Leon Brown has spoken about what life was like as a child, describing themself as “shy and fearful” while growing up in what they called a cult.
Leon is the child of Kody Brown and Meri Brown, and first appeared on Sister Wives when the series launched in 2010.
Born Mariah Brown, Leon changed their name in 2022 after transitioning. Leon uses they/them pronouns.
Meri was Kody’s first wife. He later married Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and Robyn Brown, and went on to have 18 children. The Brown family belonged to the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), a fundamentalist sect of Mormonism that practices polygamy.
Leon was 15 when Sister Wives premiered and has mostly stayed away from the public eye in the years since, although they did make a rare appearance on a 2025 episode.
They have now shared more about their upbringing in a TikTok video, reflecting on their life before reality TV and their experience growing up in a religious environment they described as 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.”
Leon, who has 174,000 TikTok followers, went on to explain what their family structure looked like during that period of their life.
“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.”
They said they were a very timid child and felt isolated from people outside that community.
Leon also discussed their schooling and religious upbringing.
“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.”
According to Leon, they attended “church school” four times a week as well as “primary” on Thursdays, which they described as 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?”
Leon ended the clip by acknowledging that this is not something they often speak about publicly.
“This is weird because I don’t talk about this a lot,” Leon concluded the clip.
It appears they may continue opening up in future TikTok posts, though no follow-up had been shared four days after the first video went live.
The clip has been viewed nearly 584,000 times and included the caption:
“This story will take many forms and be in many parts, but here’s a start. Thanks for listening & being respectful.”
Viewers have responded supportively in the comments, with several thanking Leon for speaking openly.
“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.