Christine Brown has decided to simply lay waste to her ex-husband.
The long-time Sister Wives star sat down this week for a lengthy exclusive with People Magazine, opening up in depth for the first time about her decision to leave Kody Brown.
The mother of six did so in November of 2021, but told the outlet that the departure was a VERY long time coming.
“I started thinking maybe this isn’t working for me,” Christine told People, admitting such thoughts first entered her mind back in 2018.
“And then I stopped believing in polygamy. I realized I didn’t really want to live it anymore.
“I didn’t like sharing a husband or feeling like I wasn’t important.”
What finally prompted Christine to move back home to Utah, though?
Brown points now to Kody’s non-existent relationship with the former couple’s teenage daughter, Ysabel, who underwent back surgery in 2020.
As we documented on this website at the time, Kody chose NOT to accompany his child to New Jersey for the procedure due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ysabel was crushed by the decision.
And, according to her mother, the 19-year old hasn’t gotten over it.
“I really find it hard to stay with a guy who I don’t respect,” Christine told People of Kody and his behavior surrounding this surgery two years ago.
“I understood COVID, and why he couldn’t come, but she didn’t. And she still has a really hard time with it.
This is the first time Christine has addressed the situation directly.
And also the first time she’s pointed to a specific reason for why she left her marriage.
“I was there with Ysabel the whole time in New Jersey for the surgery,” Christine continued on this topic.
“And I remember them pointing out, like, ‘Are you here alone? Where’s your husband?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s not here.’ And they’re like, ‘Whoa, isn’t that hard?’ And I’m like, ‘No, it’s hard for her.’
“It’s hard for Ysabel, but it’s not hard for me.’ It was a good wake-up call. In the end I would’ve preferred to have him there, of course, because it’s what Ysabel needed.
“But I didn’t need him anymore.”
Christine married Kody in 1994.
They share six kids overall, but no longer share a vision for how a healthy relationship ought to play out.
“I needed more communication, more trust, and I realized we didn’t really have a partnership,” says Christine now.
Why did she stick around for so long? Christine points to fellow sister wives Janelle, Meri, Robyn and the unit they set up years ago:
“I believed in the team, and that’s what it was about. So we just made it work.”
Christine went on to say that she and Kody stopped sleeping together awhile back, and they also lacked “love, and commitment, and trust” in their romance by the end.
For the record, however, Christine will play a key role on Sister Wives Season 17.
It premieres on Sunday, September 11 at 10/9c on TLC.
“The most important thing anybody can do is just stop and listen to your heart,” Christine concluded in this interview.
“Once I did, I was like, ‘Oh, okay, then I can’t do this anymore, and I need to figure out how to make the rest of my life how I want it.’
“I thought for a while, I was making selfish decisions. Then I was like, ‘Is this selfish?’ I realized, ‘No, this is exactly what you should do. You should be in charge of your life.’
“It’s scary, yes, because you don’t know what it looks like, but it’s a lot better than staying where you shouldn’t be.”