Why Sister Wives’ Kody Brown Believes Janelle Brown Is Doing This to Punish Him
As the rest of the family moves on, This toPunishHim Kody Brown is feeling more left out than ever.
In E! News’ exclusive sneak peek clip from the season 19 premiere of Sister Wives, airing Sept. 15, the Brown family patriarch is still struggling with adjusting to the new normal of his estranged family.
After his second wife Janelle Brown separated from him in 2022, she is now considering moving away from Flagstaff, Arizona, where Kody and his only remaining wife, Robyn Brown, still reside.
“We’re just going to look at property in Montana,” Kody and Janelle’s daughter Madison Brush tells several of the older Brown family kids. “Property to build on.”
Christine Brown, who left Kody first in 2021, is delighted by the news and what that could mean for Janelle.
“I know that’s the secret,” she says in her confessional interview. “And what’s more, Janelle’s talking about possibly moving with them.”
Janelle admits that she doesn’t feel tied to Flagstaff following her split from Kody, sharing, “Flagstaff no longer feels permanent and if I had another option, I would probably take it.”
Of course, the father of 18 views this decision and any gatherings between his exes and his children as a personal affront.
“They know that I suffer from FOMO about my family, fear of missing out, OK?” he says in a confessional interview. “So anything they can do that excludes me is a punishment to me.”
Over the past few years, Kody’s spiritual marriages to Christine, Janelle, and Meri Brown have all dissolved amid disagreements over COVID, Kody’s behavior toward his children, and his alleged favoritism of Robyn.
In the new season, which was filmed in late 2022 and early 2023, fans are set to see Christine moving on in her new romance with future husband David Woolley. And Kody and Robyn’s marriage seems to be on the rocks more than ever as Robyn accused Kody of “sabotaging” their relationship in a trailer for the show.
Sister Wives season 19 premiere airs Sunday, Sept. 15 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
For more on the complicated relationships within the Brown family, read on.
In January 2024, a year after she and Kody Brown announced their breakup, Meri revealed on Instagram that she had begun dating Amos Andrews the previous October. But in February 2024, Meri confirmed on Instagram that they had called it quits.
"She looked like a soccer mom," Kody Brown once joked on Sister Wives of meeting then-single mom Robyn in 2009. "She had a van, three kids and was divorced. I thought, 'I didn't need a van, a divorced woman, and three kids in my life—that's just trouble.'"
Nearly a decade and a half on, though, they're still kicking it, the pair adding son Solomon, 12, and daughter Ariella, 7, to the squad. As for bringing on other teammates, it's not in the game plan. "I really, really struggle with it because it feels, like, 'Oh, well. Those didn't work. So, on to [someone] new,'" Robyn said on the December Sister Wives: One on One special of Meri, Janelle and Christine leaving the fold. "That's hard for me. That's really, really hard for me. It feels disrespectful."
She got the man and the family. Going official with her and David Woolley's romance on Valentine's Day 2023, Christine Brown shared, "I finally found the love of my life, David. The first time he held me close, it felt like my soul took its first breath. He's wonderful and kind, incredible with my children and an adorable grandpa. I never dreamed I could find a love like this."
Two months later he added to the fantasy with a spring proposal. "David treats me like a queen and tells me I'm beautiful everyday," Christine told People. "I've never been in love like this before and the world seems like a brighter place with him in it."
Tying the knot in Utah Oct. 7, she wrote, "I'm so blessed! I've married my best friend."
The first of the 18 Brown children to walk down the aisle, Janelle's eldest daughter, Madison Brown, now 28, wed Caleb Brush at a 2016 outdoor wedding in Montana captured by TLC's cameras. Nearly seven years later, the two have multiplied their love with Josephine joining big brother Axel, 6, and big sister Evie, 4, in February.
"One month as a family of 5 and my heart is bursting," North Carolina-based Maddie wrote on Instagram in March. "I didn't know this kind of peace amongst chaos could be had."
Four years after their engagement aired on the TLC reality show, Meri Brown's only child, Leon Brown, has settled in Denver with partner Audrey Kriss. "my sweetest symphony," Leon, 28, raved of their fiancé. "Life with you truly is so sweet." Echoed Audrey, "Being your partner and watching your growth and coming into yourself over the years has been an honor and joy."
Eldest kid Logan Brown, 29, got the gang back together when he married longtime girlfriend Michelle Petty in Arizona this past October. "It was a beautiful day and this mama's heart was mush the whole time," Janelle shared on Instagram of her son's wedding. "You always have such a sense of peace when your children find amazing life partners."
More than six years after her 2016 wedding to Antonio "Tony" Padron, Mykelti Brown joked that they'd already tested the limits of their marriage vows by welcoming twins Archer and Ace into the fold in November 2022.
"We have 3 kids and 4 moves under our belt," noted the 27-year-old, also mom to Avalon, 2. "A whole lot of good times and some hard times #surprisetwins But here we are still doing this whole marriage thing."
In the five years since they wed, Christine's daughter Aspyn Brown, 28, and husband Mitch Thompson have traveled everywhere from Paris to Alaska. But last December, they put down roots, Mitch sharing on Instagram, "We bought our first home! Just in time for Christmas."
Before hitting their one-year anniversary, Christine's daughter Gwendlyn Brown and love Beatriz Queiroz went to the happiest place on earth and marked six months together with chocolate fondue. Then came the really sweet part. The 22-year-old shared a glimpse at the candlelit, rose-filled proposal on Instagram in November 2022, writing simply, "i'm engaged!!"
The couple wed in July, sharing the news on Instagram the caption: "Say hello to mrs (x2) queiroz."