When you dive into the tangled web of the Brown family from TLC’s Sister Wives, the name David Jessop (often referred to by his middle name, Preston) pops up like a ghost from the past. He’s the man Robyn Brown was married to before she ever met Kody. Because he comes from one of the most famous "polygamy royalty" lineages in Utah and Arizona, people just assume he had a whole compound full of women.
Honestly, the reality is a lot different than the rumors you'll find in Reddit deep-dives or tabloid sidebars.
If you are looking for a quick answer: David Jessop has had two wives. He was married to Robyn Sullivan (now Brown) from 1999 to 2007, and later, he remarried a woman named Jen. Despite the heavy expectations of his last name and his fundamentalist roots, David Jessop has not lived as a polygamist.
The Jessop Name and the Polygamy Pressure
To understand why everyone asks how many wives did David Jessop have, you have to look at his family tree. In the world of Mormon Fundamentalism, the name Jessop is basically like being a Kennedy or a Rockefeller. His relatives include major figures in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB).
For instance, his relative Joe Jessop was an elder with 46 children. Another relative, Merril Jessop, was a high-ranking leader with dozens of wives.
When you grow up in that environment, people expect you to follow the "Principle" of plural marriage. But David chose a different path. While he grew up surrounded by the culture of multiple wives, his own domestic life has been strictly monogamous—at least in the sense that he only had one wife at a time.
👉 See also: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr: What Most People Get Wrong About Prince
Marriage Number One: Robyn Sullivan (1999–2007)
David and Robyn married in June 1999. At the time, they were both young and deeply embedded in their religious community. During their eight-year marriage, they had three children together: David (now known as Dayton), Aurora, and Breanna.
This is where the story gets messy.
On Sister Wives, Robyn has painted a pretty bleak picture of this marriage. She’s dropped hints about "purity" being taken, financial instability, and even allegations of abuse. However, members of David’s family have occasionally pushed back online, claiming a very different side of the story. They've suggested that the marriage ended more due to personality clashes and financial strain than the dramatic villain arc portrayed on TV.
What we know for a fact is that Robyn filed for divorce in 2007. By 2009, the divorce was finalized, and Robyn was already being scouted for a new reality show—and a new husband.
The Adoption Controversy
One of the biggest "holy crap" moments in Sister Wives history was when David Jessop signed away his parental rights so Kody Brown could legally adopt Dayton, Aurora, and Breanna.
✨ Don't miss: Emma Thompson and Family: What Most People Get Wrong About Her Modern Tribe
This happened in 2015.
Many viewers were baffled. Why would a father just give up his kids? The show made it look like David was an absent father who didn't care, but court records and family insiders suggest it was a complex legal move to settle back child support and "keep the peace" for the children. Once the adoption went through, Kody became their legal father, and David Jessop effectively vanished from the public eye.
Marriage Number Two: Starting Over with Jen
After the dust settled from the divorce and the media circus of the Brown family, David Jessop moved on. He eventually married a woman named Jen.
Unlike his first marriage, which was picked apart on national television for over a decade, his life with Jen has been incredibly private. They live a quiet life, reportedly in Montana or Utah (locations vary depending on who you ask), and they have had four children together.
Basically, David went from being the "ex-husband of a reality star" to a guy just trying to raise a family under the radar.
🔗 Read more: How Old Is Breanna Nix? What the American Idol Star Is Doing Now
A Recent Health Battle
In recent years, David's name hit the headlines again, but for a heartbreaking reason. In early 2023, reports surfaced that David was battling Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. A GoFundMe was even set up by his family to help with the mounting medical costs.
This health crisis showed a glimpse into his current life. It confirmed that he is still married to Jen and that they are raising their kids in a modest, monogamous household. It’s a far cry from the "polygamist patriarch" image people projected onto him because of his surname.
Comparing the Narratives: David vs. Kody
It's kinda wild when you look at the parallel lives.
- Kody Brown started with one wife, grew to four, and eventually ended up back with one (Robyn).
- David Jessop started with one (Robyn), went through a brutal divorce, and eventually found a stable, long-term monogamous marriage with Jen.
While the show tried to frame David as the "bad guy" to justify Robyn joining the Brown family, the timeline shows a man who has stayed married to his second wife for well over a decade, while Kody’s plural marriage completely imploded.
Actionable Insights and Reality Checks
If you're following this story because you're a fan of the show or just curious about the Jessop lineage, keep these facts in mind to cut through the noise:
- Don't conflate the surname with the lifestyle. Just because someone is a Jessop doesn't mean they are a polygamist. Many younger generations of these families have moved toward mainstream LDS or secular lives.
- Recognize the "Edit." Remember that Sister Wives is a produced television show. The narrative about David being a "deadbeat" was necessary to make the 2015 adoption storyline feel like a victory for the fans.
- Respect the privacy of the second family. David’s current wife and their four children have never signed up for the spotlight. They aren't reality stars; they’re private citizens dealing with a serious health battle.
- Verify via GoFundMe or Court Docs. If you want the most "real" info on David's current status, the 2023 health updates provided by his immediate family are the most reliable sources, rather than 10-year-old clips from TLC.
The saga of David Jessop is a reminder that there are always two sides to a story—and sometimes, the most "famous" person in the room isn't the one telling the most accurate version. David has had two wives, but his legacy today is defined more by his resilience in the face of illness and his commitment to his current family than by the drama of his past.
For those tracking the broader Jessop family history, focusing on genealogical records from the Short Creek era will provide a clearer picture of the plural marriages that defined his ancestors, rather than the man himself.