Ever since the premiere of American reality show Sister Wives back in 2010, the world has been fascinated by the life of Kody Brown and his polygamist family. The show chronicled Brown’s life with his four wives, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn Brown, along with their 18 combined kids. But now, the reality star finds himself in a monogamous relationship with his youngest wife, Robyn Brown, after his three other wives decided to leave him. But Kody Brown only has himself to blame for the mess he is currently in. Over the years, Brown has humiliated his wives, neglected his children, and played victim every time someone tries to call him out on his behavior.
Sister Wives Season 1 largely revolved around Kody and Robyn Brown’s marriage and her introduction into the family. However, it soon became evident that Kody Brown favored his youngest wife over pretty much everyone else. The other wives expressed feelings of jealousy and insecurity, especially Christine Brown, who had just given birth to her sixth child when her husband started courting his newest wife. This tension around Kody’s partial treatment of his wives was subtle at first but laid the foundation for what would become a major point of tension in the following seasons. Over time, Kody Brown’s unwillingness to see his mistakes led to the gradual breakdown of his entire family.
Kody Brown Has Major Control Issues
During the Sister Wives Season 17 Tell All, Brown claimed that polygamy was “all about ego.” While the fans took that statement as a joke, looking back, it’s extremely obvious that all of Brown’s marriages suffered because of his self-important behavior. Whether it was his children or his wives, Brown needed to be the one in control all the time. The reality star has been criticized time and again for putting his needs before everyone else’s. For example, after marrying Robyn Brown, Kody Brown started spending more time at her house which made his other wives feel like their marriages to him just weren’t important enough.
A major example of this was when Brown moved his entire family to Flagstead in Sister Wives Season 10. In an interview with John Yates, Kody, and Christine Brown’s son Padeon Brown revealed that his father uprooted their entire lives for “his favorite wife.” According to Padeon Brown, after Robyn and Kody Brown’s son Dayton Brown got accepted to NAU, Robyn Brown demanded that they move to be close to him.
Christine Brown struggled with the sudden change and expressed her desire to move back to Utah. However, when she talked to her husband, he dismissed her feelings because all he cared about was the happiness of Robyn Brown. His refusal to listen ultimately led to Christine Brown leaving the marriage. This has been a pattern with Kody Brown, who always claims to know what’s best for his entire family, without even bothering to listen to them. The reality star’s controlling nature hasn’t just pushed his wives away, it’s also led to him falling out with many of his children.
Kody’s Ex-Wives Were Sick of Him Playing Favorites
From the beginning of the show, Brown has shown blatant favoritism towards his youngest wife, often ignoring his other wives to act like a teenager in love. From spending the most time at her house to letting her make important decisions at home, Brown’s first three wives would often point this out. However, Kody Brown didn’t seem to care about their feelings. His preferential treatment of Robyn also extended to financial matters. In earlier seasons, Kody was criticized for spending more money on Robyn Brown’s needs, including buying her the large house when they moved to Flagstaff, while the others had to make do with less.
Meri Brown, in particular, received the short end of the stick on multiple occasions. Brown has openly admitted on the show about how he stopped feeling emotionally connected to any of his wives besides Robyn Brown. During the Sister Wives Season 16 Tell All, Meri Brown shared that she and Kody Brown had not been physically intimate for a decade. In many episodes of the show, Brown himself acknowledged that he no longer wanted an intimate relationship with Meri and was not willing to work through the challenges in their marriage. Because he wanted to spend all his time with his youngest wife.
One of the most heartbreaking moments of the show was when Kody Brown legally divorced Meri Brown in 2014 to marry his youngest wife and adopt his children from her previous marriage. This decision left Meri Brown feeling sidelined, especially since she was no longer Brown’s legal wife anymore. As a result, Meri Brown started an online romantic relationship in 2015 with someone pretending to be a man. This catfishing incident drove a wedge in her marriage and gave Kody Brown one more reason to neglect Meri Brown. While she was ashamed and wanted to move past the situation, Brown used it to emotionally distance himself from her without any guilt.
Kody Brown’s COVID-19 Rules Had Ulterior Motives
Kody Brown’s controlling nature worsened when the COVID-10 pandemic hit. Brown’s house rules during the pandemic were a major point of contention during Sister Wives Season 15 and onwards. Some believe that his irrational behavior and strict COVID-10 rules led to the breakdown of his marriages with Janelle and Christine Brown while also alienating a lot of his children.
Brown created a strict set of protocols that were much more extreme than government-suggested precautions, such as cleaning mail with alcohol wipes, avoiding public places, and keeping a 10-foot distance between people. He claimed that these rules were necessary for his family’s health. The patriarch even refused to see his children and other wives unless they complied with all of his ridiculous rules. Janelle Brown’s sons, Gabriel and Garrison Brown, were particularly hurt by their father threatening to stop visiting their house if they didn’t quit their jobs to isolate at home.
However, all of this was eventually proven to be an excuse for Brown to make his youngest wife’s home his primary residence during the pandemic. In fact, when Robyn Brown was diagnosed with COVID-19, Kody Brown had no problem being by her side throughout the whole ordeal.
Brown’s Selfish Behavior Is Absolutely Unacceptable Anymore
Kody Brown has always been extremely selfish. However, his decision to skip his and Christine’s daughter Ysabel Brown’s scoliosis surgery out of fear of exposure and the fact that he would miss Robyn’s birthday was especially painful to watch. But that’s not all! In the past, Christine Brown also had to take their daughter Truley Brown to the hospital, only to find out that she was experiencing kidney failure due to Kody Brown’s negligence.
All of this led to Christine Brown finally leaving her husband after 26 years of marriage. Soon after that, Janelle Brown announced her separation from Brown in 2022. Meri followed right after in 2023, which left Brown with the wife that he seemed to care most about. And he has no problems in admitting it! In a promo for Sister Wives Season 19, Kody Brown calls his family “the source of all joy and pain.” However, when asked about his marriage, he claimed that it is now the source of all joy in his life in an obvious attempt to throw shade at his former wives.
However, it doesn’t look like he and Robyn Brown are getting as strong as Kody thinks they are. During the Sister Wives Season 19 premiere, Robyn Brown shares that the couple is doing “the worst they have ever done” after everything that has gone down. This is because, over the years, Robyn had gotten used to the other wives receiving the brunt of Kody’s emotional abuse and neglect. She was also used to painting herself as the victim to garner all his sympathy. But now that she is the only Sister Wife standing, it’s only a matter of time before Kody Brown’s selfish and controlling nature starts seeping into their relationship as well. As the duo navigates their monogamous dynamic, Kody Brown needs to step up and start taking responsibility for his actions. Because if he doesn’t, he stands to lose whatever little he has left.
Sister Wives Season 19 premiered on September 15, 2024. New episodes air every Sunday on TLC and are available to stream the next day on Hulu.
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