Sister Wives stars Kody Brown and Meri Brown may have an untold story that has never made it to the screen, and it might be seen as a bit sinister for the first couple of this TLC series.

Fans find this theory comes from something Kody said last season about using Meri as the bait when creating his polygamous family. Then, Janelle Brown revealed something that seems to fit this same fan theory for Kody and Meri.

Sister Wives: Kody Brown and Meri Brown Business Decision?

When Kody Brown and Meri Brown got hitched over 30 years ago, they were young. But, when they became husband and wife, Kody didn’t know much about polygamy, but Meri Brown did.

While it wasn’t talked about much on the TLC series, she grew up in a polygamous family, but he did not. His father didn’t take on a second wife until much later in his life. So Kody was not a product of a polygamous family. He took a real leap of faith with this lifestyle.

Now, after all these years, and all these personal reveals on the TLC show, fans suggest there was a darker side to the marriage of Meri and Kody. And also a very profitable side. So, was polygamy a business decision for Meri and Kody?

Long before Kody conjured up Sister Wives, did he decide to use polygamy as a business model with multiple paychecks coming in? Some fans think this is the case.

Kody Used Meri as Bait?

Kody Brown said he used Meri Brown as bait for potential wives. Fans saw this take place with Meri and Robyn Brown. She befriended Robyn and coaxed her into the family. But as soon as the spiritual deal was sealed, Meri’s true feelings emerged.

She was jealous, and they stopped being such close friends. They rebooted their friendship years later, but when Robyn joined the Sister Wives family, even Meri was unhappy and standoffish to her.

Sister Wives fans think Robyn was the only wife recruited by Meri to keep Kody happy in the love department. She certainly wasn’t profitable since she didn’t work and came with three other mouths to feed.

Fans see the other wives as coming into the family with paychecks. So, before they took on Robyn, some fans thought Janelle Brown and Christine Brown were recruited for financial reasons.

Sister Wives: Meri Teaches Kody the Financial Benefits of Polygamy?

As a young couple, starting out in life, Meri knew all about polygamy and the benefits of a shared cookie jar. Kody’s career wasn’t doing well when they decided to take on more wives. This happened long before Sister Wives, which eventually became their bread and butter.

First, in comes Janelle Brown, who is a workaholic. Janelle recalled the days she felt like a guest in their house. She also revealed that Meri would go with Kody Brown on his business trips and leave her behind.

Meri would take time off from work to go on these trips, despite not getting paid for those days off from her job. But Janelle was left at home to work. They pooled all their money as a family, and hard-working Janelle’s salary went right to the family.

Then comes Christine Brown, who also worked before becoming the family’s main childcare provider. So, now they had two extra salaries in that cookie jar. Kody Brown finally admitted there was no love, which came later when he met Robyn.

But, to sell the public on the Sister Wives series, things had to change. So, a turnaround needed to happen as Sister Wives was on the drawing board. They couldn’t very well offer a show where wives worked, and the husband reaped the benefits.

Now They Walk Their Talk?

This theory is based on things already known about the Sister Wives family. When the show came their way, this likely pushed Kody Brown to follow the polygamy playbook for the world to see. So, setting up a schedule for the days he spent with each wife would be a start.

Then some shopping trips to buy the entire family’s groceries and family dinners with 18 kids and five spouses emerged on the screen. They looked like a functional family. It would take a decade of seasons for this to finally fall apart on camera.

While Kody says his lifestyle is based on religion, there wasn’t much of that on the show. They moved away from any church or community promoting polygamy. Still, a few times, the Sister Wives patriarch held mass at home for his family.

But it lacked structure. And these make-shift masses seemed to be the only thing with a connection to the religion that was the foundation for their lifestyle.

That said, fans think a young Meri Brown and Kody Brown created a polygamy lifestyle for financial reasons. It was simple, many paychecks add up and make life easier.

So, many Sister Wives fans think a young Meri and Kody used the polygamy model to feather their financial bed. That is until Robyn came along, as she was someone Kody fell for. Then, once the Sister Wives series came their way, they had to be what they said they were, a polygamous family. This meant they had to multiply love and not just paychecks on the TLC series.