It took David Woolley all of two dates to realize he wanted Christine Brown to be part of his world.
"We went to The Little Mermaid and I was watching her just be so in awe with the play," he recalled of that second outing while speaking exclusively to E! News' Francesca Amiker. "And I realized that she has a passion for life. Like everything to her is like it's the first time experiencing things and I just knew that she was going to be the person that I wanted to be with."
Christine, similarly, was truly ready to dive in deep with a partner.
She shared "some great memories" with former spouse Kody Brown during their 27-year marriage, the Sister Wives star, 51, noted. "I am who I am today, because I was married to Kody, because I had sister wives, because I lived polygamy. And I like me."
So while none of the stars of TLC's long-running series are currently living polygamy (like Christine, both Meri Brown and Janelle Brown announced their splits from Kody, leaving him in a monogamous relationship with sole wife Robyn Brown), said Christine, "I think it's important to acknowledge the good things in the past."
Particularly when they leave you a bit more appreciative of the present.
"I've never been loved like this before," Christine stressed of her three-month union with David, "never, never been loved like this."
While Kody acquiesced during the series' four-part One on One reunion special last month that he wasn't actually in love with any of his exes, Christine has had no reason to question David's feelings.
"I feel it in every part of me," she raved to E!. "I'm more independent than I ever was, if that makes sense, even though we're around each other all the time. It just feels complete. It's like I took my first breath."
And the mom who shares Aspyn, 28, Mykelti, 27, Paedon, 25, Gwendlyn, 22, Ysabel, 20 and Truely, 13, with Kody can actually pinpoint the precise moment she felt herself come up for air.
Connecting with David on a dating site for single parents, she determined quickly that he checked off every one of her good-on-paper boxes down to the bald head, motorcycle and penchant for solid communication. And just as she was marveling at her abilities to manifest her dream man ("I mean, c'mon, bald, tattoos and motorcycles. I don't know what's sexier than that," she told E!), the two attended a family party together.
"We were sitting in these chairs, and he pulled my chair back to him and he put his arm around me," she recounted. "I laid my head on his chest. And I could tell our hearts synced up like that. I took a big breath. And it was like I took my first breath. And I knew at that point I was in love with him and we were it."
All at once, she realized, "We were complete soulmates, and I knew it from that point on. So when you have that to start a life together with, nothing's going to get in our way ever. We're it."
So she really shouldn't have been all that surprised when he dropped to one knee mid-hike this past April.
"She was clueless about it," David said of his planned proposal on a cliff in scenic Moab, Utah. "I thought of a lot of ideas, my kids, your kids were all like, 'Let's do those big things.' And, you know what, I'm gonna do it the way I want to do it."
His way involved tasking their friends to capture the moment.
"I didn't even know he had the ring in his hoodie coat," detailed Christine. "And we've been hugging the whole time. And his friend, so coyly he's like, 'Do you want me to take your picture, Christine?' I'm like, 'Yeah.' And he holds it up. And he was recording it instead. It was so sweet. It went perfect."
The pair opted for a slightly more high-tech endeavor when they returned to Moab for their October vows, allowing TLC to capture every moment for the upcoming two-part special Sister Wives – Christine and David's Wedding.
And should either of them have felt even the slightest bit of chill to their feet, putting together their big day proved their partnership was rock-solid. "David's opinions are classy, they're good, they're spot on," Christine raved of the construction company owner, who was tasked with both selecting the venue and crafting solutions for any problems that arose along the way.
"I'd say, 'Okay, we have this situation, what are we going to do?'" Christine recounted. "And he would get it figured out."
And while she appreciated his suggestions to, say, use whiskey barrels in place of guest books and pass out glow sticks for their big exit, quite simply, "It was really cool to plan it with a partner," Christine explained. "And that's what it's always been like for us."
Still very much basking in their newlywed bliss, "I look at her and I appreciate her for who she is," said David. "I trust her with everything. And if you can trust somebody, life, being married is so much easier."
Their day-to-day together in Utah is a blur of romance and delightfully peaceful moments.
"We wake up in the morning and we drink coffee together and watch the news and I play Sudoku," described Christine. "And I feel like we are just moving on with our lives together. It's beautiful."
And they're not the only Sister Wives stars waking up with hot coffee and a steamy romance. Check out how the rest of the cast has multiplied their love.
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."
Sister Wives – Christine and David's Wedding premieres Sunday, January 7 at 10/9c on TLC.