‘Sister Wives’ Star Kody Brown Felt Like a ‘Prisoner’ in Marriage With Christine Brown But Couldn’t Leave

Sister Wives star Kody Brown felt like he was a prisoner in his marriage to his ex, Christine Brown, as per his most recent revelation. In an exclusive sneak peek of the December 31 episode of the Sister Wives Look Back: How It's Going special obtained by Us Weekly, Kody, 54, looked back on the ups and downs of his marriage to Christine, 51. “She called me a coward because I was never willing to break up with her. It’s because, well, you’re not really allowed,” he said.

In the forthcoming episode, Kody and Christine will be seen reviewing their 2021 discussion, in which Christine asked her then-husband, “Do you want to be married to me?” He asked her the same question, and she said, “No, I don’t want to be married to you.” Kody remarked that he's 'good with that' and that “Nobody’s a prisoner here.” The couple, who were spiritually married in 1994, announced their split in November 2021.

“I’m the prisoner here,” Kody says in the forthcoming episode, reminiscing about that unfortunate occasion. “I can’t just go, ‘Hey, bitch, I’m done with you.’” Kody further explained that he felt stuck in the relationship because of their plural marriage status: “When a polygamist husband goes, ‘Hey, listen, I can’t deal with this woman anymore,’ he goes through the church authority channel. Once we’ve committed to marry a woman, the choice is gone.” Kody also applauds Christine in the sneak peek for having the courage and being 'brave enough' to end the marriage. “Because, no, I wasn’t in love with her. As much as I tried to love her, it just wasn’t working all the time,” he revealed.

Kody also explained in an interview with PEOPLE that he's trying to forgive and forget. Kody said exhibiting 'charity' entails 'giving that forgiveness,' not just to 'yourself' but to all others associated and to 'our differences.' Kody shared, "There's just no other thing that you can do. We're moving forward." 

"How do you do that when it feels like such a deep betrayal?" he asked. "And yet my logical mind says, 'Everybody's just looking for happiness here. Everybody's just looking for that space where they're happy. We might not have been happy together. What the blessing will be is if we're going to break up, let's please find happiness after that.' But that's a process."

Ysabel, 20, Aspyn, 28, Mykelti, 27, Paedon, 25, Gwendlyn, 22, and Truely, 13, are the six children that Christine and Kody share together. Kody had four marriages, two of which ended in divorce and one in separation. The separation between Janelle Brown and Kody was declared in December 2022. In the month that followed, Meri Brown also affirmed that she was no longer with the family patriarch. Kody is still only legally married to Robyn Brown.