Christine Brown Woolley alleges in a new memoir that her former husband, reality television star Kody Brown, withheld affection and was absent for parental duties as their plural marriage deteriorated.
In "Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom," Brown Woolley chronicles a strict Mormon upbringing, her decision to enter a polygamous marriage in the 1990s, and her eventual choice to leave after 25 years. She recounts hearing intimate interactions between Kody Brown and other wives in adjoining bedrooms, being told by Brown that he was not physically attracted to her, and an episode in which she says he did not come to the hospital when their 3-year-old required treatment for kidney failure.
Brown Woolley writes that she recognized early on that Kody had found a "soulmate" in Robyn Brown, whom he welcomed as a fourth wife in 2010. She describes Kody as "distant" with her while appearing to have "actual relationships" with the other wives, including conversations, play and physical affection she said she could hear but not share.
"It’s one thing to know your roommate is having sex in the next bedroom over," she wrote, "It’s another when it’s your husband and you can hear everything." She said the disparity between how affection was publicly displayed and how it occurred privately became a central injury in their marriage.
Brown Woolley details episodes she says illustrate Kody's absence as a parent and partner. She wrote that when their young child required hospitalization, Kody remained home with Robyn doing laundry rather than accompanying the child to the hospital. She also quoted him as telling her, "I will treat you like you are lovable when you make an effort to be lovable," and points out that on camera he once said, "I was not attracted to Christine in any kind of physical sense."
Fox News Digital reported that it reached out to Kody Brown for comment. The Associated Press contributed reporting to accounts of the family's public and legal history.
Brown Woolley and Kody were spiritually married in 1994. Kody legally married his first wife, Meri Brown, in 1990, entered a spiritual marriage with Janelle Brown in 1993, and later divorced Meri and legally married Robyn in 2014. The plural family raised 18 children and gained national attention through the TLC reality series "Sister Wives," which premiered in 2010. Season 20 is scheduled to premiere Sept. 28 at 10 p.m.
The memoir describes Brown Woolley’s early belief that plural marriage was a "higher calling" and a path she thought would strengthen her family. She said she was loyal to family expectations and believed plural marriage would make her a better person. Over time, she wrote, watching herself and the family on television served as a catalyst for self-reflection and a clearer recognition that her marriage was no longer sustainable.
"I just saw how much Kody really did love Robyn," she told Fox News Digital, saying that witnessing relationships on camera "was a magnifying glass." She described the moment she decided to leave as a turning point that included a quiet personal realization and a sense that God told her it was permissible to seek happiness outside the marriage.
Brown Woolley left Kody in November 2021 and married David Woolley in 2023. She writes that she now lives in Utah with her husband, embraces monogamy, and maintains a relationship with God while no longer following the fundamentalist Mormon faith in which she was raised. She said she still has friends who practice plural marriage and that, despite the pain she described, she would not change the experiences that shaped her.
Several developments among the Browns have followed the family's national exposure. Meri Brown, 54, and Janelle Brown, 56, announced their splits from Kody in 2022; Robyn, 46, remains his legal spouse. The family left Utah in 2011 amid concerns about prosecution after "Sister Wives" first aired, according to the AP.
Brown Woolley wrote that she ultimately sought to model for her children that it is acceptable to leave an unhappy marriage. "I was not being a great example to my children," she wrote, adding that she wanted her children to know it was okay to pursue happiness and healthy relationships.
"Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom" is published by Gallery Books and is available now. Brown Woolley told Fox News Digital that many women had asked how she knew it was time to leave, and that she wrote the book to provide explanation and closure.
