All Christine Brown wanted to do was shine bright.
In the Sister Wives star’s new memoir, Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom, she reflected on a rocky moment in her marriage to Kody Brown. According to Christine, her ex once denied her request to have a diamond put into her Claddagh engagement ring due to financial concerns, but then added one to his fourth and current wife Robyn Brown’s ring without her asking.
“I blinked back angry, shocked, heartbroken tears,” Christine wrote. “I had justified things to myself—the convertible, for example—but this was so specifically close to what I had asked for that it felt as if my heart had been pierced.”
E! has reached out to Kody’s rep for comment and has not heard back.
Christine—who split from Kody in 2021 and is now married to David Woolley—said that when she confronted Kody about it, he became irate, and shifted the blame to her, saying, “You’re comparing again,” before adding, “I will treat you like you are lovable when you make an effort to be lovable.”
That word had specific meanings in their relationship. As Christine noted in her book, Kody told her he would only spend time with her if she was “lovable,” and this meant she had to be on her best behavior, not compare his behavior with wives Meri Brown and Janelle Brown to the way he acted with her, and to cater to his needs. It also meant pretending things were OK when they weren’t.
“‘Lovable’ meant swallowing down things that hurt,” she wrote. “‘Lovable’ meant everything’s fine.”
Pet Christine, this was not the only time her ex allegedly sidelined her for Robyn, who remains his only partner. In 2010, after she was induced to give birth to their sixth child Truely Brown, a Sister Wives camera crew captured Kody checking on Robyn.
“He needed to check in on… I don’t know. The kids? Her feelings about my labor?” wrote Christine, who also shares kids Asypen, 30, Mykelti, 29, Paedon, 27, Gwendlyn, 23, and Ysabel, 22, with her ex. “The crew filmed him kissing her. I was in labor, and he let them film him kissing his girlfriend. I found out only after I watched the episode, and it gutted me.”
For more about the love lives of Sister Wives stars, keep reading…
Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom by Christine Brown Woolley
Christine’s memoir is out now. Grab the hardcover, listen on Audible or read with your Kindle.
Kody Brown & Robyn Brown
“She looked like a soccer mom,” Kody Brown once joked on Sister Wives of meeting then-single mom Robyn in 2009. “She had a van, three kids and was divorced. I thought, ‘I didn’t need a van, a divorced woman, and three kids in my life—that’s just trouble.'”
More than a decade and a half on, though, they’re still kicking it, with the pair adding son Solomon and daughter Ariella to the squad.
As for bringing on other teammates, it’s not in the game plan. “I really, really struggle with it because it feels, like, ‘Oh, well. Those didn’t work. So, on to [someone] new,'” Robyn said on the December 2024 Sister Wives: One on One special of Meri Brown, Janelle Brown and Christine Brown leaving the fold. “That’s hard for me. That’s really, really hard for me. It feels disrespectful.”
Meri Brown
In January 2024, a year after she and Kody announced their breakup, Meri revealed on Instagram that she had begun dating Amos Andrews the previous October. But in February 2024, Meri confirmed on Instagram that they had called it quits.
Christine Brown Woolley
She got the man and the family. Going official with her and David Woolley‘s romance on Valentine’s Day 2023, Christine shared, “I finally found the love of my life, David. The first time he held me close, it felt like my soul took its first breath. He’s wonderful and kind, incredible with my children and an adorable grandpa. I never dreamed I could find a love like this.”
Two months later he added to the fantasy with a spring proposal. “David treats me like a queen and tells me I’m beautiful everyday,” Christine told People. “I’ve never been in love like this before and the world seems like a brighter place with him in it.”
Tying the knot in Utah on Oct. 7, 2023, she wrote, “I’m so blessed! I’ve married my best friend.”
Madison Brown Brush
The first of the 18 Brown children to walk down the aisle, Janelle’s eldest daughter wed Caleb Brush at a 2016 outdoor wedding in Montana captured by TLC’s cameras. Nearly 10 years later, the two have multiplied their love with Emilia joining older siblings Axel, Evie and Josephine in March 2025.
“Our sweet girl took her time, keeping us all in suspense, but when she decided it was time—she didn’t waste a second,” North Carolina-based Maddie wrote on Instagram. “Born on 3/14, she arrived absolutely perfect.”
Leon Brown
Four years after their engagement aired on the TLC reality show, Meri’s only child settled in Denver with Audrey Kriss.
“My sweetest symphony,” Leon raved of their partner in 2022. “Life with you truly is so sweet.” Echoed Audrey, “Being your partner and watching your growth and coming into yourself over the years has been an honor and joy.”
Logan Brown
Eldest Brown kid Logan got the gang back together when he married longtime girlfriend Michelle Petty in Arizona in 2022. “It was a beautiful day and this mama’s heart was mush the whole time,” Janelle shared on Instagram of her son’s wedding. “You always have such a sense of peace when your children find amazing life partners.”
Mykelti Brown
More than six years after her 2016 wedding to Antonio “Tony” Padron, Mykelti joked that they’d already tested the limits of their marriage vows by welcoming twins Archer and Ace into the fold in November 2022.
“We have 3 kids and 4 moves under our belt,” Mykelti, who is also mom to eldest daughter Avalon, wrote on Instagram at the time. “A whole lot of good times and some hard times #surprisetwins But here we are still doing this whole marriage thing.”
Aspyn Brown
Since their 2018 wedding, Christine’s oldest daughter and husband Mitch Thompson have traveled everywhere from Paris to Alaska. But in December 2022, they put down roots, with Mitch sharing on Instagram, “We bought our first home! Just in time for Christmas.”
Aspyn announced her pregnancy with the couple’s first baby in April 2025.
Gwendlyn Brown
Before hitting their one-year anniversary, Christine’s third oldest daughter and love Beatriz Queiroz went to the happiest place on earth and marked six months together with chocolate fondue. Then came the really sweet part, with Gwendlyn sharing a glimpse at the candlelit, rose-filled proposal on Instagram in November 2022, writing simply, “i’m engaged!!”
The couple wed in July 2023, captioning a photo from the ceremony: “Say hello to mrs (x2) queiroz.”
