Sister Wives star, Robyn Brown, was married into the family as Kody Brown’s fourth wife. Many Sister Wives fans have noticed Robyn has a particular obsession with Oprah Winfrey. In the Brown family’s 2012 memoir, Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage, Robyn compares herself to Oprah in the chapter about handling celebrity after her debut on Sister Wives.
Robyn Brown, ‘Sister Wives’ Season 16 | TLC
Robyn Brown joined the family
In the first-ever episode of Sister Wives, Kody beams with pride as he introduces his family to the world. The episode takes the viewers through each wife’s daily routine to showcase how the family of 16 functions. Kody was then only married to Meri, Janelle, and Christine, and together had 12 children, with Christine pregnant with one on the way.
By the time they started filming the first episode, Kody was already a couple of months into his courtship with Robyn. The then-30-year-old Robyn had just divorced from her first marriage to David Jessop and with their three children — Dayton, Breanna, and Aurora. By the end of Sister Wives Season 1, Robyn was married to Kody, and they became one big blended family with 16 children.
Robyn doubted if God wanted her to be on ‘Sister Wives’
In chapter sixteen of the family’s memoir, Robyn wrote about her decision to join the Brown family as a participant in the family’s brand-new TLC show, Sister Wives.
“As our courtship progressed toward engagement, I realized that the television show, which had seemed like a huge fantasy was in fact a reality. If I married Kody, I would be signing on for this show. This gave me pause. It was very scary for me,” she wrote.
“I didn’t want this. I didn’t need this. I just wanted to live a quiet and tranquil life, happy with God and my family. But I loved Kody and his family too much. I had asked God for a testimony that Kody and I shared a destiny and I received that testimony. I wasn’t turning back.
Christine, Janelle, Kody, Robyn, and Meri Brown from TLC’s ‘Sister Wives’ pictured in 2012 | Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic
While Kody and I were courting, I went through a period where I turned to God and asked Him, ‘You seriously want me to be on a TV show? This is what you want for me?’ It just seemed preposterous. I know that God guides my life, but he seemed to be leading me down a strange and dangerous path.”
Robyn Brown
She was so concerned about the outcome of the TLC show that she even considered not marrying Kody. But ultimately, she ended up changing her mind. “If our destiny meant being on a reality show, I was willing,” she concluded.
Robyn Brown manifested meeting Oprah
After explaining the show’s negative impacts on her parents, siblings, and children, Robyn talked about the benefits the show has had on her life.
“Several years before I married Kody, when I was at an absolute low point in my life, I made a life list of all the things I wanted to accomplish. Since things were going so badly for me at that time, I allowed myself to dream as big as possible. Here’s what was on my list: change the world, meet Oprah, write a best seller, and own a business.
I look back on that now and think, be careful what you wish for because you might get it — and then it may be something you don’t want. I can never underestimate the positive impact of Sister Wives.”
Robyn Brown
Robyn said that after the first season of Sister Wives, more and more people began to recognize her. However, she admitted she wasn’t entirely “comfortable with being called a ‘celebrity,’”
Robyn Brown compared herself to her hero Oprah after ‘Sister Wives’ fame
Later in the chapter, Robyn explains how meeting Oprah changed her perspective on TV. “I never in my wildest dreams imagined it would come true. So I was astonished when our publicist booked us on Oprah to promote the show,” she wrote.
She recalls in the book the “hard times” that Oprah had brought her out of when she would watch her show in the afternoons. “Oprah was my favorite escape,” she wrote.
However, after getting there, she felt “distant” from the world she’d imagined. Contrary to what was shown on TV, she was disappointed by the “cold soundstage” that was the set. That’s when she realized that Oprah is just a TV show, like Sister Wives.
“Like all television programs, it created fantasies for the at-home viewers. It’s part make-believe. It invites them into a world that doesn’t entirely exist. I realized that the magic I had watched on TV wasn’t real,” she explained.
While waiting on set with Oprah before the cameras started rolling, Robyn understood that “Oprah could have been any other businesswoman,” she said. Still, she was thrilled to meet her idol.
“I leaned over to her and told her she was wonderful and an inspiration to me. She was so humble and sweet. I realized then that Oprah was just a woman like me. She probably dealt with the same kind of scrutiny and pressure the camera and audience can put on you as I did, just in a bigger way.”
Robyn Brown
After reading this chapter from Robyn, many Sister Wives viewers are convinced she married Kody for fame. Some even believe that she had dreams of becoming the next Oprah. Perhaps that’s why she and Kody created their own entertainment business called DABSARK.
