After the suspenseful season finale of Sister Wives aired, viewers were left with more questions than answers. In particular, viewers seemed to want to know about Robyn Brown‘s custody arrangement with her ex-husband, David Preston Jessop, since Robyn’s current (and now legal) husband, Kody Brown, is hoping to adopt the three kids Robyn has with David. The possibility of the adoption was the reason the Browns gave for having Meri and Kody get divorced and Robyn and Kody get legally married.
Of course, The Ashley wanted to know more about the mysterious David Preston Jessop, so she did an intense sleuth session on him!
Robyn and some of her Sister Wives took to their Twitters after the finale to briefly explain why Kody wants to become the kids’ new dad. According to the Browns, David has been absent in his children’s lives for a long time.
“He doesn’t [see the kids] out of choice,” Robyn tweeted. “I am not making them choose. I can’t control whether my ex chooses to take his time with them.”
“Those 3 amazing kids have not seen their bio father for nearly 2 years,” Meri Brown tweeted. “Kody is their dad for all intents and purposes.”
“Kody has been a father in every respect to Dayton, Aurora and Breanna. They even call themselves Brown informally,” Janelle Brown told fans.
There have been plenty of false reports about him circulating on message boards and websites– so The Ashley got down to business to see if she could find the truth out about David.
What she found out was that David may be many things, but he’s certainly not a famewhore. In fact, he has never done any media interviews in the five or so years this show has been on the air. The Ashley can confirm that he has been offered the opportunity to tell his side of the story (and was most likely offered a lot of tabloid money to do so), but he never has. His reasoning for not going public is not known.
The closest any media outlet has every come to getting an interview with David is Star magazine’s 2010 story that revealed his name. Someone the magazine cited as “a source close to David” said, “The very last thing on Earth that David Preston wants is to have the private lives of his kids televised.”
He also does not have any type of social media account. (The Ashley did an intensive search; it does not exist.) David seems to be living somewhat off the grid in Montana.
We know very little about David from watching ‘Sister Wives’ episodes. We know that he knocked Robyn up (with son Dayton) before they got married in 1999. David filed for divorce from Robyn in 2007, three years before she married Kody. Robyn claims that David was abusive to her.
Here’s what The Ashley found on David that you may not know:
- He was born August 26, 1979, which makes him 35 years old currently.
- He is the second-youngest of nine siblings, all boys. (That’s just full siblings! Since his father had multiple wives, he has several dozen half-siblings.)
- He is related to nearly all of the ‘Sister Wives’ cast! He is not only the first cousin of Christine, but is also related to Meri (via her father’s “other” wives) and the third cousin of Kody, Robyn’s second husband!
- His father, Louis, was his mother, Mary’s uncle by marriage at the time that they got married.
- His son “Dayton” is actually named after him– Dayton’s real name is David Preston Jessop Jr. “Dayton” is a nickname that is a combo of his first name, David, and middle name, Preston. Robyn claims that Dayton still goes by David at school.
- In the book Becoming Sister Wives, Robyn claims she was “badly mistreated and misled” by David. They had planned for David to take a second wife, but their marriage fell apart before that could happen. (The fact that “misled” is included in there seems to point to the fact that David may have changed his mind about becoming a polygamist. After all, their marriage lasted over nine years, which isn’t exactly a “quickie marriage.”
- He works/worked in the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning business.
- He is no longer part of the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), the church in which the ‘Sister Wives’ stars belong.
- His divorce papers from Robyn hint that alcohol may have been a contributing factor to the problems in their marriage. According to Starcasm, Robyn and David’s divorce papers contained the suspicious stipulation: “Neither parent shall consume excessive amounts of alcohol in the children’s presence.” Hmm…
- He does not appear to have remarried after divorcing Robyn.
- He has no criminal record.
According to this very informative Tumblr post, David is related to people in that other TV polygamist family, the Williams of My Five Wives! David Preston Jessop shares relatives with all five of Brady’s wives!
This article will be updated if more info becomes available on David.
68 Responses
OMG I never knew Robbins ex was a fucking Jessop. One of the 3 major polygamous families from Utah that have incest children at every turn, ewwwww!! If you search in google “polygamous genetic incest kids’ or something of the nature you will come across an article done by vice. There is a miniature graveyard on the border of Utah and Arizona , some place called creek something. There is multiple, and I mean multiple, child graves. The children were either still-born from incest recessive genes and died, and there is speculation that the Jesops actually used to kill the ones that did live because they were so disabled they didn’t want the burden. And then you read that the jessop family is related to every single sister wife , AND kody. Omg ewwwwwwww. I never knew that . Makes me speculate about maddie and if her kid is the result of some incest crossing of genes. Not saying that they were aware of this, but I’m pretty sure Caleb comes from the same small knit community so I don’t know. It’s just creepy and gross
So he must be related (as everyone) seems to be to the notorious Jessop who is rotting in prison.
He seemed like an asshole. Happy that Robin is done with this man. Kody is so much better for her. I also watch the five wife show. Interesting that he is related. It also doesn’t surprise me.
It’s Warren Jeff’s that’s rotting in prison, however Jessops are part of the same sick cult. Flora Jessop wrote a great book about her devastating childhood and how she got out. She is now helping others get out of fundamentalist cults.
David is a Jessop. Do your research. They are ALL related. The Jessops are an enormous and powerful polygamous family. If he wants to see his kids, and we know he DOES see his kids, he can.
It has puzzled me for years how this “religion” even claims a relationship to Christ, since their polygamous teaching are all based on the Old Testament. If they do profess Christ; then how do you get by the fornication/adultery theme of the New Testament? And, I’m sorry, but adding a separate book to the Scriptures does mean they broke yet another rule. After researching the Robyn situation, and stumbling on to the various family trees; there is also the question of violating the edict to not sleep with your relatives… That said, inbreeding would certainly explain a lot of the stupidity that is so blatant among all that are involved. I hope the Browns kids wise up to the fact they are living in moral la-la land and get far, far away from the insanity.
I knew square head robyn was trouble from the time she appeared on the scene. Mary is a Martyred and is clearly depressing to watch. The only sane person on this show is Janelle…the other wives and Cody share a brain. Good luck to them and robyn…u know what they say about karma…it is a ” “janelle u r smart….get the heck out of there…run dont walk
The children are A big Tax write off, nothing more.
Robyn is a sneaky little one . She wanted to be first wife all a long if I was the other wife’s I walk and leave that bitch with no doubt the biggest bag on the planet.
they need to kick Robins ass to the curb shes trouble>has been since day one.Hoe Meri is smart n moves on
I would be curious to know if Robyn got permission to move those children out of state when they made that quick exodus out of Utah! If she did not get permission from the courts, she can be held in contempt! Since they made it look like they moved in 3 days, there would be no time to petition the courts and have a court date!
O k. SINCE only MERI was Kodys only legal wife when Mariah was born, ALL of Janelle and Christine’s kids are illegitimate. So, when he marries Robyn and adopts her kids,, They are then the only legitimate children in the Brown family will be MARIAH and Robyns 4 kids. all of Christine’s and Janelles kids are still illegitimate, meaning they are “bastards” .thought about that ladies? . If Kody dies, Robyn gets all of what she has and half of what Kody has and the other 3 wives would have to share the other half . If I were the first three wives I don’t know if I would trust the newest wife to be fair. That half that Robyn would own probably includes the homes the other 3 wives live in since Kodys name is on the titles of all 4 homes if I’m not mistaken.
Another point I forgot was that unless Kody leaves something to the other 3 wives, they are not eligible to inherit anything from his estate-only the children will. I don’t think Robyn is a scrupulous person since she put the father of her children under the bus on national T.V.. Obviously honor means nothing to her if it stands in the way of she wants and she wants her kids to have what the Browns have. She mentioned their Father has been absent for 2 years? Does that coincide with her leaving Utah for Vegas and putting distance between this man and his children.? And when the kids returned from a visit with the father Robyn choose to sit them down and in front of,,T.V.cameras and,,the whole BrowN family to cry about how their father forced her to have sex. What a conniving birch!
Kody’s name is only on the title to the house with Meri.
You’re mistaken. Cody was only on the deed of the home with Mary since they were legally married when the homes were purchased. The other wives purchased their homes in their own names.
It was stated on one of the comments of late on FB that his name is on Meri’s house and now on Robyns. Double check that statement. Also I should think who gets what should be taken care of if he has a will designating what goes where and that would be the only proper thing to do to protect all the ladies. I would be all over him to get that taken care of it if isn’t already.
Oh who cares. I don’t watch the show and think both Kody and Robyn are insufferable, but it is snotty, judgmental and unfair to think of a child as a lesser human based on whether their parents were married when they were born.
Next to the Duggars, the Browns are “Golden” LOL!
I think Mari is smart.. Her daughter is grown. Divorced, she no longer bears any legal responsibility to any of Kody’s kids..
So she is free and clear..
Maybe she finally wised up and cut her legal ties.. Now all she has to do is sit back and collect the checks from TLC.. And Robyn can help support the under age kids.
She would have no legal responsibility even if she stayed married!?! She’s not a legal parent no matter who she is married to.
That’s is not true. Working in the Nevada legal field for years. I can tell you that the state of Nevada is a community property state. That means if you are married and your spouse has children with another woman, your income is considered joint when computing child support. Meaning if your husband was ordered to pay child support to another woman, your “joint” income would be considered. So yes, if Meri was still married to Kody whe would still be financially responsible unless they had some kind of prenuptial agreement stipulating otherwise.
Well, that hardly sounds fair? The new wife should not be responsible for paying into a man’s child support. They are not her children.
Nothing in this article is new news.
I think there is alot more to the story than the Browns are willing to admit. Kody cannot adopt those kids unless the father gives up his legal rights. Plain and simple. And if Robyn made the decision to move away it is up to her to pay for the transportation to visit the father. Yet she saves on grocery money so she and Kody can go to Hawaii. What is up with that? Now that Robyn is the Queen Bee she will really try and run everything. I still think that Meri, Christine and Janelle are fools. Grow a spine ladies!
Her ex divorced her. He dissed her for some reason, unusual for such religious people. She ran up debts. No drinking clause in divorce decree, since he filed, coulda been her problem. She saved grocery money to take kody to hawaii, stingy with her kids food, to keep her position as favorite wife, cause kody gets 4 vacations a year. He has a rough life. These people are sickening.
I think one point that’s being missed, before we start taking sides, as if one parent is being totally wronged by the other, is that in this particular lifestyle, if a woman leaves with her children and goes to marry another man, the kids go with her and usually take the new husband as their father. I’m not taking sides here, just saying that it would not surprise me if the reason that Robyn’s ex hasn’t made more of a stand for the kids is exactly what I stated before. Since they were both brought up in plural marriage, I doubt either one of them sees this as being odd or different. Just my two cents worth…
I can’t believe all the comments people have been making. Kody divorced Meri for financial reasons. It’s all crap about doing it for the kids. Kody can’t adopt the kids unless their father gives up his rights. Robin is bashing this guy on tv. It’s not fair to him nor is it fair to the kids. She should not have done this on tv. Custody battles should not be displayed on national TV. Shame on Robin and Kody. TLC should also be ashamed for airing this drama. People only tuned in to see why Meri filed for divorce. The show is going down hill. These women do not like each other. Money is the glue holding them together. If people believe that this is one happy family then I have some swamp land to sell you. Polygamy is not kind to women. These women are lying. And calling each other wife or husband is legally wrong. These women are not wives under the law. Only Robin is the legal wife now. Its funny that Kody has not married Janelle or Christine to make their kids legal. TLC should cancel this crap. It’s showing people how polygamy does not work.
All those children are “legal”. Cody does not have to marry the children’s mothers to make them legal. If they chose not to record him as the father on the birth certificates, that was done by choice, probably so they could get government assistance. Gone are the days where marriage makes kids legal.
Big unanswered question: is Kody’s name on the birth certificates of any of the kids except Mariah? Having Christine, for example, not list a father helps her/them get more government assistance. this is very common for plyg families to milk the system more.
I still can’t believe TLC is running this adoption storyline when everyone under the sun knows the bio dad is still in the mix. shame on that divorce” attorney for not telling them that.
You want all wives to be legally married then divorced so the kids are “legitimate “? Why does that matter so much?
Dosent it just show that by david not comming foward and throwing his side of the story out there that hes the one being bashed.usually the person that keeps quiet and ignores being bullied(and thats all this is by the browns)is usually the person in the right.they look terrible to their kids and the public dragging his name through the mud.but obviously hes taking the role of a actual adult and decided not to throw stones back.kuddos to him.i hope he fights for his kids!
He is staying out of the public eye because he is a Jessop. I watch a show called escaping polygamy and some of the people that have escaped are from the group the Jessops are part of. They talk about how against their groups rules being on TV and in the media is. It is so bad they can be kicked out of the group or severely punished for it. These are not good people. Maybe he is the exception, but the Jessops polygamy group is not a good place for a woman to be, even worse for a young teen girl to be. That is probably why he has not told his side, he is afraid to.
The Christmas that the Browns moved into the cul-de-sac, 2013, Robyns kids spent with their biological father. It was mentioned on their show. So they are lying about him not seeing the kids for two years. Makes me wonder what else they are lying about.
I do understand where the adults are coming from though. They do love those children and don’t want to lose them. They really should have considered all this before bringing Robyn and her children into their family though. This is just how it works for most step parents, it’s part of the deal.
I am glad somebody else remembered that. There was another show with Robyn packing the kid’s clothes because they were going to visit their father. So next?
I think you r all missing the bigger picture everyone is getting sucked in more and more and if the truth be knowen they can all act realy well.who knows what they r all lieing about and trying to fool all of us with the show is going down hill and if they were true sister wives non of this crap would be going on they r just like 4 women who live there own lives not sister wives
And as for this so called divorce just another way of keeping the show going.i think as long as meri and maria r looked after meri is happy ill bet her house has been payed of and now everthing is hers so when meria get married i wonder were she will live? And the house will be hers and no one else can put a claim in for it all she is doing is looking after her own good on u meri lets face it kody belongs to anyone he is made round to go round.and for what meri has had to put up with who could blame her.i once saw a doco with lisa ling about the diffrent familys with sister wives and the main family it was about the oldest wife was liveing most of her life up stairs on her own not mixing with the others and she said very clearly that in all these familys jealousy is the main problem and anyone who says its not is lieing and she was from the old school
Besides Robyn has this huge square chin that’s so o o ugly. She used to be the only brunette now she’s a blond, HUH? ?
I think the kids went to their dads the week Robin moved into her house
What’s to stop David from going after primary custody because he no longer be lives in plural marriage and is fearful for his children.
I doubt that he is fearful for his children, and I don’t think that he has any reason to be. I personally don’t agree with their lifestyle, but I don’t believe that there is any kind of abuse going on. The main reason I don’t think David Jessop is fearful for his children is that he, like Robyn, was raised in this lifestyle. To him – to them, it’s normal.
Her ex is a Jessop. That is a famous polygamous family and not in a good way. I would be surprised if a judge gave him primary custody.
I don’t know why the divorce and marriage even happened before David agreed to relinquish parental rights to Robyn. Meri has jumped the gun. I haven’t heard that a Spiritual commitment ceremony has been done between Meri and Kody. Now if the adoption does happen, will Kody divorce Robyn and legally remarry Meri? I think Robyn knows just what she is doing…she has become the legal and alpha wife.
So, Robyn drags her kids to another state & people blame her ex for not seeing his kids? In most states, the judge rules that the parent who moves away is responsible for getting the kids back to the other parent.
You can’t feel sorry David a real father would see his kids no matter what
Yes that’s also true,but a real mother won’t keep her childeren so far away from there own dad and tell them Kody is your new father and your last name will be Brown from now on.That is so wrong,there last name is not Brown!It is still Jessop.And i think it must be hard for David to see his childeren every week on national tv hanging on Kody and calling Kody dad.It would break my heart if i was David.
I think it is not right to adopt these childeren,there own father is not dead.OK he’s out of the picture for a longer time,but Robin was the one who has moved all the way to Vegas.I feel sorry for David,end i have a deep respect that he stays out of the media.He’s not the one who’s trowing story’s around his ex.The best thing to do is te let the childeren have a bond whit there own father,and Robin must stimulate that.Kody can’t never replace David,that’s wrong imho.
Celine did you not hear David has not there in years,he has no rights at all
Just because he’s not been there, and I suspect there is a lot more to the story about why that is, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have ‘rights’ to his children.
Depends on where you live. Parental rights can be removed in my state if the noncustodial parent doesn’t contact their children for a period of 6 months or longer.
That is absolutely not true. The parent in question has to entirely abandon the child and cut off all contact – essentially disappear from their lives. Even a phone call once every six months is more than enough to satisfy the “contact” requirement. That’s not the same thing as just not being around much, as is the alleged case here (although, as other posters have pointed out, David has in fact seen his children several times within the past two years).
Didn’t Robyn say on an episode of Sister Wives that her ex physically abused her?
Well, the fact of the matter is, this man is obviously not involved in his kids lives which is sad. Despite what happened in a failed marriage, you should never abandon your kids. If Robyn is lying and is the one that has tried to keep him from the kids, he could of taken her to court which as far as I know, he never has. So as far as I’m concerned, Robyn is making the right decision to have Kody legally adopt them.
But, that is NOT up to Robyn, or Cody, and no judge is going to ignore the face that they do have a living father. Good luck, because dead beat dad or not, he DOES have rights. Which include saying “no” to Cody adopting his kids.
Agree. it doesnt work like that. You cant just find a new parent because you dont like their biological parent now afte 3 kids and 9 yrs of marriage. If that were the case these psyco mothers would sol.
It’s not just a matter of Robyn not liking their dad. He doesn’t even see them.
I know he has rights but he obviously hasn’t been taking advantage of those rights. If he doesn’t want to be their father, Kody is willing to be that for them. Robyn isn’t stupid. She knows that their is no guarantee that Kody can adopt them. She just wants her kids to feel like they are part of their family. Nothing wrong with that.
Does anyone know if David ever paid child support?
Well I guess he agrees that Kody is a better dad than he is since he signed over his rights and said Kody should adopt his kids.
I’m fairly certain that Robyn said that he isn’t a big part of their lives, or that he doesn’t see them very often, something like that. Which means that he is still a part of their lives. He hasn’t abandoned his kids like you’re suggesting.
How can you believe anything Sobbing says? Very poor taste to continually bash her ex on national Tv. But wait, she had no taste.
Im sorry but if it was my ex I would do the same exact thing and you know what so would his children (I have one and he has 8 others). The older ones hate him because he abandoned them. He lives 6 miles away and sees none of his kids….yep sorry I would do the same thing as Robyn but Im mean spirited and I also Dont care anymore.