Sister Wives' Christine Brown and Janelle Brown still believe their love for former husband Kody Brown and his sole remaining wife Robyn Brown can be multiplied. Or at least not divided.
While the current season of the TLC juggernaut is documenting the plural family's unraveling, with 18 kids (plus six grandkids and counting) between them, "We still have things that we have to do when we're all family," Janelle explained in an exclusive interview with E! News' Francesca Amiker. "We have to get together for the sake of the kids and we're all friendly."
And while they can all show off their dance moves at events like daughter Gwendlyn Brown's July 2023 wedding to Beatriz Queiroz, both Janelle, 54, and Christine, 51, are hoping they'll be able to share more than just a conga line in the future.
"I do hope that that eventually time heals," said Janelle, whose sons Garrison, 25, and Gabriel, 22, are currently at odds with their father. "So I'm hoping that over time, he can find a relationship with the children that he's estranged from now."
As for Christine—mom to Aspyn, 28, Mykelti, 27, Paedon, 25, Gwendlyn, 22, Ysabel, 20, and Truely, 13—"I really hope for peace for him," she told E!, "and certainly to have a great relationship with his kids. That'd be awesome."
To that end, the Utah-based entrepreneur does whatever she can to facilitate a relationship between Kody and their six kids. "When I find out that he's coming into town three hours before he gets there, I cancel all the plans," Christine explained, "and I make sure Truely can spend time with her dad."
In the future, both she and Janelle are hopeful for more group hangs.
Though Robyn's eldest kids—Dayton, 23, Aurora, 21, and Breanna, 19—have copped to feeling estranged from the rest of their siblings, "I do miss having Robyn's kids around," said Janelle. "And I do hope that that resolves itself someday."
The health coach knows that relationships can ebb and flow, she and Christine admitting that they weren't always quite so close.
"You know how you have your sisters you don't get along with sometimes?" posed Christine. "I would say we went through times where we didn't get along very well. And there were times that we did. And now we get along better than ever."
Which is why Janelle doesn't mind tagging along on some of Christine's date nights with new husband David Woolley.
"We both have kind of ended up where we always wanted to be right," noted Janelle. "Christine has gotten her dream. David is amazing. The kids love him. The more you hang out with him, the more you like him."
And she would know. "They keep having all these adventures and I get to tag along as a third wheel," shared Janelle, "but it's not awkward third wheel." Agreed Christine, "It's not awkward. We love it!"
For now, Janelle, whose said she would consider another plural marriage, isn't looking to add to their trio.
"I am not interested in dating," she revealed. "I'm not looking. I'm just not, no. And I really am pursuing some of these other things I'm doing."
But someday, she continued, when she decides to put herself back on the market, she sees Christine and David's union as "a ruler," she noted, "something that I would measure a relationship against."
Of course Christine isn't the only one feeling the love this season. Here's a look at all the romance that's blossoming in the expansive Brown fam.
Meri Brown
In January 2024, a year after she and Kody Brown announced their breakup, Meri revealed on Instagram that she had begun dating Amos Andrews the previous October. But in February 2024, Meri confirmed on Instagram that they had called it quits.
"She looked like a soccer mom," Kody Brown once joked on Sister Wives of meeting then-single mom Robyn in 2009. "She had a van, three kids and was divorced. I thought, 'I didn't need a van, a divorced woman, and three kids in my life—that's just trouble.'"
Nearly a decade and a half on, though, they're still kicking it, the pair adding son Solomon, 12, and daughter Ariella, 7, to the squad. As for bringing on other teammates, it's not in the game plan. "I really, really struggle with it because it feels, like, 'Oh, well. Those didn't work. So, on to [someone] new,'" Robyn said on the December Sister Wives: One on One special of Meri, Janelle and Christine leaving the fold. "That's hard for me. That's really, really hard for me. It feels disrespectful."
She got the man and the family. Going official with her and David Woolley's romance on Valentine's Day 2023, Christine Brown shared, "I finally found the love of my life, David. The first time he held me close, it felt like my soul took its first breath. He's wonderful and kind, incredible with my children and an adorable grandpa. I never dreamed I could find a love like this."
Two months later he added to the fantasy with a spring proposal. "David treats me like a queen and tells me I'm beautiful everyday," Christine told People. "I've never been in love like this before and the world seems like a brighter place with him in it."
Tying the knot in Utah Oct. 7, she wrote, "I'm so blessed! I've married my best friend."
The first of the 18 Brown children to walk down the aisle, Janelle's eldest daughter, Madison Brown, now 28, wed Caleb Brush at a 2016 outdoor wedding in Montana captured by TLC's cameras. Nearly seven years later, the two have multiplied their love with Josephine joining big brother Axel, 6, and big sister Evie, 4, in February.
"One month as a family of 5 and my heart is bursting," North Carolina-based Maddie wrote on Instagram in March. "I didn't know this kind of peace amongst chaos could be had."
Four years after their engagement aired on the TLC reality show, Meri Brown's only child, Leon Brown, has settled in Denver with partner Audrey Kriss. "my sweetest symphony," Leon, 28, raved of their fiancé. "Life with you truly is so sweet." Echoed Audrey, "Being your partner and watching your growth and coming into yourself over the years has been an honor and joy."
Eldest kid Logan Brown, 29, got the gang back together when he married longtime girlfriend Michelle Petty in Arizona this past October. "It was a beautiful day and this mama's heart was mush the whole time," Janelle shared on Instagram of her son's wedding. "You always have such a sense of peace when your children find amazing life partners."
More than six years after her 2016 wedding to Antonio "Tony" Padron, Mykelti Brown joked that they'd already tested the limits of their marriage vows by welcoming twins Archer and Ace into the fold in November 2022.
"We have 3 kids and 4 moves under our belt," noted the 27-year-old, also mom to Avalon, 2. "A whole lot of good times and some hard times #surprisetwins But here we are still doing this whole marriage thing."
In the five years since they wed, Christine's daughter Aspyn Brown, 28, and husband Mitch Thompson have traveled everywhere from Paris to Alaska. But last December, they put down roots, Mitch sharing on Instagram, "We bought our first home! Just in time for Christmas."
Before hitting their one-year anniversary, Christine's daughter Gwendlyn Brown and love Beatriz Queiroz went to the happiest place on earth and marked six months together with chocolate fondue. Then came the really sweet part. The 22-year-old shared a glimpse at the candlelit, rose-filled proposal on Instagram in November 2022, writing simply, "i'm engaged!!"
The couple wed in July, sharing the news on Instagram the caption: "Say hello to mrs (x2) queiroz."