Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of suicide.
Christine Brown says she’s still navigating the untimely death of Garrison Brown, the son of her ex Kody and his second wife Janelle. In a new interview, the Sister Wives star opened up about how her husband David Woolley — who lost his first wife to suicide in 2012—has helped her process her grief.
As ‘Sister Wives’ fans know, Garrison took his own life in March 2024. At the time, Garrison was estranged from Kody but very close to Janelle and Christine. During an interview with David’s daughter Kati for her YouTube channel, Christine and David spoke about Christine’s struggle after losing Garrison, as well as how David has accepted all of the Brown Family kids— including Janelle’s kid and Meri‘s.
After Garrison’s suicide, Christine says she was searching for a way to feel better.
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“After Garrison died, I just told him, ‘I need it to go away and stuff’ and he goes, ‘It’s never going to go away, and it’s never going to be smaller. It’s always going to be the same size,'” Christine said. “You’re always going to have a Garrison-sized hole in your heart.
“‘Your capacity is what’s going to change. And that’s all. You’re never going to stop missing him as much as you miss him now. But your capacity will grow, your capacity to take care of it.'”
“And I’m like, ‘That sucks. That’s really hard to hear, that it won’t get easier,'” Christine said.
Kati added that, after a while, you don’t want the hole to go away because it makes you remember that special person in your life.
David– who was married for 20 years and shared eight kids with his first wife– said he was able to advise Christine on navigating her grief because he’d been through such a similar situation.
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“If you numb it, you’re never going to heal. You need to experience all of those emotions to get to move forward and to be better,” David said.
Later in the conversation, Christine talked about how she considers Kody other wives’ kids to be her kids as well. (Although she didn’t specifically mention the children that Kody shares with his current wife Robyn, we can assume that Christine is no longer close to any of them.)
“I was talking to someone and they’re like, ‘Wouldn’t you just have your kids come?’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know what that means. I have no idea what that means,’ she said. “…all of them [are mine]. I don’t know where to draw the line. I really don’t know. [When someone asks] how many kids do [I] have, [I say], ‘A bunch.’
“…all of my bonus kids– you know, Janelle’s kids, [Meri‘s child] Leon— they’re all the same. They’re kids, and they still need love. Everybody needs love no matter what.”
Christine said that David’s love for all of the Brown kids has made her love him more. (All of the Brown Family original 13 kids— including Garrison— attended Christine and David’s 2023 wedding.)
“He’s just there for my kids 100 percent of the time,” she said. “They have a dad, but [David is] a dad role in their life and I appreciate that so much.”
Christine and David revealed that Christine’s son Paedon is now living them (along with Christine’s 15-year-old daughter Truly) and that David is careful not to push them to be close to him.
“Of course, I love them all but I’ll never say it,” he said. “Not unless they feel comfortable about it.”
You can watch the full interview below.
(Photos: TLC; Instagram)
