compassion,” Christine captioned the post, along with the hashtags #changeisgood and #changeisscary.
‘SISTER WIVES’ STAR JANELLE BROWN SAYS SHE’S ‘AT HER WIT’S END’ WITH PLURAL MARRIAGE IN SEASON 16
Kody Brown welcomed Christine Brown as a plural wife in 1994.
(Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Brown also took to Instagram and released his own statement.
“Christine’s decision to leave comes with a great deal of sadness,” the 52-year-old wrote. “We enjoyed many years together and I have a large amount of respect and admiration for her. Although we are moving forward on different paths, we will always remain committed parents.”
The exes share six children: son Paedon, 23, and daughters Aspyn, 26, Mykelti, 25, Gwendlyn, 20, Ysabel, 18 and Truely, 11.
Christine entered the Brown family in 1994, People magazine reported. At the time, Brown was already married to first wife Meri Brown and second spouse Janelle Brown. Robyn Brown became the fourth wife in 2010.
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Kody Brown said he considers himself to be “spiritually” married to his wives. The family shares a combined 18 children.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for AEG Live)
The outlet noted that Brown was only legally married to Meri, 50, but they separated on paper so he could officially wed Robyn, 43, in 2014. Brown considers himself to be spiritually married to all his wives.
TLC recently released a teaser clip that shows the women quarantining separately during the coronavirus pandemic while the family patriarch travels back and forth between houses. The new season follows the family’s move to Flagstaff, Arizona.
Last season, Christine described her marriage as “a struggle.”
“I agreed to move to Flagstaff and I followed Kody here, but it’s been a struggle the whole time,” she said. “I’m tired of feeling like I don’t matter. I’m tired of not having his support when I really need it. I’m just tired. I need a partnership. I need something different than this.”
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Christine Brown hinted that there were problems in the marriage.
(Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)
“Sister Wives” aims to show how Brown and his family navigate life in a world that seems to shun their lifestyle. The family shares a combined 18 children. The series has been airing since 2010.
Being married to more than one person, or bigamy, is illegal across the United States. The law in Mormon-heavy Utah is considered stricter because of a unique provision that bars married people from living with a second “spiritual spouse.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned polygamy in 1890 and strictly prohibits it today. The Browns consider themselves to be fundamentalist Mormons.
Back in 2019, Brown told Fox News that the family has agreed on not considering a fifth wife anytime soon.
“We really took the fifth wife thing off the table a long time ago,” said Brown. “And because we don’t want to snub the concept, we’ve always sort of been very casually dismissing it, and I think that’s one reason the question keeps coming up. But it’s technically been off the table as long as we’ve done the show.”
“Sister Wives” returns Nov. 21 on TLC.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
