Still going strong! Though Robyn Brown was the last wife to join Kody Brown’s polygamous brood, the pair’s bond has only gotten stronger since their wedding day.
“She looked like a soccer mom,” Kody opened up about his first impressions of Robyn during an early episode of Sister Wives. “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.’”
Robyn was previously married to David Jessop — with whom she shares children David, Aurora and Breanna — until their divorce in 2007. After their legal case was settled, she met the TLC show’s patriarch and his first wife, Meri Brown, at a gathering hosted by Robyn’s cousin. From there, sparks flew as the duo courted throughout the reality series’ first season, which aired in 2010.
Robyn and her children — whom Kody legally adopted one year after the couple legally wed in December 2014 — then moved into the Brown family compound. (The Wyoming native divorced Meri before his 2014 nuptials, but the duo remain in a spiritual union.)
While Kody’s relationship with Robyn remained strong through the years, he and wife Christine Brown announced their separation in November 2021.
“It’s no shock. She’s been in the process of leaving him for a while. The big reason why she split from him is because Kody has been completely devoted to Robyn for the past five or six years. That hasn’t changed at all,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “He was devoted to being polygamous so he kept that going for as long as he could. He serves God and believes being polygamous is his way to heaven, so it’s not necessarily about having to be in love with all your wives. It’s about who else is as devoted as he is.”
Following the split news, a second insider called Robyn and Kody a “dream couple,” noting that his other wives — including Meri and Janelle Brown — cannot compete against the Utah native. “She has him wrapped around her finger. They act like they’re still newlyweds. They’re still very much in love,” the source told Us.
The pair’s strong connection was the subject of controversy amid the coronavirus pandemic. Kody, who enforced a lengthy list of safety protocols for his family, primarily spent the lockdown with Robyn and their five children. (They welcomed son Solomon and daughter Ariella in October 2011 and January 2016, respectively.)
“It wasn’t that I felt guilty. I was feeling, like, bad. I was feeling not right,” Robyn exclusively told Us in March 2021. “This is not fair. I mean, I chose this [plural marriage] lifestyle for a reason and when things are out of whack, it bothers me. I’ve lost a lot of sleep because of it. And I don’t understand the choices that are being made as far as our family is concerned, but I have to respect them.”
She continued at the time: “I can’t say [I felt] guilty because I’m not the one making the choices, but at the same time, it’s like, I do definitely feel bad and it’s made the whole family experience really hard.”
During a January 2022 episode of the reality TV show, Robyn even admitted she felt like she was living in a monogamous marriage amid quarantine.
“Kody and I have been married for about 10 and a half years. Throughout those 10 and a half years, I’ve had Kody at my house, like, once or twice a week. Lately, it’s been constantly,” she explained in Us’ exclusive sneak peek in December 2021. “I’m sure that every plural wife is like, ‘Woo, that’s the way you want it.’ I’m like, ‘But that’s not what I signed up for,’ I guess you’d say. And then on top of that, he’s been really unhappy. He’s been a very unhappy person. It’s been a lot, and it’s been a challenge for our relationship.”
While Robyn’s romance flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic, both Janelle Brown and Meri’s relationships with Kody took a hit.
Thank You!
You have successfully subscribed.
Janelle confirmed in December 2022 that she and the Wyoming native had been “separated for several months.” Meri, meanwhile, revealed that same month that Kody “made the decision” that they were no longer married after their anniversary.
Scroll below to relive Kody and Robyn’s romance timeline through the years:
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tr%2FMmp6aspmjsm%2BvzqZmnJ2cmq%2BztdOyZKedp6h8sbXCrayrnaNkwKq%2F056pZq%2BZq7K0ecqom7Jlkqe8uLqMq6absZ5ir7O71qeqZqqVoa61tc6nqqGhoGLBqrnEpaCnnV2ltbDAzqxm