‘Sister Wives’: Christine Brown Talks Head & Basement Wife

Sister Wives initially made it seem like all of the women were equal. They may all have had different personal priorities but they had one common goal: they loved each other and Kody. Over the last season or two, a very different vision has been painted. When Kody proposed that they build one home on Coyote Pass as they had in Utah, it was met with disgust. One wife who refused to live that again was Christine. She shared her experience as a basement wife and how it truly shaped her time in the family.

Sister Wives Hierarchy

When viewers first met the Brown family in 2010, they lived in a single home in Utah. Each wife had their own space which they shared with their children. The only wife who had yet to join in was Robyn. She lived a few hours away and had her own home. They shared responsibilities with Janelle being the worker bee. She openly admitted she preferred to work as opposed to being a homemaker. Meri had been working part-time while going to school. Then there was Christine.

She was pregnant with her sixth and youngest child, Truely. At the time, she was raising the children and teaching them all they needed to know. To this day, Janelle’s son Gabriel notes how Christine was the one who helped raise them. However, being a homemaker wife came with a price. She was considered the “basement wife” since she lived on the bottom floor. This was the least desirable place to be.

As time went on, Christine realized how she was the one picking up all of the slack. She never verbalized any of this to her sister wives. Only Kody knew how she felt and it ultimately led to her leaving polygamy. By moving to Las Vegas, she got the autonomy she had always desired. The idea of ever having to share a home again and be a basement wife was a no-go for Christine.

Delving Deeper

Christine discussed how being a basement wife was very difficult. In a way, she was hiding her own pain. At one point, she expressed to Kody how she was feeling and he told her she was breaking the agreement. It was her responsibility to keep the home and be the “yes” wife. Furthermore, like a basement wife, she felt she was at the very bottom when it came to wife hierarchy.

Admittedly, she did not stand up for herself like she should have, leaving her constantly tired and worn down. She was always putting herself last, especially in her marriage. As viewers saw, she put herself first when Kody revealed he no longer wanted to be intimate with her. She packed up his stuff and put it in…the basement.

What are your thoughts on a basement wife? Let us know in the comments and watch part three of Sister Wives: One on One next Sunday on TLC.