Inside Sister Wives turbulent family life amid Garrison Brown’s tragic death at 25

For 18 seasons of TLC’s hit show Sister Wives, viewers have followed Kody Brown and the ups and downs of his plural family life with his four wives and 18 children.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Kody’s, 55, son Garrison Brown — whom he shares with ex Janelle Brown, 54 — died in apparent suicide at the age of 25, as per TMZ.

Garrison appeared ‘to have suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound’ and was found dead in his home by his younger brother Gabriel, 22, authorities told the outlet.

In recent years all three of Kody’s wives but Robyn Brown, 45, had left him, creating major fractions in the family, including strained relationships with his sons Garrison and Gabriel.

Amid the tragic news of Garrison’s death, Dailymail.com takes a look inside the turbulent family life of the Sister Wives stars.

TLC fans were introduced to the Brown family in 2010 when Kody, a prominent polygamist, was legally married to Meri Brown, 53, and spiritually married to Janelle and Christine Brown, 51. He then divorced Meri in order to legally marry new wife Robyn.

The first season of the show followed Robyn’s integration into the large family, after the other three wives had been living and raising their kids together for 16 years.

In September 2023 Christine discussed the fractured family bonds during an episode of the show, saying, ‘There’s so many things that are broken now. We’re just not a family anymore.’

Christine was the first to leave, announcing her split from Kody in November 2021, after 25 years of marriage and six children together.

The pair share daughters Aspyn, 28, Mykelti, 27, Gwendlyn, 22, Ysabel, 20, Truely, 13, and son Paedon, 25.

A little over a year later, Janelle decided to leave as well, confirming their separation in December 2022. Aside from Garrison and Gabriel, Kody and Janelle also share Logan, 29, Madison, 27, Hunter, 27, and Savanah, 19.

Just a few days after, it was also confirmed that Kody’s 32-year marriage with first wife Meri was done as well. The pair welcomed one child together, Leon Brown, 28, who goes by they/them pronouns and is estranged from Kody.

Meanwhile Robyn had three children from a previous marriage when she joined the family, after meeting Kody at church in 2009: son Dayton, 23, and daughters Aurora, 21, and Breanna, 19, whom Kody has adopted.

They’ve also since welcomed two more children together, son Solomon, 12, and daughter Ariella, eight.

Janelle tells Kody to ‘f**k off’ as she and Christine decide to spend Thanksgiving APART from the family

Janelle had choice words for Kody after she decided to spend Thanksgiving apart from the family due to his quarantine guidelines in 2022.

Kody had introduced a strict set of rules to prevent COVID-19 spread amongst the family, but the guidelines put Janelle in a difficult spot as she believed their adult sons, Garrison and Gabriel, should continue their social lives.

Ultimately, Janelle decided to spend the holiday apart from the Browns in order to be with her sons – but not without telling Kody to ‘f**k off’ as she departed a family meeting.

‘F**k off,’ Janelle told Kody after the pair failed to come to an agreement over the guidelines.

Things got tense during a family meeting where Kody told the women he would ‘respect’ their decisions yet reminded everyone they had ‘an obligation to a very large amount of people’ in order to keep their family running smoothly.

Kody said he would cease monitoring their behavior but asked them to ‘consider a much bigger picture.’

‘I’ve told you this so that you can share it with your children so that they can understand the perspective instead of making phone calls to me, telling me, “Dad. Hey, your rules are taking a toll on our family,”‘ Kody said, citing a chat he had with Garrison and Gabriel. ‘You can continue in the vein of your little world, but I want you to understand mine.’

‘I think you understand the big picture that I have and I want you to just respect that, ok?’ Kody said as Janelle began leaving.

‘You know, f**k off,’ Janelle replied before turning her back on the group and departing.

Kody says he and sons Garrison and Gabriel are ‘not talking’ and ‘need therapy’ after dispute over his COVID-19 rules 

In 2022 Kody’s relationships with his sons Garrison and Gabriel became increasingly strained due the family patriarch’s strict COVID-19 rules.

In one episode he admitted that the situation has reached a breaking point.

‘[We’re] not good. Not talking,’ Kody revealed.

He continued, ‘It’s like one of those relationships where we’ve gotta do a lot of work.’

Kody went on to tell host Sukanya Krishnan that the situation escalated after he gave Garrison and Gabe an ultimatum over how they would be allowed to conduct their social lives while still living at his home.

‘I make rules, you guys abide by them,’ he told Sukanya. ‘I understand that these two needed their social lives. I totally get it. But in this case, COVID is different.’

He added, ‘It’s changed everything for everybody, and they want it all to be the same.’

‘They need to realize that they should go and date that girlfriend, that’s fine, but you need to move out of the house so I can be home.’

Kody also looked back at an emotional moment between himself and Gabe which was aired during the January 16 episode of the hit TLC series.

In the scene, the father of 18 told Gabe that unless he stopped seeing his girlfriend, Kody would not be able to come over to the house to see his other kids with Janelle, lest he potentially spread COVID-19 to the homes he shares with his wives Meri, Christine and Robyn.

The Wyoming native told his son, ‘The real issue here is, you had to choose between me coming over or seeing your girlfriend.’

Through tears, Gabe asked, ‘Why? Why was I made to make that decision?’

Gabe later said, ‘My family is so focused on being right that this is ruining my family.’

After revisiting the episode, Kody said he felt that their disrespect for his COVID-19 policies was at the root of their problems.

‘We need therapy,’ he admitted. ‘I need a sit-down with my boys and get something straight.’

‘I’ve gotten to the point where I’m so angry about what happened that we’re not communicating. And I think they are too.’

Janelle and Christine have also strongly objected to Kody’s enforcement of strict COVID-19 protocols, which resulted in further tension in their relationships.

In 2023 Kody called his estranged kids ‘jerks’ after they revealed they don’t need their father.

‘I think sometimes that Janelle has pit me against the boys or never supported me with the boys,’ Kody said in one episode.

Meanwhile Janelle shared that Kody ‘does have somewhat of a relationship with Garrison right now,’ but that there had been ‘no reconciliation’ between them yet in a December 2023 edition of the Sister Wives: Look Back special.

Janelle and Kody have an explosive argument leading up to their split

The former couple’s mounting issues came to a boiling in a 2023 episode, as they got into an explosive argument while discussing their plans for Christmas.

They accused each other of ‘gaslighting’ as they fought about his estrangement from their sons — Gabriel and Garrison — over his COVID restrictions.

‘You’re always flipping it back on me,’ Janelle griped.

‘That’s because it belongs on you, Janelle,’ Kody hit back. ‘Because you didn’t support my stand when it came to actually doing the COVID stuff.’

The patriarch introduced a strict set of rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic, which only amplified his family’s problems.

Janelle was forced to choose between her husband and their adult sons, who continued their social lives and ignored their father’s COVID protocol.

Kody questioned whether they were ‘ever a team’ and called it ‘bulls**t’ when she used the ‘excuse’ that he wasn’t always around for their children.

As their argument escalated, Kody continued to blame Janelle for the rift between him and their sons, and she felt she couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

‘Shut your f*****g mouth and let me talk to you for a second,’ she told him.

An outraged Kody stood up and prepared to leave, insisting that their relationship was over and couldn’t be saved.

‘There is no interest in understanding each other here. There is no interest in understanding. There is only a bitterness that has no place,’ he said.

‘I don’t expect you to back me up anymore. I’m not going to look for it. I’m not going to ask for it. I don’t expect you to try and help us co-parent the kids. That’s too late. We’re never going to do that.

‘So what partnership do we have?’ he asked.

Janelle grabbed his jacket in an attempt to get him to stay and talk, but he refused and stormed out.

‘F**k you,’ she said right before he slammed the door.

Kody abandons polygamy for monogamous relationship with last remaining wife Robyn… after his three other marriages crumbled

In December of 2023 Kody said he ‘wouldn’t be interested’ in welcoming another sister wife into the family after his splits from wives Meri, Janelle, and Christine, within a span of 14 months.

He told Robyn: ‘I would have to tell that woman I will never love you as much as I love her – now I know better.’

Janelle said of Kody: ‘He’s now talking more and more about, “As we move forward into monogamy.” So, I think that’s where he’s headed.’

Janelle said she didn’t predict Kody and Robyn would seek other sister wives to expand their family, as they appear ‘very happy’ with the direction of their family after the series of splits.

Robyn did not sound as optimistic, as she said she felt it was ‘weird’ to proceed forward in a singular marriage after entering a plural marriage in the first place.

‘To be loving and respectful to Kody, I want to say yes but I just don’t know how this works exactly,’ Robyn said. ‘It’s weird – I feel like it’s disrespectful.’

In the special, Robyn said that it felt ‘disrespectful to be happy’ in her romance with Kody, as Janelle, Meri and Christine have never formally given her their blessings amid the aforementioned dissolving of the trio of relationships.

Garrison dies in apparent suicide at 25 after suffering a ‘self-inflicted gunshot wound’ 

Garrison died via an apparent suicide Tuesday in his Flagstaff, Arizona home at the age of 25.

Flagstaff police told TMZ that Garrison appeared ‘to have suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound’ after they responded to his house after receiving reports someone had died.

Garrison was found dead in his home by his brother Gabriel, authorities told the outlet.

Police told the outlet that foul play was not suspected in Garrison’s death, and that an investigation has been launched.

It was not immediately clear if Garrison left behind a note or other communications.

Janelle took to Instagram Tuesday afternoon to announce the tragic news on behalf of the family.

‘Kody and I are deeply saddened to announce the loss of our beautiful boy Robert Garrison Brown,’ Janelle said. ‘He was a bright spot in the lives of all who knew him.

‘His loss will leave such a big hole in our lives that it takes our breath away. We ask that you please respect our privacy and join us in honoring his memory.’

TLC said in a statement to People on Tuesday, ‘We are devastated to hear of the tragic loss of Garrison Brown.

The network continued: ‘We extend our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the Brown family at this difficult time.’