sister wife Star Cody Brown is unable to move on from the life he once shared with his wives Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown and Robyn Brown. Together, Cody and his polygamous family had 18 children, and they worked tirelessly to defeat stereotypes about plural marriage while also avoiding prosecution. The Browns thought they had finally found peace after moving from Las Vegas to Flagstaff, Arizona. Unfortunately, the move was the beginning of the end for their family.
Three of Cody’s four marriages imploded within two years. Kristin announced that she was divorcing Cody in November 2021. Just one year later, Janelle revealed that she and Cody were no longer together. Finally, Meri announced the end of her marriage in early 2023 after years of strife. Cody, now in a monogamous marriage to Robin, faces intense stress and uncertainty. He is left pining for the life he once had, and his inability to adapt has emerged as a primary cause of his failed marriages.
The Brown family has ideal housing in Las Vegas
Cody longs for the days when his family was more cohesive
While reflecting on his divorce, Cody admitted that his family was at its best during their time in Las Vegas. when sister wife First, Cody and his wife shared a home in Lehigh, Utah. After the family went public with their plural lifestyle, they faced the threat of prosecution due to Utah’s laws against polygamy. Cody chose to flee the state with his wife and children rather than risk their family being torn apart. They decided to relocate to Las Vegas.
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In Las Vegas, the Browns created the perfect environment for a plural family. They bought four adjacent lots at the end of a cul-de-sac and built custom homes for each woman’s family. This allowed Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn to have their own space, but the houses were in such close proximity that their children could easily move back and forth. Meanwhile, Cody is able to rotate effortlessly between his wife’s homes.
Cody is now aware that leaving behind their perfect setup changed the course of his family’s future.
The setup enabled the family to easily congregate while also allowing the wives to maintain their privacy. When Cody admitted that Las Vegas was the best time of his life, he was alluding to the consequences of his rash decision to ditch his family. Just as his wives were getting comfortable and settled into their lives in Las Vegas, Cody convinced them to move again. Cody is now aware that leaving behind their perfect setup changed the course of his family’s future.
Cody was a better parent when his kids were younger
He took advantage of their dependence
Cody is proud of his dedication to being a father. Despite the fact that he had more than a dozen children, he was still happy at each birth. Cody’s wives speak fondly of him as an attentive father when his children were younger. However, that quality diminishes over time.
Cody now has strained relationships with most of his grown children. Although he is close to Robin’s children, He has very little contact with the children he shares with Christine and Janelle. They suggested that Cody did not know how to parent older children, and he was lost as his children grew up.
When Cody reminisces about his life in Las Vegas, he recalls a time when he was constantly surrounded by his children.. As they grew older and became less dependent on him, Cody failed to change his parents. He forgot birthdays and missed holidays. Cody’s defiance of his children is something he never could have imagined back in their Las Vegas days.
Cody’s family fell apart after they moved to Flagstaff
Cody regrets pushing his family to move
The Browns’ decision to leave Las Vegas was incredibly damaging to their family’s future. Despite building dream homes that allowed them to live as a community, Cody pressured his wife to leave it all behind. At one time, Las Vegas was considered the family’s permanent home base after years of constant movement. But Cody became restless, and in sister wife Season 13, the family moved to Flagstaff.
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Unfortunately, the housing market in Flagstaff has been brutal. Cody’s wives are forced to live in homes spread across the city, losing their cherished family culture. Christine and Robin, facing a limited rental market, ended up buying homes for their families. What was supposed to be a temporary arrangement became the family’s new normal. With so much distance between them, the women became comfortable living independently, and they lost the common way of life they had before.
Cody can’t adapt to his family’s needs during COVID
His stubborn personality pushed his wife and children away
Shortly after their move to Flagstaff, the pandemic struck. Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn have been quarantined with their children, effectively ending large family gatherings. Cody primarily lived with Robin, and began their monogamous life together. Just like their housing crisis, which was expected to be a temporary inconvenience dragged on, and social distancing became part of the family’s routine.
On top of physical separation, a huge divide broke out between the family over the necessity of social distancing. Cody and Robin have strict criteria for the family to follow in hopes of one day gathering in person. Unfortunately, Cody’s young adult children could not give up their social, academic and professional lives as required by Cody’s rules. Cody’s children took offense at his refusal to adjust his rules for the sake of their relationship, and the family began to break up.
He refused to adapt his guidelines to enable family bonding.
Cody’s stubborn nature was more evident during the pandemic. He refused to adapt his guidelines to enable family bonding. Additionally, Cody resented his children and wives who were more lax with their social distancing standards. He blames them for keeping the family apart, when ultimately it was Cody who made it impossible for anyone but Robin to meet his expectations. In retrospect, Cody can probably see how COVID and the Flagstaff living situation marked the turning point for his family, and he now misses the life he had in Las Vegas.
Cody is stuck in the past, while his wives have moved on
Cody’s resentment makes him bitter
Cody spends much of his time ruminating on the mistakes his wife and children made that led them to their current situation. He wants to acknowledge his failures, and his focus on the past also makes him unable to move forward. Because Cody keeps harping on the perceived mistakes other people have made, he cannot find the forgiveness necessary to have cordial relationships with them in the present.
Meanwhile, Cuddy’s wives moved on. Janelle’s attitude is strikingly different from Cody’s. She refers to her life with him as in the past, and she is focused on moving forward. Meanwhile, Meri says she doesn’t even remember her life with Cody. Their relationship had been bad for so long that she couldn’t remember what it was like to be in a functioning marriage with him. While Cody is stuck in the past, his ex-wives have let go of their hurt and resentment and look to the future.
sister wife Season 19 will document the road ahead for Cody and his family. With 18 children between them, Cody and his ex-wife will regularly cross paths. If Cody wants to find peace with his exes, he needs to let go of his obsession with the past and embrace an open mind for the future.