What Happened To The Alaskan Bush People?

Honest people living their lives out in the wilderness, forging their own livelihoods by their own hands: that's the image the Brown family portrayed in Discovery's long-running series "Alaskan Bush People." While the clan may have been trying to scrape up a life off the grid, the reality of it was that they were surrounded by TV cameras for a decade. A little bit of that Hollywood life seemed to rub off on the kids, who have reacted to being reality show stars in a number of unusual ways — some of them more uniquely than others. 

Over time, the Browns have done everything from embracing the limelight to hacking out their own careers as influencers to avoiding the spotlight altogether. The last season of the series aired in 2022, but its status has remained up in the air since. What is the Brown family doing now? What are the children up to? What sort of tragedies have they faced — and will "Alaskan Bush People" ever be back for another season? Here's what we know about what's happened to each member of the Brown family.

The Alaskan bush people are a family comprised of nine members; father Billy Brown, wife Ami, children Bear, Matt, Rain, Snowbird, Gabe, Noah, Joshua — known as "Bam Bam" — plus their spouses and children. The Browns live off the grid in Alaska, hunting and foraging for food, building their own dwellings, staking out new territories for themselves, and creating their own world for the most part. Their homebase in Alaska is called "Brown Town."

The Browns eventually move out of Alaska and into Washington State when Ami is diagnosed with lung cancer, after briefly living in California to facilitate her treatment. Their new home is called North Star Ranch. The show has followed the Brown family through marriages, romances and other pleasures and sorrows as they come to grips with the world around them. As of this writing, "Alaskan Bush People" is comprised of 14 seasons, with a handful of additional specials thrown in.

The last fresh episode of "Alaskan Bush People" ran on Discovery in December 2022. There has been no sign of new outings in the years since, leaving fans to presume that it's been canceled. That impression seems to be confirmed by depositions given by Ami Brown during a lawsuit between the estate of Billy Brown and an old business partner of his, Robert Maughon. Ami repeatedly referred to the show's existence in the past tense, seeming to firmly put "Alaskan Bush People" in the family's rear-view mirror.

Not so, according to Bear Brown. Speaking out via his Instagram, he explained that the series has been a victim of the Discovery/Warner Bros. merger. While he said that the Brown family isn't currently filming the program, it's not canceled at all. Discovery is apparently still figuring out its post-merger direction and where the series fits into that. "The official term for the show is that it's on hiatus," Bear explained. "Some shows have been canceled and some have been put on the back burner. 'Alaskan Bush People' has been put on the back burner ... Any news articles saying it's canceled, that is not accurate." 

Fans of "Alaskan Bush People" already know that matriarch Ami Brown has had some pretty hard luck with her health. Her battle with Stage III non-small cell lung cancer was covered during Season 8 of the show in 2017; while she was initially only given a 3% chance of survival, she managed to beat the illness and was declared cancer-free in 2019. 

While the cameras captured these travails, her latest problems have taken place away from Discovery's reach. Ami came down with pneumonia and was hospitalized in 2024. While she recovered fairly quickly from that illness, she was airlifted to a hospital and ended up in the ICU in February 2025 after contracting another case of pneumonia and experiencing chest pains. Ami was subsequently released from the hospital in the same month. 

Bear Brown reported on his Instagram that she had stayed briefly with his family to complete her recovery progress, but had moved out on her own by April 9. He says that while she'll never be entirely free of lung ailments thanks to her fight with cancer, she is doing well and her breathing and heart rate are fine. Ami also continues to keep fans abreast of her activities via her own Instagram. 

In the wake of the 2021 passing of family patriarch Billy, Solomon "Bear" Brown has stepped forward to become a spokesman for the family in a lot of ways. When something serious happens regarding a Brown, good or bad, he's usually the first to speak out via his Instagram to set the record straight and keep fans aware of the truth. His account often features his visiting siblings, his wife Raiven, and their children. He also sometimes keeps fans abreast of projects he's working on near the family cabin and other events in his life. 

Bear is also the Brown sibling who has the highest number of ties to influencer culture. He's one of several Browns with a Cameo account, maintains a Temu, and runs his own YouTube channel. On the home front, he and Raiven have three sons, River, Coves and Everest. Things with Raiven haven't always been smooth: the couple has had an on-again-off-again relationship that included a March 2022 charge against Bear for domestic violence, after he was accused of shoving her during a dispute.

Youngest daughter Rain Brown's life after "Alaskan Bush People" has taken quite an unhealthy turn, as she and her husband have run afoul of the law. On April 11, 2025, Rain was charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree malicious mischief and second-degree criminal trespass, while Josiah Lorton was charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree malicious mischief. The couple were released on their own recognizance as of April 14 and did not have to pay bail. 

A post on Rain's Instagram declared that a former manager had them arrested, but that they were innocent of the accusations. "It hurts my heart that my rainbows would choose to believe the lies that my old manager who stole $43,000 from me and abused me," her statement read in part. She also attached a biblical quote to the post: "Judge not lest ye be judged. For what judgment, ye judge, ye shall be judged." Since the Brown family has previously managed to escape jail time, perhaps Rain will be legally lucky this time as well.

The couple's marriage was only three months old at the time of their arrests, and Rain had been dating Lorton for a year when they wed. They encountered one another for the first time when she was waitressing and he was working as a head chef in the same restaurant. Outside of her criminal charges, Rain keeps busy as an inspirational writer and maintains accounts with Cameo and TikTok.

Snowbird Brown has stepped into the limelight and become her own person after "Alaskan Bush People" went on hiatus. She has established her own Etsy store, through which she sells dreamcatchers, jewelry and candleholders under the name SnowBirdCrafts. She opened her own YouTube page in 2025, which she's dedicated to continuing the work her naturalist father started, teaching people to live off the land one video at a time. She still has a large number of pets, and continues to post pictures and videos of all of them on her social media. 

She's also suffered from a horrifying health scare, having abdominal surgery after experiencing pain in 2022. It proved to be a cystic tumor, and while she continues to get check-ups to make sure the mass won't grow back, she is doing well as of this writing. 

Like her siblings, Snowbird has a Cameo, Amazon wishlist, and TikTok account, in addition to a Threads account. Mainly, she holds court on her Instagram, where she posts nature photography, videos of various wildlife and phenomena, updates on her family members, shots of her baking in the kitchen and more. A self-described "cat lady," Snowbird remains single for now. 

Eldest Brown child Matt has definitely seen the most trouble. Parting ways with "Alaskan Bush People" during Season 9 and then going off the grid entirely, fans have long wondered what happened to him. Matt Brown has a history of addiction issues, going to rehab in 2016 and 2018. He claimed in now-deleted Instagram and YouTube videos that he was given alcohol by the show's producers. But even worse, Matt was accused in 2020 of raping two female employees. 

Jessica Jurges, who worked for the Browns as an assistant, and Shelly Dawn Early, who managed Matt alone, told The Sun that Matt sexually assaulted them during separate instances in 2018. "He was a monster," Jurges said. "It seemed to go on for two and a half hours until Shelly rescued me." Jurges claimed her rape took place in a pool; she added that she cannot swim and nearly drowned. Jurges recalled Early pulling Brown off her by the hair to end the situation. When Brown allegedly raped her three days later, Early, who had undergone hip replacement surgery and had weakened legs, said that he was so drunk he accused her of raping him. 

Brown did not appear again on the show after the accusations were published. Discovery released a statement to People magazine, saying, "We agreed the local authorities should be contacted immediately. Due to the nature of the accusations we felt that all cooperation would be most appropriately handled by law enforcement." The Los Angeles County district attorney eventually declined to press charges. Brown now has his own YouTube channel which chronicles his life, as well as an Instagram, and has been sober for five years at press time.

Noah Brown has been going through something of a rough period in recent times. Separating from wife Rhain Alisha after a six-year union, the couple described the split as amicable in two Instagram videos released on January 31, 2025, adding that they will continue caring for their children together.

As covered in episodes of "Alaskan Bush People," Rhain seemed to have trouble fitting in with the Brown family, mostly because she isn't from the bush but lived an ordinary, workaday life before moving to the state. Rain and Rhain had something of a dust-up when the latter first joined the family because Rain felt as if Rhain was taking her place in the family. Snowbird, too, didn't seem to take to Rhain. 

Noah, Rhain, and their sons Adam and Eli moved to Colorado in 2019, but apparently that wasn't enough distance to overcome their incompatibility. In non-marital matters, Noah continues to make public appearences with his siblings on their social media; he, too, has an Etsy from which he sells T-shirts and a Cameolike many of his siblings, but he also offers a CashApp.  

Spiritually-minded Joshua "Bam Bam" Brown has also been through a lot in his life. On Friday, May 20, 2022, Brown was in a car crash that claimed the life of a 24-year-old female passenger in the other vehicle. Police determined that Brown was not at fault for the accident, and he was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries. 

Bam Bam, like several of his siblings, has moved away from Alaska and is currently living in Washington. He briefly left "Alaskan Bush People" to pursue a romance with Discovery field producer Allison Kagan, missing several seasons of the show in the process. There's no word on the current status of their relationship, but Bam Bam keeps an inactive Instagram, a Cameo, a never-used YouTube channel and TikTok. He also created the family's official website and seems to be acting as its webmaster, via Instagram posts from Bear Brown.

Gabe Brown's good-natured ways have landed him in a sunny place; as of this writing, he's been married to his wife, Raquelle, for six years. Noah Brown was ordained and married the couple during their first ceremony in January 2019, but they had a remarriage party in June 2019 which the whole family –  as well as People magazine cameras — attended. 

The couple, who generally keep a low social media profile, now have four daughters together; Sophie is the only one who has been publicly named, and also appeared as a baby on "Alaskan Bush People." Raquelle also took a break from the series in 2022, leaving fans curious as to her whereabouts. Gabe has a flair for music and can often be seen singing on his TikTok – where he's the most active – and Cameo pages.

Things haven't been all sunshine and roses for Gabe, of course; in November 2024 he went through hand surgery. Brother Noah was there to see him through and pick him up when it was all over.

The Brown family suffered through some major heartache thanks to the Palmer Fire, which burned through the area where North Star Ranch is located in August 2020. All eight Browns (except Matt), plus spouses and children, were able to evacuate from their land safely with some of their animals, but there was property damage and loss of wild animal life due to the speed of the flames. 

Some of their horses scattered from the property and later reunited with the family; Snowbird in particular was happy to see her lost equine friend once again. The entire situation was caught by Discovery cameras and ended up providing a pivotal plot point during Season 12.

When the smoke cleared, some of the Brown children begin to move away from North Star Ranch. A number of the siblings moved back to Alaska, some moved to Colorado with their families, and others stuck to Washington state. Since the show already isn't filmed where you think it is, the family's dispersal makes sense. But an even bigger — and sadder — change was soon headed their way.

The biggest blow of all to hit the Brown family was definitely the death of patriarch Billy Brown, which occurred on February 7, 2021. Brown suffered a massive seizure and passed away on the same day. He was 68 years old. His sudden loss was covered by "Alaskan Bush People" during Season 13. Discovery did have cameras at the Browns' home at the time of his seizure, but declined to show footage of the actual incident. However, it still broadcast audio of Ami Brown demanding that her husband get up, then of ambulances converging on the Browns' home and a medivac flight landing to rush him to the hospital. 

The family was brutally honest about Billy Brown's passing in their interview segments, with Ami Brown recalling that her husband leaned his cheek into her palm during his last moment of consciousness. "Alaskan Bush People" also covered Brown's memorial during Season 13, which coincided with the Brown family's attempt at mining gold out of North Star Ranch.

The Brown family is currently coping with a legal pickle: Robert Maughon, who allegedly partnered with Billy Brown in 2009, has sued his estate for breach of contract to the tune of $500,000. He claims that he's owed 10% of any gross income made by Brown's production company, Alaska Wilderness Family Productions, from Brown's creative output. 

Television shows are included in the agreement, which means Maughon would be owed some cash from "Alaskan Bush People" if the contract proves valid; Brown's net worth was estimated in the hundreds of thousands at the time of his death. Discovery has been included as a defendant in the case, as is Ami Brown, who has filed to have herself removed from it since it was forged in Alaska and she was uninvolved in its conception.

"The simple (and admitted) fact that Amora L. Brown was married to the decedent Defendants Billy Bryant Brown when he separately entered a contract and on the date of his death does not give rise to joint marital obligation of Amora L Brown to the Plaintiff," Brown's counter-filing read in part, per InTouch Weekly. There was a settlement conference on April 25, but no word at press time regarding any agreement. 

If you or anyone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, has been a victim of sexual assault, or needs help with addiction issues, contact the relevant resources below:

• Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
• Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
• Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).