We’re three episodes into season 19 of Sister Wives and here’s what we can tell you.
Kody Brown hasn’t changed at all.
Heading into this season, many fans questioned how the show could continue given that Kody is no longer married to 3 out of his 4 wives. Granted, the season takes place mere weeks after his split from Meri in 2022.
But the fact remains that it feels odd watching a show about a plural marriage where there is none. Instead, we’re bearing witness to the messy aftermath, which includes a father navigating adult relationships with his kids.
And he’s doing a terrible job. Just ask his wife.
‘Sister Wives’ Season 19 Episode 3 Recap: Worst Father Of The Year?
We rejoin the Brown family soon after Mykelti has given birth to her twins. What should be a joyous moment for the family is proving to be a bit more … complicated.
Mykelti is still close with Robyn, Kody’s last remaining wife, and invited her to be with her during the birth and the days that followed. This made things awkward with her own mother Christine, who was also there for her daughter.
What’s interesting is that Kody continually paints his exes as bitter, angry, but most especially, rude to Robyn.
But when Robyn and Christine find themselves face to face as new grandmas helping Mykelti, nothing could seem farther from the truth. Christine is kind to Robyn, even sings her praises for sleeping in a closet just to be close to the twins.
Janelle echoes the sentiment, pointing out that it can be possible for them all to “coparent peacefully.”
When it’s time to head back home, Robyn weeps in her car as she leaves. “I just really love being a grandma,” she says, knowing that her time with Mykelti and Christine is a glimpse at what was lost.
Kody, who did not join her, simple says in his confessional
“I’m having a difficult time connecting with all of my kids.
The One With Four Thanksgivings
A week after the twins are born, the family settles in to their individual Thanksgiving celebrations. Christine has her family in Utah, Janelle had her kids over in Las Vegas, and Kody and Robyn settle in for their first Thanksgiving alone with their kids.
Meri, who was invited by Robyn to join them, declines. “I’m not a member of the family,” Meri insists in her confessional. Later, it turns out Meri is very sick on the day and spent it alone, something that Robyn feels incredible guilty about.
But not Kody. No, he seems more than happy to have his small gathering. “ I feel safe,” he tells the camera. “We are all in a state of respect with each other.”
And that’s all Kody seems to want: respect and harmony. Seems reasonable, until you realize why he doesn’t have that with the rest of his kids.
That’s when Robyn steps in to remind him.
Kody and Robyn’s “Heat Exchange”
Quite suddenly, the screen goes black and viewers are told that camera arrived just as Kody was driving away from the house after a “heated exchange” with Robyn.
When he returns, the cameras start rolling as Robyn confronts Kody about not reaching out to the kids.
You see, most of his kids with his ex-wives are in their 20’s. Some are even married with children of their own. Because of showdowns during Covid and the divorces from their mothers, many of Kody’s kids are angry with him.
And Kody is ready to put the blame on everyone for this except for himself.
“I’m not going to sit here and fight with you and have a rift in our relationship cause by these people who have created the biggest right in my life,” he says to Robyn as the argument carries on.
Who he means by “these people” could be basically anyone. His exes, their kids – He at one point name drops his daughter Madison, who perhaps above all has set very clear boundaries with him. So much so that at Logan’s wedding, she made sure that her kids had no interaction with him.
Janelle explains that Madison and her other kids feel Kody “ditched” them and is too inconsistent to be a part of their lives. They want more from him than he’s willing to give, both then and now.
But Robyn sees it as Kody’s responsibility to make more of an effort. She knows firsthand what it’s like to be a child of a divorce and feel that your father has given up on you. She doesn’t want that for Kody’s kids.
Kody, the Victim
But the truth is that Kody emotionally can not handle being confronted with his kids and their “contempt”. For one thing, he refuses to acknowledge he did anything wrong.
“I am only guilty of not falling madly in love with their mothers,” he insists time and time again.
“Some people think that parental child relationships don’t have to be reciprocal,” he adds, “but when they’re adults, yeah, they do.”
And there it is: Kody feels like the victim. Rather than listen to his kids and hear out their grievances, he’s hanging onto how they are making him feel by not turning a blind eye or being unwavering loyal to him.
In fact, Kody goes so far as to confess that he can’t handle an adult conversation with his kids about their feelings.
“I’m so angry about what has happened that if I talk to my kids, I’m worried that they’ll trigger me with an accusation… I’m just bitter, I’m angry out of my mind.
Robyn forces him to promise he’ll keep trying, even so far as to tell him that she’s starting to lose respect for him because he’s not trying hard enough to be the kind of father his kids need.
He promises her he’ll try, but he also knows he’s not “fixing it today, tomorrow, next week”
And the truth is, as we all know by the way he described his relationship with Garrison before his death, he never not the chance to fix it in some cases.