This time, the TLC drama is happening off camera. We recently learned that Sister Wives' Kody Brown divorced his first wife last fall and married his fourth. As of last December, Robyn Sullivan Brown is now Kody's legal wife instead of Meri. What does that mean? It has been long speculated that a shakeup like this might happen in the Brown household. However, why this particular switch, and what does it mean for the family? Could this be a custody issue? It would now be easier for Kody Brown to adopt Robyn's children from her first marriage. They will be privy to legal, insurance, and medical benefits.
If you're wondering if this has anything to do with Meri's decision to go back to school, you may be in luck. Since this happened months ago, Radar Online speculates that Meri made that decision after the divorce. Personally, I think that may have been a coincidence. Meri has been talking about going back to school for a while. It's more likely that this decision was a long time coming and they wanted to get everything settled before the semester started. Radar Online also spoke to Meri's sister, who insists that Kody and Meri are happy together and she doesn't "know what the big deal is."
I guess it isn't necessarily a big deal. Since plural marriage is not technically legal, the family has to make choices that may not seem conventional in order to abide by the law. According to Entertainment Tonight, the Browns are considering this move a "legal restructure" of their family, and assert that the decision was mutual. Presumably, Kody is still "with" Meri the same way he is with Christine and Janelle. In the best case scenario, the only changes to the Brown family are on paper.
I'm most interested (though we may have to wait a while) to hear what Christine and Janelle think about all of this. Technically, nothing changes for them. Still, I can't imagine that this was an easy decision for any of them to make. Sure, Meri's only daughter is now a legal adult, and Robyn's older children are now able to be protected by the family. However, from an emotional standpoint, the two "middle wives" have been married to Kody for a very long time and have a lot of kids with him, but have never been legally married to him. Plural marriage, as you learn from watching the show, multiplies every aspect of everyday married life.
I cannot imagine what the emotional toll of a divorce has done to the Browns. The latest season of Sister Wives has not painted the happiest picture and each couple in the Brown family has their own separate issues. It's a very complicated situation, and I hope for the sake of the Sister Wives that nobody got hurt!
