Feeling lighter! Sister Wives’ Gwendlyn Brown opened up about her recent breast reduction surgery — a procedure she wouldn’t have been able to afford without mom Christine Brown’s help.
“I could not afford the reduction at all; I was struggling with rent and tuition even with my parents’ help so I’m always grateful that my mom paid for it,” Gwendlyn, 21, wrote via her Instagram Story on Thursday, January 12. “The surgery cost $8000 if I remember correctly and I owe her forever.”
The TLC star — who is the daughter of Christine, 50, and Kody Brown — revealed that while the surgery was “medically necessary,” it wasn’t covered under health insurance, despite having issues that caused her “back pain and posture deterioration.” ( In addition to Gwendlyn, Kody and Christine share five other children: Aspen, 27, Mykelti, 26, Paedon, 24, Ysabel, 19 and Truely, 12.)
After Christine agreed to help her daughter with the cost, Gwendlyn shared that she was able to undergo the procedure in July 2022, noting that it “went very well” and she was “only sore and near-immobile” for “a few days.”
She added, “I went from a size G breast to like C or something (I haven’t measured yet). The funny part is I wanted them to be even smaller.”
Gwendlyn’s post comes a few days after she casually mentioned the surgery in a YouTube video and fans began asking questions. The Utah native has been candid about her life and family via her social media accounts, often recapping various episodes of Sister Wives for her followers.
On Wednesday, January 11, the TV personality shared via her YouTube that she is rooting for her mom and Janelle Brown to team up for their own show following their respective splits from Kody.
“I think we should have a spinoff series where Janelle and my mom get together,” Gwendlyn said in the clip, joking that the women should take their close friendship a step further. “Tell me you don’t love that idea. … Sister Wives. It should be called Sister Wives — I’m a f—king genius.”
As Gwendlyn watched back season 17, episode 4, she pointed out that her mom and Janelle, 53, are “besties” and a “little duo” who always have each other’s backs.
Christine publicly announced her split from Kody in November 2021. Janelle, for her part, revealed in December 2022 that she and the Wyoming native had been “separated for months.” (The estranged couple share six children: Logan, 28, Maddie, 27, Hunter, 25, Garrison, 24, Gabriel, 21 and Savanah, 18.)
“I’m not waiting for him. I’ve kind of mourned that that part of our life is gone,” Janelle said during part 3 of the Sister Wives: One-on-One special, which aired on January 8. “I wasn’t heartbroken. It wasn’t heartbreaking for me like it was for Christine.”
Despite their split from the patriarch, the two women have remained close confidants as they begin the next chapters of their lives, with Christine even praising Janelle for being her support system amid all their family drama.
“She’s come to visit me several times. I have a guest room and she stays in the guest room, and her sister also lives about a half an hour from me,” Christine exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2022 of her dynamic with the real estate agent. “So she’ll see her and then she loves seeing [my daughters] Aspyn and Mykelti and the baby and all of it. So we’ve gone on a couple of trips together too.”
Kody, meanwhile, has also since separated from first wife Meri Brown. The pair shared a joint statement about the split earlier this month after hinting at their relationship status during the December 2022 season 17 tell-all. The polygamist is still married to Robyn Brown, whom he legally wed in 2014.
