Too big of a brood? Kody Brown is the father of 18 children, several of whom have spoken out about their tense relationships with their dad over the years.
The Sister Wives star tied the knot with Meri Brown in 1990, welcoming their child, Leon, five years later. Kody and Meri legally divorced in 2014 so that the businessman could marry wife Robyn Brown and adopt her three children — Dayton, Aurora and Breanna — from her previous relationship. She and Kody went on to welcome two children of their own: Solomon and Ariella.
Along with Meri and Robyn, the polygamist is in a spiritual union with Janelle Brown. The pair share six children: Logan, Madison, Hunter, Robert Garrison, Gabriel and Savannah.
Kody’s family continued to expand in 1994 when he married third wife Christine Brown, but the twosome announced in November 2021 that they had called it quits. “After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave,” Christine wrote via Instagram at the time. “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.”
The Wyoming native shares son Paedon and daughters Aspyn, Mykelti, Gwendlyn, Ysabel and Truely with Christine. During season 17 of Sister Wives, which premiered in September 2022, the estranged couple’s ups and downs took center stage — and tensions even boiled over between Kody and his children.
“It’s hard to see just such a contrast with Kody, how he is at Robyn’s house versus how he is at my house. He’s just disengaged at my house,” Christine said during a September 2022 episode, as Janelle noticed Kody often offering to “help with the little kids” at Robyn’s house and not with his other children.
Kody, for his part, told the cameras it was unusual for him to “babysit” his kids unless his wives are busy. “I’m good at watching my kids, but I almost never do it. It’s easier for me to pay somebody $20 an hour than to lose $200 an hour with the business that I have at hand,” he said. “It’s not normal for me to babysit my kids. I’ve been working all my life. I was raised on a ranch. We were always busy. The idea of going kayaking or hiking and stuff like that is not something I really do a lot of with anybody.”
With nearly 20 children, Kody has his hands full — and Paedon hopes the Brown family doesn’t get any bigger. “Dear God, I have enough siblings,” the TLC personality exclusively told Us Weekly in February 2022. “Please, no! I want to make this clear. I don’t want more kids in the family. Nieces and nephews are fine. No more kids with any wives, please!”
At the time, Paedon revealed that he doesn’t plan on carrying on his father’s polygamist legacy. “I’ve known it since I was, like, 7. I’ve known it for most of my life,” he told Us. “That is not the life I want to live. … If you think it’s right for you, go for it. … To the best of my memory, I have never been pushed toward [polygamy] — toward anything.”
Scroll down to see which of Kody’s children have spoken about their relationship with their father:
