And then there was one – or is there? Could Kody Brown’s fifth sister wife soon be a reality?
Sister Wives fans have been hearing the rumblings and rumors about this for years. Despite the decline of his first four marriages, the head of the most famous polygamist family keeps being pegged as marriage material.
But a fifth wife? Because the first four are clearly so happy with him these days … why not add another?! Maybe to ensure the longtime TLC show remains on the air. Maybe to proof plural marriages can really work.
Or maybe because he just feels like he must?!
No matter the reason, let’s look at the facts before things get out of hand.
Kody Brown’s Four Wives: Who Is He Still With?
If you’ve been watching the TLC’s reality TV series since it debuted in 2010, you know that Kody has been in four marriages as a polygamist.
With his his four wives — Robyn, Meri, Janelle, and Christine— he’s had 18 children .. and counting! (Kidding, that’s another show!)
Over the last 14 years, the Brown family dynamic has changed dramatically! For starters, as of now, he’s still only married to Robyn. He’s lost a wife once a year since 2021. Christine announced her split from Kody in November 2021; Janelle split from him in December 2022; and Meri left him in January 2023.
So, with the show called Sister Wives, and only one “wife” left, it looks like someone new is going to need to be added to the family tree lest the show be canceled.
And that is a real possibility. But more on that on a bit.
Does Kody Brown Already Have a Fifth Wife?
Over the vast array of Sunday nights through the years, viewers have watched one wife after another complain about Kody. Is a new one about to enter the family? The answer is – no, for now.
For the past six years, a number of reports have claimed Kody had found a fifth wife, yet nothing has actually come from it.
In 2019, after her name was reportedly added to the Sister Wives Wikipedia page, someone named Leah Marie was suspected to be wife #5. But when her name was quickly removed from the page, fans chalked it up to a prank.
Then there were the rumors that Kody spiritually married a woman named Bonnie Dwyer after he and Christine split.
It was reported Bonnie was a native of Utah (no surprise there) and, like so many other women who end up in this kind of situation, came from her own polygamous family.
She has 13 siblings, nine of which are half-siblings; this is to say, they share the same father, but have a different mother from Dwyer. But again, that also turned out to be false.
Then there was the rumor that he had proposed to a much younger woman – a 25-year-old – but was turned down. “He’s heartbroken,” an insider says of the 49-year-old. “He had his sights set on her as a sister wife replacement for his first wife Meri, but she turned him down.”
Will Kody Ever Marry Again?
So, no luck on finding wife number 5 – but Kody admittedly is not giving up.
In an interview with in the summer of 2023, Kody revealed that he would be open to “marrying again”.
“The idea of ever marrying again after the experience I’ve had, there’s no reason for me to do that,” he said. “I feel like I’ve hit the bottom of a deep swimming pool, but I’ve pushed off and am headed to the surface.”
While he thinks he’s ready to take another wife, his exes feel quite differently.
Janelle admitted in the Sister Wives: 1-on-1 special in December 2023 that doesn’t “foresee” Kody marrying a new wife. “I’ll bet you $1,000 right now,” Janelle said. “If he does, I will give you $1,000. Because I just don’t think it’ll ever happen.”
Is ‘Sister Wives’ Coming Back in 2024?
The truth is, a fifth wife for Kody Brown would’ve been just the kind of narrative to push Sister Wives into a brand new season in 2024. As it stands, an announcement for the show’s renewal has not been released. However, members of the cast, like Christine, have hinted that filming was well underway at the start of the new year.
But this was all before tragedy struck the family. Janelle and Kody Brown’s son Garrison committed suicide via gunshot wound on March 5. His parents, siblings, and entire Sister Wives family were understandably devastated. So, there’s been no word if cameras have been following any of the cast since his death.
But it’s all the more reason why it doesn’t sound like the best idea for Kody to get involved with another wife right now.
