On the latest Sister Wives episode, Kody Brown took ownership — at least in part — for the unraveling of his family after his split from Christine Brown.
“I made the mistake of not managing my family properly and Christine has left,” Kody, 54, said on the Sunday, August 27, episode, referring to his November 2021 breakup with Christine, 51.
Kody reflected on his family’s ups and downs while celebrating Thanksgiving with Meri Brown and Robyn Brown along with Robyn’s five children. Christine and Janelle Brown opted to share the holiday with their own kids — at separate homes.
“Janelle has decided, because we’re not in the greatest place, that she’d rather hang out with Christine,” Kody told the cameras, confessing, “We’re not working like a family. We’re not a family. We’re acting like enemies.”
Janelle, 54, argued in her own confessional that there was a “huge looming problem” surrounding Kody and their six kids — mainly sons Garrison, 25, and Gabe, 21, — that kept her from being at the big Thanksgiving feast. (Viewers previously saw Janelle and Kody feud over Gabe and Garrison’s alleged disrespect toward Kody and Robyn, 44, on season 17 of Sister Wives after they had differing opinions about their dad’s COVID rules.)
“I basically told the kids what their dad was requiring of them to come to Thanksgiving. I delivered the facts. I delivered what he said,” Janelle quipped, speaking about Kody’s desire for an apology from his and Janelle’s boys before the holiday season. “He needs to do something here. He’s the head of the family. He wants to be the patriarch. This is part of that role.”
Christine, meanwhile, told the cameras that her split from Kody was a long time coming. She insisted that her choice to forgo the family dinner was a result of years of issues. “Our family has been hurting for a long time. We’ve done our best to be as OK as possible. But there’s still hurt feelings from 12 years ago,” she said. “It’s at a breaking point. Sorry, it’s just at a breaking point.”
While Kody claimed that the “big shakeup wasn’t caused by Robyn” joining the family, the tension between all the wives seemingly started when he legally married her in 2014. He argued “going public” started the drama.
Robyn expressed sadness over Christine and Janelle splitting off from the group for the second year in a row. “We’re all separated. My three older kids when I told them we’re going to be separated at Thanksgiving again, they dealt with feelings of rejection,” she revealed.
Kody felt similarly. “There’s been a lot of offense, a lot of struggle, a lot of heartache. I don’t know what to do about it,” he said in a confessional. “I hope I can get these things straightened out and just find peace and love with my family. Everything’s changing.”
Despite being frustrated by their Thanksgiving plans, Kody said he was “at peace” with the group he ate with. “I’m surrounded by people who are not offended by me,” he joked.
Meri, 52, also weighed in on the separate holiday celebrations, saying, “I’m just sad about it. Our holidays are not a big family function like they used to be.”
After filming the Thanksgiving episode in November 2022, Janelle and Meri announced their respective splits from Kody. Janelle confirmed in December 2022 that she and Kody had been “separated” for several months. Meri, meanwhile, released a joint statement with Kody in January stating they decided to “permanently terminate” their marriage.
Sister Wives — which reached a decade-highest season return in ratings on August 20 — airs on TLC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
