Christine Brown and Kody Brown’s son, Paedon Brown, revealed the truth behind the family’s big move from Lehi, Utah, to Las Vegas, Nevada. In a recent Instagram Live, Paedon explains the move had more to do with Sister Wives rather than religious persecution, as the show suggested.
Why did the Brown family move out of Utah?
In 2009, the Browns decided it was time to stop “living in fear” and show the world their lifestyle on their TLC reality show, Sister Wives.
After officially coming out as polygamists to the public in Sister Wives Season 1, the Lehi Police Department began an investigation against the Brown family. In 2009, polygamy was a third-degree felony in the state of Utah.
In Sister Wives Season 2, the family made a dramatic show about being run out of Utah, saying they were being persecuted for their religious beliefs. Kody said that they must move out of Utah to keep the family intact. They moved the family to Las Vegas, where they believed they would be “accepted” for their unorthodox religious beliefs. Kody even cried, calling Las Vegas his “Plymouth Rock.”
Paedon says the family moved to Las Vegas to continue the show
Christine and Kody’s son, Paedon, revealed some interesting information about the Las Vegas move. In a recent Instagram Live (via Reddit), Paedon tells his followers the move was because his dad wanted to continue to film Sister Wives. Check out Paedon’s full Instagram live video below:
Paedon said, “We were told, ‘You need to stop creating that show, and you need to let go and leave it alone.’ And my dad said, ‘Nah, I’m going to keep doing this. Deuces.’” He said there were “several other reasons,” but the main reason was that they couldn’t continue to film Sister Wives in Utah.
Police reports from the Utah investigation back up Paedon’s claims
The 2010 Lehi police report, obtained by @WithoutACrystalBall, reveals the truth behind the Utah investigation. Kody is an admitted bigamist, but since there was no evidence of other bigamy-related crimes, the state prosecutors declined to prosecute Kody. Bigamy is used as a penalty enhancement for more substantial crimes associated with polygamy but is rarely prosecuted on its own.
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The police report reads: “I did not locate any evidence that suggests these individuals are committing any other crimes commonly associated with the practice of Polygamy, including welfare fraud, underage marriages, or sexual offenses against children or minors. This does not confirm that these crimes are not occurring, only that there is currently no evidence supporting it.”
It did state that Kody getting paid for Sister Wives is profiting from promoting illegal activities. The only actual crime Kody was committing was getting paid for endorsing polygamy.
The fact that the Brown family said they left Utah “under duress” and labeled it religious persecution is deceptive.
Had Kody stopped filming Sister Wives, he wouldn’t have had to uproot his four wives and then 16 children and move them to a new state. Money was more important to him than how his children felt. He and the producers exploited his children’s pain for the show.
New episodes of Sister Wives Season 17 air Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
RELATED: ‘Sister Wives’: Gwendlyn Brown Says Most of the Family Realized They Were Raised in a ‘Cult’
