Leon Brown made his television debut during the 2010 premiere of the beloved unscripted series, Sister Wives, but where have they been since appearing on the show? Leon, who is transgender, was born as Mariah Brown on July 29, 1995, but stopped identifying as Mariah when they transitioned in 2022. Leon is the only child of Kody Brown and his first wife, Meri Brown. Leon’s father married three more women; Janelle Brown, Christine Brown and Robyn Brown, and had 18 children in total.
As the oldest of 18 Brown children, Leon grew up in a turbulent family, and things got even crazier when his family became subjects of Sister Wives. Leon was around 15 years old when Sister Wives premiered, and it must have been strange go through adolescence on television. Over the years, Sister Wives went on to chronicle the dissolution of the Brown family when three of Kody’s four wives divorced him, so Leon has an understandably complicated relationship with their time on the show.
Leon distanced himself from the show
Safe Spaces
In February 2023, Leon’s sister Gwendlyn Brown, posted a YouTube video of herself reacting to an episode of Sister Wives season 17, episode 9. Gwendlyn is Kody’s daughter with Christine, his second wife. During the episode, Kody commented about Leon not fitting in with the family, and Gwendlyn vehemently disagreed. Gwendlyn explained that since Leon came out as transgender, they chose to separate themselves from the show and family. Although Kody and his wives have said they support same-sex marriage, the family is very Mormon and the Mormon church has traditionally not been welcoming to LGBTQ people.
Gwendlyn, who is in a same-sex marriage with her wife, Beatriz Queiroz, argued that it wasn’t that Leon didn’t fit in, but that Leon chose to spend time in safer spaces.
Leon married Audrey Kriss
Kody and his wives didn’t attend Leon’s wedding
In 2022, Leon married Audrey Kriss in a private ceremony that was not attended by any of the Browns. Leon and Audrey are both transgender, with Leon coming out in 2022 and Audrey in 2021.
Leon met Audrey in college, and after dating for two years, they got engaged while attending the 2019 Women’s March in Washington, DC.
According to In touchLeon and Audrey were married in October 2022 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. No one else was present during the ceremony and there was no officiant to oversee the union. Instead, the marriage was registered as being a “self-solemnized“event, what does it mean Leon and Audrey essentially made their union official without any witnesses being in the room.
Leon became an activist on Instagram
“We will continue to be born”
Leon may have complicated feelings about the show, but they used their time appearing on Sister Wives forever. They have used their fame to fight for causes that interest them. In July 2023, Lion posted a photo of them on Instagram sitting in a hammock with a rainbow flag during gay pride.
“reminder that trans people cannot be eliminated by law. we will continue to be born, we will continue to live, prosper and find our joy.”
What has Leon been up to in 2024?
They distanced themselves from their family
Throughout 2024, Leon remained largely out of the spotlight. They haven’t shown up yet Sister Wives season 19, and there is very little hope that they will appear before the end of the season. Leon didn’t receive much positivity from his family, especially his father, Kody, after coming out as transgender in June 2022. However, Meri, his mother, was supportive of Leon and who they are. Despite still being close to Meri, Leon will probably still stay away from the cameras this year. Still, Leon has been busy doing other things this year.
Leon hasn’t posted much on social media this year, but he did last month. On September 15th, Leon shared a carousel of images of what they did over the summer. In the series of photos, Leon features several with his partner Aubrey and their adorable dogs. The couple appears to live in an area that includes a lot of nature, rather than somewhere more metropolitan. Janelle Brown even left a comment on the post, saying, “I adore you two”, with the heart eyes emoji.
In another Instagram post from September 26, Leon revealed that they started a substack where they write about their lives. Leon wrote the first one last month when they discussed turning 29 in the summer and how they feel about life after all these years. Leon shared other pieces on his subtack that fans can read if they subscribe (via Leon writes). So far, 2024 has been one of reflection for Leon.
Will Leon ever return to the Sister Wives?
It’s very unlikely
Since growing up and moving away from home, Leon hasn’t done much Sister Wives appearances. His most recent involvement with the show came during COVID-19, when Leon and Audrey moved in with Meri during lockdown. Leon didn’t show up Sister Wives since they transitioned, and although they may make an occasional appearance while visiting Meri, they are unlikely to play any significant role in the show’s future.
Sources: Gwendlyn Brown/YouTube, In touch, Leon Brown/Instagram, Leon writes/substack