See the ‘Sister Wives’ Stars in Season 1 vs. Season 18 (PHOTOS)
In Season 18 of TLC’s Sister Wives — premiering on Sunday, August 20, at 10/9c — the Brown family is more divided than ever before. Christine Brown left then-husband Kody Brown last season, and Janelle Brown announced her separation from Kody during the reunion episodes. And judging from TLC’s Season 18 trailer, we’ll see what went wrong between Janelle and Kody, as well as how Meri Brown decides to move on from Kody, too.
It’s a far cry from the happy family we met when Sister Wives debuted in 2010. At the time, the family had three sister wives and 12 children, with another new addition on the way. Since then, Kody married Robyn Brown, bringing her three children into the fold, and he had more children with some of the wives. And it wasn’t long before his older kids started getting married and having kids of their own.
The family moved from Utah to Nevada to Arizona, with dreams of building houses on the same plot of mountainside land. But now that some of the wives and children are estranged from Kody, it appears that dream will never become reality. (“You know what, Robyn? Have him,” Janelle’s son Garrison says in the trailer. “We’re all grown adults that don’t need a father figure anymore.”)
In the photo gallery below, see the Sister Wives stars as they were in Season 1 — happier times! — versus how they are now.
Sister Wives, Season 18 Premiere, Sunday, August 20, 10/9c, TLC
Kody Brown in Season 1
“I like marriage, and I’m a repeat offender,” Kody quipped in the first episode. “I have adopted a faith that embraces that lifestyle — in fact, it recommends it and like[s] to reward good behavior. So if you’re good with one marriage, they figure you’ll be good with two. I hope they think I’ll be good with four.”
Kody Brown in Season 18
As Season 18 starts, Kody is not the “happy-go-lucky” man he once was, Meri observes. He has already lost his marriage to Christine and is on the verge of losing his marriage to Meri and Janelle, too.
“I worked so hard to do what was right,” he says in a confessional. “And when you lose that… well, I should just be the devil I think I am now.”
Meri Brown in Season 1
“I was raised in a polygamist family,” Meri told viewers in the first episode. “By the time I met Kody, when we were talking about marriage and stuff, at that point, he and I both knew that eventually, we would take another wife — or wives — into the family.”
Meri Brown in Season 18
Despite telling Kody that she “still [has] hope” in the Season 18 trailer, Meri seems to give up on the relationship. “There’s no question, Robyn,” she tells Kody’s fourth sister wife. “He’s done with me.”
Janelle Brown in Season 1
Janelle explained in the series premiere that she grew up with no idea what polygamy was. But she joined the practice after meeting Meri’s family when she was 19 and Kody shortly thereafter. “It really didn’t seem so strange,” she said. “It wasn’t a huge jump for me for some reason.”
Janelle Brown in Season 18
Janelle has the biggest blow-up with Kody in the Season 18 preview. “Listen to me,” she says as they argue. “Shut your f**king mouth and let me talk to you for a minute. You stay and talk.”
Kody, however, refuses and storms out of Janelle’s place, slamming the door behind him. “OK, so we’re done?” Janelle calls out after him. “F**k you.”
Christine Brown in Season 1
“I always knew that I would live a polygamist lifestyle — that’s probably just because I was raised in it,” Christine said in Sister Wives’ first episode. “So I wasn’t ever interested in single guys. If they’d ask my dad about me, I would just turn them down, ‘cause I didn’t want them.”
Christine Brown in Season 18
Despite leaving Kody last season, Christine still seems to be in touch with her former sister wives — or Janelle, at least. And she even has a sit-down with Kody in the Season 18 preview. “If you can’t look back with a sense of humor, what a waste,” she tells her ex-husband.
Robyn Brown in Season 1
Robyn appears on screen only at the very end of Sister Wives’ first episode — when Kody drives four hours away to take her on a date as part of their courtship. “Kody’s my soulmate,” Robyn says. “I love him.”
The duo enjoys a dinner at a restaurant. “A little giddy here,” a giggling Robyn says, eyeing a mug topped with whipped cream. “My cup runneth over.”
Robyn Brown in Season 18
Robyn is anything but giddy and giggling in the Season 18 trailer. She bursts into tears when Meri says she’s not going to be around any longer. “I wanted to sit on a porch with my sister wives with our kids and our grandkids,” Robyn sobs, mourning a vision she had for the future.
