Christine Brown discussed leaving Kody, her husband of 27 years, in an emotional episode of “Sister Wives” Sunday.
Brown spoke to host Sukanya Krishnan about how her departure affected the other wives, especially Robyn Brown.
“It’s not fun breaking people’s hearts,” Christine shared, according to People.
“I mean, at my core, I just want people to be happy and I just want people to feel loved. But I knew I was making a decision that would break hearts and it tore me apart. And it was super, super sad.”
READ MORE: ‘Sister Wives’: Kody Says Christine Is ‘So Full of Bulls**t’
She added of her relationship with Kody now, “Kody and I are divorced. We’re completely separate.”
Christine said of believing herself to be a “basement wife,” “I chose to just let it happen and I chose to be weaker. I just did.
“Every single day of my life, I wake up and I have a choice to make if I’m in a situation like that. And in the end, I would love to just be strong and be like, ‘No, no, no, no,’ and just cause more contention. … Or, I can just go, ‘Okay, okay. That’s fine, that’s fine, that’s fine,’ and make it easier. But then, in the end, I lose myself. The cost is me.
“I put everybody first most of the time. I put whatever Kody needed [first]. I was like, ‘I can be the peacemaker here. What do you need? What does Janelle [Brown] need? What does Meri [Brown] need? What do all the kids need?’ It left me running on empty and I asked [Kody] for help. I’m like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ He was like, ‘You’re just changing all the agreements.’ I said, ‘I’m overwhelmed.’ And he couldn’t help.”
Christine also admitted she no longer holds the same Apostolic United Brethren beliefs as her family.
“In our church, polygamous women can leave. They’re not trapped. They can leave if they want to leave and if it’s not working,” she said. “They have to go through proper channels and stuff, but then they can get a release. I haven’t been a member of that church for a long time and I left a long time ago.
“I just think that God’s fine if I just want to be happy.”
Kody insisted he was “comfortable” with Christine’s religious beliefs: “She’s free from that yolk of bondage, if you will.”
Robyn said of hoping that the pair would figure out their differences: “I have always wanted her and Kody’s relationship to be strong.
“I understand that she’s feeling like she doesn’t have other choices, but I wish that she decided to keep trying.”
She added, “Christine says they’re divorced and technically, in my head, they’re not, because their marriage was done by our church officials. They haven’t granted them a divorce.”
Christine and Kody announced their split in November 2021 after 25 years together, with Christine recently speaking about her ex telling her he no longer wanted them to have an intimate relationship.
“I’m heartbroken,” Christine admitted in an episode that aired last month. “My heart’s shattered, to be honest with you,” adding that Kody had previously told her he wasn’t “attracted” to her anymore.
“It’s over. The intimate part of our marriage is over,” she told the camera.
“And to be honest, I’m not okay with that. I’m not okay with staying in a marriage where there’s no intimacy. That’s not a real marriage. I’m not interested in a half marriage or a partial marriage or whatever we have.”
