'Sister Wives' ' Christine Brown Splits from Kody Brown After 25 Years: We've 'Grown Apart'

Kody Brown is also married to Meri Brown, Janelle Brown and Robyn Brown

Sister Wives stars Christine and Kody Brown are going their separate ways.

Christine, 49, announced the pair's split on Instagram Tuesday, saying the longtime couple had "grown apart."

"After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave," she said in a statement. "We will continue to be a strong presence in each other's lives as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family. At this time, we ask for your grace and kindness as we navigate through this stage within our family."

In her caption, Christine thanked fans for being "understanding" and having "compassion." She also added several hashtags, including "change is good" and "change is scary."

Kody, 52, addressed Christine's decision in his own Instagram statement.

"Christine's decision to leave comes with a great deal of sadness," he said. "We enjoyed many years together and I have a large amount of respect and admiration for her."

"Although we are moving forward on different paths, we will always remain committed parents," he added.

The exes share son Paedon, 23, and daughters Aspyn, 26, Mykelti, 25, Gwendlyn, 20, Ysabel, 18, and Truely, 11.

Christine entered the Brown family's plural marriage in 1994. At the time, Kody was already married to first wife Meri Brown and second wife Janelle Brown. Robyn Brown became Kody's fourth wife in 2010.

Kody was only legally married to Meri, 50, but they separated on paper so he could officially wed Robyn, 43, in 2014. The family patriarch considers himself to be spiritually married to all of his wives.

Season 10 Sister Wives Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, Kody Brown, Meri Brown, Robyn Brown
Brown family. TLC

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Recently, Christine addressed troubles in her and Kody's marriage in a teaser for the TLC show's upcoming season 16.

"Why would I want to live on the same property with a dysfunctional marriage where right over there, he's got a full-functioning marriage?" she said. "Who would ever want to live like that?"

She also addressed their marital woes last season, saying it had "been a struggle."

"I don't want to look at the mountains and remember the angels, how they were singing and I felt this pull. I agreed to move to Flagstaff and I followed Kody here, but it's been a struggle the whole time," she said on the season finale in April. "I'm tired of feeling like I don't matter. I'm tired of not having his support when I really need it. I'm just tired. I need a partnership. I need something different than this."

Sister Wives returns for its 16th season Nov. 21 on TLC.

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