‘Sister Wives’ Captures The Complicated Beauty Of My Upbringing

I was raised by three mothers — and the reality TV series became a surprising touchstone for my relationships.

“Which sister wife are you feeling like today?” Luke texts before I even have time to drink my morning coffee. This is his version of a “good morning, beautiful” text and immediately makes me laugh. With a busy day ahead of back-to-back meetings and working on my thesis, I reply:

“Janelle for sure wbu?”

“Christine, of course,” he replies. This means he’s feeling like himself, the kind of person who would drive two hours just to get me a cold brew.

“Sister Wives,” the iconic 19-season-and counting TLC reality show, is the source of the new habit Luke and I have formed to help gauge our daily emotional barometers through the lens of each sister wife: Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn. Janelle represents a career-oriented woman whose family synergy is her north star. Christine, who self-identifies as a “basement wife,” represents the glue of the family, the loving homemaker who gets family members to rally for special gatherings. Meri represents the original “queen wife” in the Brown family who evolves into the comedic relief and an outsider. Robyn represents the new order of the Brown family, known for manipulation veiled as peacemaking to secure new “queen wife” status.

The long-running series follows the polygamous Brown family spearheaded by Kody Brown, his four wives, and their 18 children, as they paint a saccharine image of what a progressive polygamist family can look like in the 21st century. The new season premieres Sunday.