‘Sister Wives’ Recap: Kody Brown Wants to ‘Run Away’ and ‘Start Again Somewhere Else’ WITHOUT Robyn!

‘Sister Wives’ Recap: Kody Brown Wants to ‘Run Away’ and ‘Start Again Somewhere Else’ WITHOUT Robyn!

On the Sunday, September 10, episode of Sister Wives, Kody Brown ponders the possibility of abandoning plural marriage altogether. Meanwhile, Janelle Brown struggles to move past a major disagreement with Kody, and the family finds themselves celebrating Christmas apart once more.

Janelle’s Stuck and Kody’s Triggered

Kody and Janelle find themselves grappling with the fallout of a recent explosive argument that saw tempers flare and harsh words exchanged. The confrontation reached its peak with Janelle resorting to profanity before a furious Kody stormed out, and they haven’t spoken in ten days. In the midst of the uncertainty surrounding their relationship, Janelle contemplates whether legal counsel is necessary, unsure of where she stands with Kody at the moment.

“Never in a million years did I think I would get in this position. (He’s asked me to) choose him (or) choose my children. I don’t know who says that,” Janelle explains. “Now he’s flipped it and said it’s all my fault?”

“I know what he said to me. I know what he yelled at me in the car the other day, ‘Choose your loyalties or you won’t have a husband.’ I feel like he’s just looking for ways to get rid of me. I don’t know if this is fixable.”

Distressed and struggling to make sense of the persistent chaos, a visibly upset Janelle confesses that she “doesn’t recognize” the man she married any longer.

“I don’t know who this guy is. Maybe this is who he always was. I don’t know. But I don’t recognize this very mean person,” Janelle says.

The mother of six voiced serious worries regarding her financial stability amid the discord and the increasing likelihood of parting ways.

“I’m stuck. I’m stuck. Financially, I have nothing. Christine had the house (when she left Kody). I have nothing,” An emotional Janelle shares. “My name is on property with everybody else. Probably nobody will cooperate now and play ball.”

Janelle elucidates her financial involvement with Coyote Pass — a joint property venture undertaken by the Brown family following their move to Flagstaff. Contrary to her concerns, Kody perceives the situation differently — asserting that his wife holds, “just as many assets as the rest of us.”

“I can’t believe I’m 50 and I can’t even do my own thing cause I’m so tied up with them financially and I can’t do anything. I’m stuck. I can’t believe I got myself into this position,” a disheartened Janelle wonders aloud. “How dumb is that? I know better.”

Meanwhile, Kody acknowledges his extreme anger and has no immediate intentions of reconciling. The strife escalated following an ultimatum Kody presented – forcing Janelle to choose between him and her children, leaving her doubting Kody’s commitment to a plural marriage.

“Janelle and I spent months building up to the big fight we just had. It’s just one betrayal after another in my mind,” Kody tells the camera. “I’m not looking for mea culpas here. I’m not looking for an apology. I just want to be able to have a civil discussion.”

“And then she’s getting so frustrated when I’m talking to her that she’s telling me to shut … up and that triggered me. So when she talks about me being mean, I see her as the one that’s mean here,” Kody says in a talking head confessional.

Awkward Christmas Eve 

It’s Christmas Eve and we’re getting the grand tour of home sweet homes, courtesy of the ever-intrusive TLC cameras. We land at the abode of Kody and Robyn where — surprise, surprise — Meri has manifested, seemingly morphing into the proverbial third wheel amid Robyn’s family festivities. It’s like watching a live rendition of “Guess who wasn’t invited but came anyway?” 

Meri, in her classic style, announces her feeling of being stuck in the middle, which, let’s be honest, is almost her second home at this point. And Kody, ever the gracious host, couldn’t resist seizing the opportunity to throw a little shade Meri’s way, bemoaning her impromptu invasion of his cherished Robyn-time. 

“It’s probably very awkward for Meri. This is mine and Robyn’s house. Robyn and I always have to tone down our romantic tension completely.”  Kody says.

 “I know that it’s different for Meri and Kody. Out of respect for her and out of love for her. I’m careful,” Robyn chimes in.

In another sector of the Brown universe, we find Christine absolutely brimming with joy that she’s dodged the bullet of the usual polygamous mega-Christmas extravaganza. She gets to celebrate in a normal setting, surrounded by her kids and grandkids. Christine is living the dream, basking in the glow of a Christmas tree adorned with the twinkling lights of freedom, untangled from the polygamous mayhem that usually accompanies the holidays. 

Swinging over to Janelle’s corner, the festive spirit is… well, let’s just say it’s taking a small vacation. Janelle’s sporting a somber mood, maneuvering around her modestly-sized kitchen, alongside Gabe to cook up a holiday feast that might just contain a hint of melancholy as a secret ingredient. In between chopping and stirring, Janelle reveals that Kody has transformed into the ghost of Christmas present, having not uttered a word to her since his tempestuous exit. He’s also giving the silent treatment to their daughter, Savannah.

RELATED: ‘Sister Wives’ Recap: Kody Brown Accuses Janelle and Christine of Plotting His Downfall

Despite the silent nights echoing with the sound of Kody’s absence, Janelle’s rooted firmly in her matrimonial convictions and taking the whole “in sickness and in health” vow to a level that deserves a standing ovation. She remains steadfast, navigating a path dictated by her deep-seated faith which, apparently, has a strict “no exit” policy. Janelle has bestowed upon Kody the highest honor of the breakup ceremony: the good ol’ boxing up of personal belongings — a traditional rite of passage it seems, ever since Christine pioneered the method in her own grand exit from the Kody love saga. It appears packing up a spouse’s stuff is just chapter one in the polygamous handbook!

Janelle’s kids are also dealing with the family fallout and are making adjustments accordingly. Gabe admits in a talking head confessional, “The last two years have been really hard.” But he’s “glad to maintain a pretty happy relationship with my family. I can’t help bit to feel, we’ve kept the door open when some haven’t.”

Garrison shared, “We’ve reached out and tried to be open, but it’s been neglected and overlooked. Offenses that were believed to have happened, but they never did.” Yet, on a brighter note, Janelle’s children relished in a quiet and warm holiday celebration together.

Contrary to his sons Gabe and Garrison’s claims of feeling rejected, Kody asserts that he has indeed reached out to them, but it is he who has faced “rejection” from the young men.

While Janelle is heartbroken over Kody’s indifference towards her and her kids during the festive season — Kody’s savoring the distance.

“After the fight, there was nothing. I didn’t see the point. Janelle was just as absent, as I was. And I’m kind of compartmentalized. Janelle is out of mind and out of sight for me, right now. Yes, this is a struggle. My loyal wife and her children, we want something special. So, I am blocking everything else out for today.” Kody says in a talking head confessional. 

Robyn’s home has transformed into a veritable Charles Dickens-themed winter wonderland, where the spirit of yesteryears roams freely amidst the snow-draped Dickensian town. And Kody is absolutely smitten with this blast from the past — he feels a deep connection with the endearing (or should we say tight-fisted?) character of Ebenezer Scrooge. Kody notes that Scrooge holds a special place in his heart.

Christmas morning at Robyn’s house unveils a tree surrounded by an abundance of presents, the highlight being motorized bikes gifted to each child. The youngsters couldn’t hold back their delight, erupting into cheers of joy.

“I think they’re dangerous,” Robyn says after Kody gifts her kids motorized bikes. “I kind of wonder if Kody’s trying to compensate with these bikes instead of the kids focusing on the fact that family isn’t all together. He’s going, ‘Look! Look at this pretty cool thing over here.’ Compensate for what it is we’re actually missing here.”

Sacred Loneliness 

Kody picks up his brother-in-law, Nathan, for a drive to talk to about his own experience with polygamy and divorce. Kody is in a world of confusion and anger, and admits he wants to be the “bad guy,” his wives believe he is. Kody is trying to figure out if he can adjust to monogamy and manage being a one-woman-man.

In their conversation, Kody recognizes the emotional toll that plural marriages can impose on women. However, despite this recognition, he admits to being tired of hearing about the struggle, because they knew what they signed up for — noting, “they all agreed that they were going to do this.”

In a confessional segment, Nathan shares his perspective, expressing that until, “You’ve sat in the seat and been a guy that’s had four wives and tried to meet the emotional, spiritual, physical, mental needs of four women,” it’s hard to speak confidently on the matter. “There’s a hubris that comes with judgement,” he asserts.

In a confessional, Kody introduces what he terms as “sacred loneliness,” a concept he uses to depict the experiences of women in polygamous marriages. This term highlights the extended periods they endure alone as their husband alternates his time between various spouses.

“Sacred loneliness? Like you’re supposed to honor the fact that you’re lonely?” Christine can’t help but chuckle as she reacts to Kody’s remarks.

Janelle shares her perspective on the term, noting — “The idea is that you sacrifice some of your emotional needs because you want to live in a plural marriage… I’ve always thought it was so dumb. Sorry.”

Following this, Meri chimes in with her perspective, noting that Kody often talks about the hurdles women face in plural marriages. She expresses her somewhat sarcastic astonishment at his realization, remarking, “It’s like, really, now you figured that out?”

While Robyn Brown acknowledges, “Yeah, plural marriage can be lonely.” However, “it’s an opportunity for you to get a relationship with God.”

Kody attempts to defend his viewpoint, offering his personal analysis of the circumstances.

“I courted Meri and I courted Robyn, but Christine and Janelle both asked if they could be in the family,” he explains. “And with that ask, I had some special requirements that I wanted them to meet in order to come into the family and mainly that was there’ll be other wives, you’ve got to be committed to me.”

Meanwhile, Janelle takes an opportunity to clarify Kody’s statements concerning her and Christine’s approach to joining the family — underscoring that their actions didn’t precisely align with Kody’s narration of events.

“It’s improper for a man to be out chasing wives,” she says. “It’s generally a woman [that] approaches the family and says, ‘Look, I feel like I had a spiritual revelation that maybe I belong in your family.’ He now keeps saying Christine and I asked to be in the family and Robyn was invited.”

Janelle continues, “Somehow because Christine and I asked, we deserve less [and] we should be happy with what we got? It wasn’t like we were begging to be in the family. We simply asked, there was a courtship and then we all got married.”

Kody Hates His Life

Caught in a whirlwind of monogamy and polygamy confusion, Kody confesses that he, “hates his life right now,” and he desires to escape, leaving behind the encompassing drama that seems to be a staple in his daily existence.

Kody concedes to grappling with a fierce, angrier side of himself as he navigates the continuous distancing from his wife, Janelle, and divorce from Christine.

“I might not have been right, but I was angry as hell,” Kody says of the explosive fight he had with Janelle in last week’s episode. “I haven’t talked to her since. And I don’t know when I’m going to talk to her.”

Later in the episode, Christine makes her way to Flagstaff to enjoy an extended Christmas celebration with Janelle and their respective children. During the visit — Ysabel, Mykelti and Truely opt to spend a portion of the holiday with Robyn and Kody. Robyn shares that Janelle’s sons expressed no desire to join her and Kody for the holidays. However, she adds that had there been any indication of their interest in spending Christmas with them, she would have insisted more vehemently for it to happen.

Sister Wives airs on Sundays, at 10 pm EDT, on TLC.

 

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