'Sister Wives' ' Christine Brown Reveals the Final Straw That Made Her Leave Kody: 'He Broke My Little Girl's Heart'

Mar. 15, 2025

Christine Brownis opening up about what ultimately made herleave her husband,Kody Brown, after 26 years together.

“He broke my little girl’s heart,” theSister Wivesstar, 50, says in the latest issue of PEOPLE.

In September 2020 the couple’s 19-year-old daughterYsabelunderwentmajor surgery to correct her scoliosis. The specialist was located out of state and required travel to New Jersey, but Kody declined to join them for the operation, citing concerns about traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I really find it hard to stay with a guy who I don’t respect,” she says. “I understood COVID, and why he couldn’t come, but she didn’t. And she still has a really hard time with it.”

Christine continues, “I was there with Ysabel the whole time in New Jersey for the surgery. 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 Brown.Kim Raff

For more on Christine Brown, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.

Christine and Kody, 53, worked on theirissues for years. “I needed more communication, more trust, and I realized we didn’t really have a partnership,” says Christine.

Still, she remained in the relationship because “I believed in the team, and that’s what it was about. So we just made it work.”

Christine and Kody also share sonPaedon, 24, and daughtersAspyn, 27,Mykelti, 26,Gwendlyn, 20, andTruely, 12. Kody has a total of 18 children between the women.

However, despite their best efforts and professional counseling, she says, “It wasn’t just the physical aspect of intimacy that we didn’t have. It was that layer of love, and commitment, and trust.”

Christine Brown’s kids.Christine brown/Instagram

Now Christine — who launched her solo digital seriesCooking with Just Christinefor TLC in February (season 2 premieres Sept. 11) — lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with the couple’s daughter Truely and the exes coparent.

“The most important thing anybody can do is just stop and listen to your heart. 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,'” she says.

“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.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Season 17 ofSister Wivespremieres Sept. 11 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.

source: people.com