‘Sister Wives’ Star Admits, ‘If He Was an Awesome Dad, I’d Still Be There’

YouTube Kody Brown films "Sister Wives."

For 17 seasons now, TLC fans have watched the Brown family on “Sister Wives” as they navigated the complicated dynamics of a family with four wives and 18 children. The current season has highlighted the difficult transition within the family as Kody Brown’s third wife, Christine Brown, separated from her husband of more than 20 years and moved from Arizona back to Utah. Christine recently opened up in a podcast about her decision, and she dropped some juicy tidbits.

Here’s what you need to know:

Christine Brown Recalled the Day She Decided to Leave

During the December 1 episode of the “Reality Life With Kate Casey” podcast, Christine talked about her decision to leave Kody and addressed some of the specific moments that have aired this season on “Sister Wives.” She recalled the day she decided polygamy was no longer right for her, and the realization came during a moment when she sat on her balcony in Flagstaff, Arizona. “I had this gorgeous view, super beautiful, and I remember realizing, here I am with this beautiful view, and I’m not really happy.”

The “Sister Wives” star acknowledged she questioned whether she needed to keep living a polygamous lifestyle, and decided it was not working for her anymore. As the decision solidified in her mind, she sat on her deck, “absorbing God’s love for my next chapter.” Christine revealed she had gone through a significant amount of counseling and hypnotherapy as she moved forward with her life-changing decision to leave Kody. It helped her maintain her composure during explosive conversations with the “Sister Wives” patriarch, and she was determined she was “not gonna go out like that,” screaming and yelling as Kody frequently has this season.

The ‘Sister Wives’ Star Is Driven By What’s Best for Her Kids

While Christine determined leaving Kody was the best thing for her, she pointed out that the well-being of her kids was the most important part of the puzzle. “It was like a vicious cycle all. the. time,” the “Sister Wives” star explained. “Cause for years, I’d say, your dad loves you, he wants to spend time with you, I’d tell my kids that all the time… after a while they just stopped believing me,” she recalled. Christine revealed her children often felt awkward and nervous around Kody, and they did not feel as if they had a great connection with him.

Christine felt “Kody was missing out on some seriously wicked, awesome kids,” the “Sister Wives” star stated, pointing out her crew is “amazing and delightful.” Instead, Christine revealed, “he just doesn’t know them.” While she had seen him act as a good father to some of the other kids in the family, she did not see him do the same with her children. She got to a point where she “was just done wishing,” and revealed, “If he was an awesome dad, I’d still be there.”

“If he was an awesome dad to my kids, if they knew he loved them, if he wanted to spend time with them, I’d stay, yeah. It just wasn’t there.”

“Sister Wives” fans have flooded Christine with support since she announced she had left Kody, and that was certainly the case after the podcast as well.

“She sounded sooo happy!!!” one fan noted on Reddit.

“How heartbreaking for her kids to have to watch him be amazing to other kids while rarely seeing hers,” added another fan.

Someone else felt the podcast “answered so many questions and cleared up some questions. It showed how fun and kind Christine is.”