Where Do the ‘Sister Wives’ Stars Live? Coyote Pass Update

If you’ve ever watched TLC’s Sister Wives, you’ve probably got more questions than answers about Kody Brown and his three spouses, Robyn, Meri and Janelle Brown, plus his ex-wife, Christine Brown. Keep reading to see where the reality TV family lives after their plans to move to Coyote Pass and more.

Where Do the Sister Wives Families Live?

After dealing with some legal issues back in 2011, Kody, his wives and all of their children packed up their stuff and moved from Utah to Las Vegas, Nevada. 

They relocated in hopes that they could live more openly with further religious freedom. “There was an immense amount of peace that we felt in arriving in Las Vegas,” Kody previously said. 

In 2020, the Brown family relocated again to forge a new life in Arizona. “We are looking forward to cooler temperatures, the mountain air, scenic views and the slower lifestyle of Flagstaff,” the polygamist family told People in 2018. 

After going back and forth about building a bigger home for their entire family, Kody purchased land on a vacant property in Arizona called Coyote Pass to be split into four parcels for each of his spouses. 

Janelle announced on June 27 that she will be the first to live on their new property. For the time being, she is residing in an RV. “Lots to do out here on the land, so I figured why not be onsite,” she told fans. 

Is Polygamy Legal?

Polygamy isn’t legal in the United States — and it was part of the trouble that Kody and his family experienced when leaving Utah. Utah had strict anti-polygamy laws until 2020, and the Brown family actually fought against them. 

According to CNN, the Browns sued the state in 2011, claiming the laws against polygamy were unconstitutional. Though they initially won, that judgment was overturned.

In Nevada, however, the laws are less strict. The Las Vegas Sun spoke with family law attorney Marshal Willick who explained that “there is nothing to prevent a married person from also living with someone else as long as they aren’t married to each other.” Because only one of Kody’s marriages is legal, and the others are “spiritual,” Kody and his wives weren’t technically breaking any Nevada laws.

As for Arizona, plural marriages are “prohibited in the state.” In December 2020, Kody told The Sun, “We’re not popular around here.”

How Many Sister Wives Are There?

The reality star patriarch has four wives. Kody and Meri wed back in 1990, Janelle joined their family in 1993, Christine became the third sister wife in 1994, and 16 years later, in 2010, Kody added Robyn as his fourth wife. Together, they have 18 children — fifteen of them are Kody’s biological children, three of them are Robyn’s children from before she met Kody.

Meri has one child, Leon. Janelle’s six children are Logan, Maddie, Hunter, Garrison, Gabriel and Savanah. Christine’s six kids are Aspyn, Mykelti, Paedon, Gwendolyn, Ysabel and Truely. 

Robyn’s older children are Dayton, Aurora and Breanna. Kody adopted all three of them, and they went on to have two kids of their own, Solomon and Ariella. 

Who Catfished Meri on Sister Wives?

In 2015, Meri started talking to someone online named “Sam Cooper.” After talking for six months, it was revealed that “Sam” was actually Jackie Overton. 

“The catfish situation and basically the year before it, whatever happened, it just got flippin’ ugly,” Kody said on the show in March 2021.

“And even a year into living in Flagstaff, I was still dealing with a lot of bitterness about our past,” he told cameras. “In the past few months, I’ve been able to really let that go for myself. And I feel more friendly with Meri than I have felt in six or more years.”

Who on Sister Wives Got a Divorce?

Meri and Kody got divorced back in 2015, but they are still together and spiritually married. They separated legally so that Kody could marry his fourth wife, Robyn, and officially adopt her three older children. Meri has since shut down split rumors, confirming she and Kody were on the same page about trying to overcome their relationship struggles. 

Christine shocked fans in November 2021 when she announced she was leaving Kody. Since they were never legally married, their split was effective immediately.

Are the Sister Wives Actually Sisters?

Though they’re called sister wives, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn aren’t actually sisters. They’re just all romantically linked to the same man. 

How Does Having Sister wives work?

Because all four women are married to Kody, they all function as his wives. When they moved to Las Vegas, each wife moved into her own house — and Kody rotates between the houses. They help to raise each other’s kids as one big family, but they also keep their own space, even in Arizona.

Was Kody from Sister Wives arrested?

Kody reportedly feared being arrested because of Utah’s anti-polygamy laws. However, he was never actually arrested before the family left the state of Utah.

Is Sister Wives real?

While there’s no doubt that some of the drama is exacerbated for the cameras, there’s no script for the sister wives.