Truely Brown captivated the fans of the “Sister Wives” TV show for being a regular teenager, unconcerned with fame, and devoted to her mom far more than her dad. Nearly every time she showed up on the screen, viewers could see her pursuing her wishes and goals, despite what her family accepted or the world considered unconventional. This behavior was particularly noticeable regarding personal style, or earning and giving respect, which we’ll explain in-depth.
The relationship with her father caused the most significant rift
While viewers are not present for all private conversations, everyone sensed that Truely craved her dad’s attention and acceptance for many seasons. While he tried to provide that, it felt that she got less than the other 17 siblings, and so over time she started to ignore him. That made her turn to her mom more and more, and the COVID-19 pandemic sealed the deal. Truely followed her mom, Christine, to Utah, where she started leading a new life away from her dad. While detachment from her father’s side of the family made Truely Brown seem the black sheep, many of her traits make her the coolest of the siblings, according to the fan base’s online comments. Ultimately, every viewer has their perception and judgment – here’s our analysis of her actions.
Who is Truely Brown?
Truely Grace Brown was born on 13 April 2010 to Kody and Christine Brown, née Allred, the last of her biological siblings, and one of the youngest of 18 children. Her birth was featured in the episode “A Sister in Labor,” in the show’s first season.
She wasn’t a fan-favorite because she had far from the loudest or most interesting personality among her siblings. While she didn’t mind the cameras’ attention, Truely preferred to stay in the background, and do things she enjoyed rather than contribute to the drama of the TV show. Her slight awkwardness, lack of interaction and quiet lifestyle made some viewers suspect she might be on the autism spectrum, which has neither been confirmed nor denied.
Having a kidney failure in 2013 started the downfall
In August 2013, when her mom was on a San Francisco trip with other sister wives, Truely showed signs of severe flu – this event showed that Kody could have been more attentive to his daughter’s needs. Episode 15 of the sixth season, televised in October 2014, established the ordeal. Aspyn cared for her younger sibling, staying up all night to watch over the lethargic Truely. Meantime, their father went bowling and took other kids to the neighbor’s swimming pool.
Then, after Christine returned to Las Vegas, she learned that Truely had been sick for five days and was crying, restless, and cross-eyed. Consequently, her mom took her to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with dehydration and acute kidney failure, warning her family that she wouldn’t survive. Luckily, after 11 days in the hospital and abdominal dialysis. Truely recovered and was permitted to go home, although with black teeth from taking iron medication for months.
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Kody was buying a car for his then-daughter, Mariah, who later came out as transgender and changed their name to Leon Brown. In the next episode, he stated that Truely didn’t drink enough water during her illness, which led to disastrous results.
Fans speculate this made Truly, and to a degree her mom, felt bitter toward her dad when growing up. Years later, when things fell apart, Kody stated, ‘I think Christine hates me partly because Truely almost died, and she thought that I had been negligent.’
Starting to be influenced by her mom, 2014 – 2021
Truely followed the family wherever they went, first to Las Vegas, Nevada, then Flagstaff, Arizona. However, except for the scary situation when she almost lost her life, the event that put her under the spotlight the most was her parents’ eventual divorce.
Cracks in their marriage started to form long before, primarily after Kody legally married Robyn in 2014. He slowly distanced himself from his three other ‘wives’, focusing on what the three later called ‘his favorite wife and soulmate’ Based on viewers’ observations, Truely’s affection for him began to wane, and the lack of emotion culminated in 2020 and early 2021. Viewers mostly agreed that this emotional and physical distance resulted from her dad’s disinterest in being by her side in 2014, and her mom’s feelings fading, and conflict rising.
Plus, before the family moved to Flagstaff, the entire family lived together, the while the construction of separate houses continued, all three wives had RV trailers placed on individual plots on a property they named Coyote Pass. That widened the rift between the siblings, since they mostly stayed with their biological moms, which viewers observed brought Truely closer to her biological brothers and sisters. It also gave her more time to explore things that bring her joy.
Her mom’s divorce gave Truely the power to stand up for herself
Although her dad’s indifference started a snowball effect, and she tolerated her dad’s attempts to bring out the fondness with silent rejection, the divorce was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Seeing her mom become independent, divorce her dad in November 2021 after 25 years, and leave an environment that didn’t let her blossom inspired Truely.
Although Christine and Kody agreed to co-parent, their daughter decided to cut ties with her father as much as possible. That was a long time coming, as he didn’t reciprocate the love, affection, and effort to make the polygamous dynamic work. This decision undoubtedly made her the black sheep in the family, as other siblings, moms, and her father may have felt betrayed by the eventual sudden detachment.
The divorce also hurt her, at least at first
As many fans remember, Truely was the last biological sibling of her parents to find out that her parents were divorcing. That was a problem; she felt somebody should have informed her. After all, she was about to start a new grade, but would be forced to move to Utah beforehand. Truely admitted that she experienced ‘heartbreak, and was extremely upset and felt betrayed’ at first, but talking to Aspyn and her grandmother calmed her down.
However, the event was a demonstration of her nonchalance toward her dad. When he asked her if she was okay with it, she answered positively and shrugged. Afterward, she off-handedly replied she was okay with leaving home before exiting the conversation.
Her dad told the cameras after, ‘In spite of how much she loves this house and everything, I’m sort of shocked in a way that she’s not more devastated by the divorce than moving.’ Afterward, it seemed Truely resorted to a courteous relationship when she couldn’t avoid family events, which affected the bond with most siblings.
The only exception was her relationship with Savannah Brown. It received praise for being genuine and beautiful to see, especially for having sleepovers in the RV in season 17. She is also the youngest of her mom’s children with Kody and is considered the black sheep and the least recognized among them. Some fans were so dismissive of her that the video of Janelle teaching her to drive in October 2021 caused outrage. Fans were shocked to realize Savannah was nearly 17 and no longer the six year old when the show started airing.
She’s disinterested or unimpressed by the publicity
Her mom’s move to Utah could’ve ended the family’s appearance in “Sister Wives.” However, Christine built a studio in the basement of her new home, and wanted to respect her initial commitment, to stay in the show as long as it lasted. She also became active on TikTok, and launhed a show on TLC entitled “Cooking with Just Christine.” However, Truely seemed to appreciate the change less. At times, it was apparent that she could hardly muster the strength to smile, or be enthusiastic about anything; she appeared apathetic to her mom’s way of making a living.
Moreover, her dad demanded a 50/50 child custody agreement after her parents split, hired lawyers I an attempt to enforce it, and set aside a room in the home he shares with Robyn for Truely to stay in. Based on the comments that ‘men don’t win in the divorce world,’ he may have lost the case. Christine retorted that out of 800 days before they left Flagstaff, he may have spent three with them, kayaking twice and hiking once. Thus, she needed clarification about why he now wanted to co-parent 50% of the time.
With that in mind, if Truely continues to give him the cold shoulder as viewers witnessed in the last few seasons, that explains her indifference. After all, being forced to stay there half the time until she turns 18 could be why Truely acted out.
She stood out at Gwendlyn’s engagement party
In early February 2023, Truely returned to Flagstaff to attend a party celebrating her sister Gwendlyn’s engagement, who’d said ‘yes’ to Beatriz Queiroz in late November 2022, about nine months after they started dating. While Truely stood out from the rest of their siblings, her uniqueness was evident only to those that looked deeper into the psychology and family dynamics. This time, Truely was rebellious.
While her sisters and mom wore light red colors, conventional clothing, and had broad smiles, she dyed her hair an eye-catching green-blue color, and had a frown on her face. Her body language was combative and unfriendly, facing the camera directly rather than sideways as if someone forced her to pose for the picture.
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Additionally, Truely had slightly dark-tinted glasses instead of her usual eyesight ones, an oversized dark emo-looking shirt with fake tattoos, and a pattern of emo wrist cuffs with spikes. Even her undershirt was a mix of dark purple and pink, and her black pants had images of skeleton legs.
That brought an avalanche of inquisitive comments, asking others if they knew what was wrong with her, questioning when she entered the emo phase, and calling her a representation of ‘teen mood.’ Others saw nothing unusual except her showing her personality, calling other daughters ‘Christine’s mini-me.’ Her sister Ysabel agreed with the comments, ‘Literally slay. I want to be 1% as cool as Truely.’
Age difference with her biological siblings is a factor
On top of physically distancing from her half-siblings, the significant age difference between her biological siblings is another reason viewers think she doesn’t fit in well. While her siblings are close in age, none are tclose to her – Aspyn, Mykelti, Paedon, Gwendlyn and Ysabel are approximately 15, 14, 12, 9, and 7 years older than her, respectively.
Thus, outside of Ysabel, who manages her social media and with whom she spends the most time, Truely doesn’t get a chance to discuss personal victories and struggles. Aspyn and Mykelti, are married, and the latter even has three children with her husband.
Moreover, Christine announced in August 2022 that Truely will start her first day of middle school or junior high next month, adding that she feels ready to start a new school, is eager for adventures, and will rock it as she does everything, in all honesty. In contrast, mom was emotional and a tad scared; it showed that Truely is motivated to build relationships outside her family, and had even won the “Student of the Month” award for being respectful in grade seven in September 2022.
A situation when she stood up to a bully during a class in December 2022 confirmed her dedication to pursuing friendships. A person wasn’t letting one of Truely’s friends get a pencil from a basket and ignored the teacher’s warnings to stop shaking it. However, Truely pointed at him and told him to sit down immediately. He surprisingly listened, earning her the respect of her peers.
Truely was so cute when we went over to wish her Happy Birthday! I could see that she loved that we came over even if we had to stay socially distanced.
— Robyn Brown (@LuvgvsUwngs) April 5, 2021
She may be autistic
Truely could be on the autism spectrum. She wore t-shirts to support autism several times throughout episodes in 2022, but the general opinion was that she supported Gwendlyn, who was diagnosed as an adult. However, some fans with the condition or a close friend or family member with autism claim to have seen signs in her. Additionally, after an episode on 23 October 2022, one of the trending Google searches was ‘truely autism.’ Her diagnosis is unconfirmed but isn’t improbable—genetic factors make up to 80% of the risk of autism spectrum disorder.
Her love for her mom’s new partner can shake things up
On 7 February 2023, Truely’s mom Christine revealed, ‘I am dating someone exclusively. He’s wonderful, romantic and so kind, and everything I’ve been looking for, and incredible with Truely. He’s absolutely a dream come true.’ For Valentine’s Day soon afterwards, she introduced her new partner, David Woolley, a widower, construction company owner, father of eight children, and ‘a loving grandpa’.
If the two are as close as her mom claims, and she must visit her dad until she’s no longer a minor, Truely may get some heat from her family and be ostracized. Some reasons include not loving her biological dad as much as David, bonding with David’s children who aren’t blood-related, or simply spending less time with her half-siblings in Flagstaff.
