Sister Wives season 18 episode 16 continued to unpack the tumultuous events of the season as host Sukanya Krishnan interviewed the Brown family and asked for brutal honesty. Throughout Sister Wives season 18, the marriages between Kody Brown and his wife & ex-wives have been explored. After Kody’s third wife, Christine Brown, decided to leave the family during Sister Wives season 17, his other relationships have been taking the brunt of his anger and hurt. Christine’s decision wasn’t easy, and while her fellow sister wife Janelle Brown supported her choice, Meri Brown and Robyn Brown were more ambivalent, staying more on Kody’s side of the split than Christine’s.
After Christine left, things began to crumble in Kody’s life. While his relationship with Robyn is still intact, Kody’s marriage to Janelle hit a rough patch after their Sister Wives season 18 blowout fight. After walking out on Janelle, Kody didn’t speak to her for over a month. While his relationship with Janelle fizzled, things with Meri were worse than ever as Kody and Robyn continued to try to keep her in the family despite Kody’s lack of a relationship with his first wife. As Sister Wives: One On One continues, the Browns will keep speaking up about their experiences.
Janelle Confirmed She And Kody Had A Great Physical Relationship
The Couple Disagreed About Whether They Had An Emotional Connection
Early on in the Sister Wives: One On One episode, Kody shared that he felt used when it came to his relationship with Janelle, especially in more recent years. While Janelle and Kody shared a genuine connection, Kody explained that he’s felt Janelle uses him for his body in the past. Janelle, who was flabbergasted by the idea that she was only in their marriage for the physical side of things, explained she wasn’t interested in discussing her sex life in depth. Both Janelle and Kody confirmed their intimate life wasn’t the issue with their relationship overall, but differed on how they emotionally connected.
Meri, Christine, & Janelle Explained They Felt Kody Wanted Them To Earn His Love
They Didn’t Realize Kody Was Making His Love Conditional
While Kody wasn’t clear on any issues in the way he was behaving early on in his marriages, all three of his original wives explained that they now understood the way Kody made his love conditional for them. Rather than loving his wives unconditionally, Kody put parameters on his love. Christine, Janelle, and Meri explained that they felt they had to earn Kody’s affection. Each of his wives felt that they were working hard to win Kody’s love, and while he wasn’t always openly affectionate with them, he would sometimes show affection when he felt someone had earned it. His actions were clearly hurtful to each of Kody’s ex-wives.
Kody Said He “Chose” To Love Meri, But He Was Faking It
He Was Faking Being In Love With His First Wife
Kody’s been speaking out during Sister Wives: One On One to explain why his marriage to Meri lasted as long as it did and when things changed. Though Kody said he’s never been in love with any of his ex-wives, his relationship with Meri seemed to be the purest from a romantic standpoint. As Kody’s first wife, Meri was the gold standard of the family for quite some time after Janelle and Christine came into the picture. While Kody and Meri’s relationship was celebrated for how much they cared for one another, Kody shared that he “chose” to love Meri and live as though they were in a romantic relationship.
Robyn Hoped Kody Would React Better To Meri’s News
She Didn’t Want Meri To Leave The Family
After Meri shared that she would be moving her business from Flagstaff to Parowan, Utah, with Robyn, the Sister Wives duo decided she should tell Kody while Robyn was present. Hoping for a big reaction, Robyn pushed Meri to tell Kody about the move and explain that it had nothing to do with her being interested in leaving the Brown family. Robyn’s hopes were dashed when Kody didn’t really care about the idea of Meri leaving Flagstaff at all, having very little reaction to the news. Kody’s only remaining wife was hurt by the fact that he didn’t push harder to have Meri stick around.
Kody Shared He Feels Pressure From Robyn About Reconciling With Meri
He Said He Feels Like Meri’s Friend More Than Her Husband
While Robyn is hurt that Kody’s feelings for Meri aren’t strong enough to keep her in the family, Kody’s feeling pressure from Robyn to be more open to accepting Meri back when he doesn’t want to. For years, Kody has felt his relationship with Meri is over. Despite the fact that Meri hasn’t seemed aware of it, Kody’s been very clear that he doesn’t have romantic feelings for Meri anymore. After years of turmoil and difficulty, Kody’s given up on a relationship that doesn’t work for him, but Robyn’s insistence that he continue to try and pursue Meri has made him uncomfortable.
Meri’s Ex Sister Wives Defended Her While Kody Wasn’t As Kind
Being In Love With Meri Is “Not Safe” For Kody
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Although Christine and Janelle don’t have great relationships with Meri, the women along with Robyn defended her about feeling manipulated and hurt by Kody in their marriage. Each of Kody’s wives made it abundantly clear that Kody has been the worst to Meri, belittling her and making her feel small in order to make himself feel larger. While the wives spoke up about Meri, Kody shared that he didn’t feel safe with Meri in his life. He explained that while he could potentially be friends with her in the future, he didn’t feel like his marriage to her was a safe space for him to speak freely and openly.
Christine & Janelle Were Offended By Robyn Saying She Can “Speak Kody”
Robyn Gaslit The Family To Control Kody’s Marriages
Christine and Janelle both shared that the idea that Robyn is the only one who can “speak Kody” has been something they’d found offensive for years. Despite the fact that Robyn’s known Kody for the least amount of time, she’s always shared that she’s the best person to understand Kody and consistently offers up her “services” during private conversations with other members of the family. Christine and Janelle shared that they both feel confident “speaking Kody” and take offense to the idea that they’d need someone else in their conversations with Kody. Instead, both women agreed Robyn’s insistence on being present was more of a control method than a kindness.
Christine Shared A Story About Kody’s Wedding Ring From Meri
Meri Wasn’t Happy About Christine Sharing Her Personal Story
While Christine did offer the caveat that the story wasn’t hers, she shared a personal story about the wedding ring Meri gave to Kody during the Tell-All. Meri, who was livid that Christine spoke up, chose to speak out about it during the special in order to share her experience. She explained that when Robyn joined the family, Kody melted down the ring Meri had given him at their wedding because he didn’t want to feel like she had any ownership over him as a wife. Kody chose not to consult Meri about the decision, melting it down and keeping the gold that came from the ring for himself.
Robyn Denied Kody Melted Down His Ring When He Met Her
She Believes That Happened Prior To Her Meeting Kody
After Meri shared the story from her perspective, host Suki asked Robyn about her recollection of the ring. Meri and Christine had both shared that Kody melted down the ring prior to marrying Robyn, but after Kody and Robyn had begun courting. While Robyn did know of the story, she said that it actually happened before she joined the family at all. She said she was certain that she didn’t know Kody or any of the Brown family when the ring was melted down, trying to take any blame off herself about the scandalous Sister Wives incident.
Meri Felt She Was Owed Kody’s Public Confirmation That He Didn’t See Her As A Wife
The Rest Of The Brown Family Was Confused By Her Reaction
During the Sister Wives: One On One from season 17, Meri was faced with a clip of Kody saying he didn’t see her as a wife anymore. She was flabbergasted that he hadn’t said them to her directly. While Kody was sending signals that he was over his marriage, he hadn’t been direct with her about it at all, so she was still hopeful. While the rest of the Sister Wives cast was confused by her surprise, Meri shared that she felt she was owed the kindness of hearing it from Kody himself before she heard it in front of a camera, and he’d never given that to her.
