Sister Wives star Christine Brown confirms she and ex-husband Kody are actually cousins

Sister Wives' star Christine Brown made the shocking revelation that she is a distant cousin of her ex-husband.

Reality TV is full of surprises, and it seems the long-running TLC show, Sister Wives, is no different.

For those who have never come across the TV show before, it debuted back in 2010 and follows a polygamist family fronted by Kody Brown.

Brown was legally married to Meri Barber and 'spiritually married' to Christine Allred and Janelle Schriever, at the show's beginning, with fourth wife, Robyn Sullivan, joining the family in 2009. Kody also shares 18 children with his four partners.

However, since then, Christine, Meri, and Janelle have gone their separate ways from Kody, while Robyn remains with him.

In the latest episode on Sunday (December 28), Christine revealed to her current husband, David Woolley, that she and Kody are distantly related.

Kody Brown (centre) and his wives Janelle, Christine, Meri, and Robyn (from left to right) in 2015 (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)

She said: “I knew growing up that I would have to marry a convert because I was literally related to everybody in the church.

“I did marry a convert, but I was still related to him too. Yeah, I’m related to Kody.”

Woolley was surprised by her comment, only muttering ‘wow’, leading Christine to add: “Third cousins once removed is fully legal. Fully. Polygamy is not legal. I’m third cousins once removed from Kody.”

Janelle added that it was a running joke that Kody and Christine were actually cousins before they got married, as she said in her confessional: “There was always this joke about [how] they were cousins, but they are so distantly related it’s ridiculous.

“I think in polygamist families, this kind of stuff happens all the time.

“It wasn’t the kind of relationship where, like, you saw each other at the family reunion — like, it was a very distant relationship.

Christine told her husband David while on the show (christine_brownsw/Instagram)

"But they would always joke about being cousins. It just is a small community.”

But that's not the only instance of closeness in the family, either, as Janelle revealed that her mother married Kody's father three months before their wedding.

She said that she was 'originally introduced to the idea' of polygamy while in high school, and before she and Kody got married, she revealed her plan to her mother, who wasn't onboard.

"I was starting to talk to Kody, and I met the family and was really intrigued. My mom's like, 'Oh, heck no, heck no, heck no, heck no.' My mom came to save me and ended up marrying Kody's dad." Janelle said.

"When they decided to get married, I was like, 'That's gonna be a little hard to explain, but alright," she continued, adding that while she found it 'a little weird at first', she accepted the situation.