Sister Wives Star Christine Brown Reveals She And Ex-Husband Kody Are Actually Cousins

Sister Wives star Christine Brown has shared a surprising detail about her past marriage, revealing that she is distantly related to her ex-husband, Kody Brown.

Reality television is known for unexpected twists, and the long-running TLC series Sister Wives continues to deliver moments that leave viewers stunned.

For anyone unfamiliar with the show, it first premiered in 2010 and follows the life of a polygamist family led by Kody Brown.

At the start of the series, Kody was legally married to Meri Barber and spiritually married to Christine Allred and Janelle Schriever, with Robyn Sullivan joining the family as a fourth wife in 2009. Over the years, Kody and his partners welcomed a total of 18 children together.

Since then, Christine, Meri, and Janelle have all separated from Kody, leaving Robyn as the only wife who remains with him.

In the most recent episode that aired on Sunday, December 28, Christine opened up to her current husband, David Woolley, and revealed that she and Kody share a distant family connection.

Kody Brown and his wives Janelle, Christine, Meri, and Robyn (from left to right) in 2015 (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images) centre

Christine explained the situation by saying: "I knew growing up that I would have to marry a convert because I was literally related to everybody in the church."

"I did marry a convert, but I was still related to him too. Yeah, I'm related to Kody."

Woolley appeared stunned by the revelation and could only respond with a quiet “wow,” prompting Christine to clarify further: "Third cousins once removed is fully legal. Fully. Polygamy is not legal. I'm third cousins once removed from Kody."

Janelle later added that the connection between Christine and Kody had long been a running joke within the family, even before their wedding.

Speaking in her confessional, she said: "There was always this joke about [how] they were cousins, but they are so distantly related it's ridiculous."

"I think in polygamist families, this kind of stuff happens all the time."

"It wasn't the kind of relationship where, like, you saw each other at the family reunion — like, it was a very distant relationship."

Christine told her husband David while on the show christine_brownsw/Instagram

"But they would always joke about being cousins. It just is a small community."

The web of family ties did not stop there, as Janelle also revealed another unexpected connection involving her own family.

She explained that her mother married Kody’s father just three months before Janelle herself married Kody.

Janelle shared that she was first introduced to the concept of polygamy during high school, and when she told her mother about her plans to marry Kody, the reaction was far from supportive.

"I was starting to talk to Kody, and I met the family and was really intrigued. My mom's like, 'Oh, heck no, heck no, heck no, heck no.' My mom came to save me and ended up marrying Kody's dad." Janelle said.

"When they decided to get married, I was like, 'That's gonna be a little hard to explain, but alright," she added, noting that although the situation felt strange at first, she eventually came to terms with it.