Sister Wives star Leon Brown reveals what it was like growing up in a ‘cult’

Leon Brown has opened up about being a 'shy and fearful' child that grew up in a 'cult'.

Leon is the child of Kody Brown and his ex-wife Meri Brown, and made their TV debut on Sister Wives in 2010.

Leon was born Mariah Brown, but changed their name in 2022 after transitioning.

Leon's mom Meri was Kody's first wife. He then wed Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and Robyn Brown, and ended up having 18 children in total.

Leon was 15 years old when Sister Wives aired and has largely kept out of the spotlight since then. They made a rare on-screen appearance on a 2025 episode, however.

Now Leon has taken to TikTok to share some insight into their childhood before the show and how they felt they growing up in a 'cult'.

"I was born in 1995 to a family four parents and two older siblings," their video began. "We lived a few years in Utah and then when I was three we moved to Wyoming."

"My family of four parents was three moms and a dad," Leon, who has 174,000 TikTok followers, continued. "We were in a cult then. We didn't see a lot of other kids as a child. We saw some people from church, and then I was a singing and dancing group where I saw other kids."

Leon described themself as a 'really shy and fearful' child who 'didn't really know people outside of the cult'.

Discussing their education, Leon shared: "We were homeschooled until we moved to Utah when I was 10. And then we started going to the same church, a cult church, in Utah. At that point, it got a little bit more all-encompassing."

Apparently Leon went to 'church school' four times a week, and 'primary' on Thursday – which they called 'religious indoctrination for children'.

"I loved primary," they said. "I loved learning about Jesus. I loved learning about church history.

"I think there’s some religious scrupulosity there. It was rewarding, and I was rewarded for it. So I’m not actually sure if I like it or not. Who’s to say?"

"This is weird because I don’t talk about this a lot," Leon concluded the clip.

Seemingly Leon plans on sharing more of their story on TikTok in other videos, but four days on from the first post and they've not shared a follow-up video.

The video, that's been viewed nearly 584,000 times, was captioned: "This story will take many forms and be in many parts, but here’s a start. Thanks for listening & being respectful."

People have thanked Leon for sharing their story so far. Somebody commented: "Thank you for sharing, i've always been curious about your viewpoint on everything and have been waiting to hear your side."

"I love listening to you talk. I’m here for it," said another.