Gwendlyn Brown Says That the 'Sister Wives' Kids Were Not Paid for Filming the Series

When most people think of the Sister Wives series, the people who come to mind are Kody Brown, Robyn Brown, and estranged exes Meri Brown, Christine Brown, and Janelle Brown.

But there are a whole lot more cast members than just those five, including their combined 18 children.

Among those children is Gwendlyn Brown, who recently opened up about her mixed feelings on filming Sister Wives as a kid, and how she says she and the others were not paid for filming the series. Here's what we know about her surprising revelation.

Gwendlyn, who is the daughter of Kody and Christine, is now 23 years old and no longer as big a part of the series as she was when she was younger and still in the home with her parents and siblings, especially now that Kody and Christine are estranged.

But she still has some thoughts on the series, both the positive and the negative aspects of it.

For one, Gwendlyn told Teen Vogue in a recent interview, the series lifted her family out of poverty.

She recalls being "super into it as a kid," and that it was "quite a blessing initially." However, as time went by, she felt like her life was under a microscope. “I couldn’t have a hard day,” she told the outlet, adding, “There wasn’t a lot of privacy.”

Gwendlyn mused, "I'm growing a bigger dislike for [the series]. And [in the past] it was like, ‘This is my normal.' But now it's like, ‘This does not have to be my normal,’ and it's weird.”

She also spilled the tea on compensation, explaining to the magazine, "The network only paid the parents. I’m not sure if they did or didn’t expect the parents to pay us kids, but we weren’t paid.” Later, Gwendlyn explained, her mother did decide to pay the kids “a certain amount per day or half-day of camera time.” She doesn't know exactly how much her mother paid her but added, “It certainly hasn’t been a fair share.”

Teen Vogue says that TLC responded, "Compensation is handled in accordance with contractual commitments and applicable labor laws and regulations.”

It may be a shock to learn that the kids weren't compensated for having their lives play out on screen and under a microscope, but that's not the only thing that Gwendlyn has had to endure during her family's journey through fame.

Gwendlyn came out as bisexual in 2022, returning to the show for a rare appearance in which she discussed her sexuality. Because it was filmed on the series, it meant that suddenly Gwendlyn's entire private life was a feast for internet gossip.

However, her father and mother quickly stepped up to have her back.

In a 2025 episode of Sister Wives, Kody and Christine reunited to celebrate Gwendlyn's engagement to her girlfriend, Beatriz Queiroz. Kody looked back and mused on his reaction to his daughter's coming out. He shared that he had "no problem with Gwen marrying a woman." He also recalls being given a message from God wherein God told him, "I judge, you love."

And Christine also mused that she really likes Beatriz, sharing, "It's always such a relief when your child finds their person."

So while the pressure of fame and the bad things that come with the Sister Wives furor may impact Gwendlyn, at least she knows that both of her parents are squarely behind her.