RECAP: ‘Sister Wives’ Robyn Brown Spends Christmas Eve in Tears on the Bathroom Floor!

The episode opens with Kody and Robyn Brown visiting Mykelti after she gave birth to her twins. Kody, expressing fondness for Mykelti and her husband Tony Padron, suggests the idea of buying a large house with guest rooms so that Mykelti and her family could visit frequently.

“I’m doing great,” Mykelti shares about her recovery, noting that she has eaten her placenta raw, which has helped her postpartum journey. Robyn supports her daughter’s choice, adding, “It helps like crazy with postpartum depression.”

Mykelti recalls a similar experience after the birth of her first child, daughter Avalon, explaining that she actually took a bite of the raw placenta then, but this time she’s consuming it in capsule form.

“It’s helped a lot,” she says, emphasizing the positive impact it has had on her recovery.

Not everyone in the family is on board with this practice, though. In a confessional, Meri Brown expresses her disgust at the idea. “The whole placenta thing — no,” she says, nearly gagging. “It’s really gross. No, no—in no way, shape, or form.”

Christine Brown, on the other hand, has a different perspective. Initially, she found the idea disgusting, but now wishes she had tried it after having her children.

“I wish so badly I would’ve known about eating your placenta — encapsulated placenta,” Christine admits. “I would’ve done it in a heartbeat.”

Surprisingly, Robyn reveals that she was the first of the sister wives to adopt the placenta-eating trend.

“It was something my midwife suggested to me and I just thought I’d try it,” Robyn says during her confessional.

Gabe Calls Out Kody Over Accountability Issues

Janelle Brown and her son Gabriel (Gabe) sit down for an honest conversation, with Gabe making his frustrations clear over how his father Kody has handled the family dynamics since the split. Gabe doesn’t hold back as he reveals details of their strained relationship.

While making breakfast with Janelle, Gabe explains that Kody had recently reached out to him. “He hit me up,” Gabe says. “It was strange because he was like, ‘Hey, I miss you,’ and then kept phrasing it like I owed him an apology.”

The tension escalated when Gabe responded, saying, “Unless you’re actually ready to have a relationship and fix things, then we’re not going to talk anymore.” According to Gabe, Kody came back a few days later with a text that said, “I forgive you, please forgive me.” Gabe, puzzled by the message, responded, “Forgive me for what?”

Gabe makes it clear where he stands, stating, “I told Dad that if he doesn’t change and he can’t take accountability, then I just won’t ever see him again. And I’m perfectly OK with that.”

Janelle acknowledges the difficulty of repairing their family dynamic. “I don’t know what it would take at this point to get things back on track,” she says, pointing out that the family is now scattered across the country. Gabe adds that it would take “an act of God” for Kody to truly set things straight.

Reflecting on the situation, Janelle believes that the COVID-19 quarantine period only accelerated Kody’s desire to focus on his relationship with his favorite wife, Robyn. “Their dad had been expressing things to them, like, he wished he had waited and just married Robyn,” she explains.

Meanwhile, Gabe voices his feelings toward Robyn, stating, “I think that Robyn definitely has a victim complex. To put it bluntly.” He expresses disappointment that his relationship with her has deteriorated, adding, “If she actually believes that we were mistreating her or her children when she was constantly being favored by Dad, then there’s no chance of me having a relationship with Robyn ever again.”

Meri Officially Divorces Kody

Another emotional storyline in this episode follows Meri as she makes the decision to formally end her marriage to Kody. After years of estrangement, Meri reaches out to their church to request a release from her spiritual marriage, which began in 1990 and continued after their 2014 legal divorce.

Kody reveals that he received a call from the church leader informing him of Meri’s request. “They said a few other things that I don’t want to disclose that sort of upset me,” Kody shares during the episode.

Meri, however, opens up about what was said, revealing, “They did say that it was on the grounds of abandonment. And I know he doesn’t like that word because he doesn’t feel like he abandoned me. I feel like he did.”

Kody admits that he stayed in the marriage longer than he should have, citing Robyn’s encouragement as a reason for waiting. “Robyn felt that if I waited on God, things could change between me and Meri,” he explains, adding, “I’m sorry to Meri for that. I wish I would’ve figured it out sooner.”

Kody also confesses that fear kept him from ending the marriage. “I had moved on a long time ago. But let’s just be honest here — I was afraid of what she would do if I ripped off that Band-Aid.”

In her confessional, Meri responds, “It’s really just sad that Kody’s talking about our marriage the way that he’s talking about it. It feels like the narrative has changed with him.”

Gabriel Calls Out Robyn for Ruining His Family

As Janelle and Gabriel continue their candid discussion, the focus shifts to Robyn, whom Gabe holds partially responsible for the family’s fallout. “There’s a lot of anger toward Robyn,” Janelle reveals in her confessional. “They feel like Robyn is always twisting things around.”

Gabriel echoes his mother’s sentiments, adding, “I just don’t have a lot of respect for Robyn, so it’s hard for me to rationalize some of her actions.”

Despite Gabe’s harsh assessment, Kody comes to Robyn’s defense. “Robyn always strongly supported my relationships with the whole family,” Kody insists. He also claims that Robyn had been actively trying to mend her relationships with the other wives, describing Janelle as a “relationship coward.”

Gabe, however, remains unconvinced. “If Robyn believes that we mistreated her or her kids, there’s no hope of a relationship.”

Robyn Spends Christmas Eve in Tears

The episode takes an emotional turn when Robyn, Kody’s only remaining wife, is seen breaking down in tears on Christmas Eve. In a confessional, Robyn shares how devastated she feels as this is the first Christmas without the rest of the family.

“This was the first Christmas since I married Kody that I won’t have any other family around except for me, my kids, and Kody,” she says tearfully.

Reflecting on her lifelong dream of being part of a plural family, Robyn reveals, “This isn’t what I envisioned my life to be. I’m struggling with my identity.”

As the episode closes, both Christine and Janelle focus on creating new traditions in their lives, while Kody remains hopeful that he and Robyn can push through the pain. “This woman has a spine of concrete and steel,” Kody says, acknowledging Robyn’s determination to hold onto the dream of their family.

Sister Wives season 19 airs Sunday nights, at 10pm EST, on TLC.