After 19 seasons, Sister Wives star Kody Brown is left with a ton of regrets. Not only are most of his relationships with his ex-wives broken beyond repair, but his relationships with his children have suffered as well.
The idea of polygamy for the sake of building a strong family backfired horribly, leaving the shrapnel of the the reality family scattered all over, with many relationships permanently severed. In a recent episode, Kody refers to the current volatile family dynamic as a civil war.
Janelle was the last of Kody’s initial three wives to leave, but the facade had been crumbling in front of cameras for years. Kody and his second wife Janelle had six children together.
A big part of the couple’s demise was Kody’s dysfunctional relationship with his children. Janelle admitted her oldest boys’ issues with their father’s hypocrisy played a big part in her decision to leave the marriage. Their oldest daughter, Madison aka Maddie, has also been outspoken about her disappointment with her father.
Kody’s Wives Have Accused Him Of Playing Favorites With His Children for Years
In the second episode of the current season, Janelle expresses a desire to leave Flagstaff and all the drama with Kody and Robyn for good.
Maddie immediately champions her mother’s contemplation to relocate, believing her mother will be able to get a fresh start in life if she is as far away from Kody and Robyn as possible.
The mother and daughter duo met with a real estate agent in Montana, admiring the beautiful land and planning Janelle’s new life away from Kody and his drama. Although Janelle didn’t end up purchasing land in Montana, Maddie’s feelings were loud and clear that her mother needed to get away from her father.
Janelle raised her children under a dysfunctional form of polygamy, teaching them from the time they were young that their father would not always be around.
She accused Robyn of being neglectful because her children weren’t taught to not expect their father to be present all the time, and they had a much more difficult time with his absence than her children.
Even though Janelle attempted to prepare her children for the void of their father’s absence, they still held a strong resentment towards him along with many of their siblings.
After losing her brother Garret at 25 to suicide earlier this year, Maddie’s relationship with their father has continued to deteriorate.
Kody expressed his heartfelt grief due to losing his son but unfortunately, it didn’t act as a wake-up call for him to attempt to repair other strained relationships with his children. Instead of making an effort to re-connect with his children by Janelle, Kody allowed the disconnect to grow even wider due to the loss.
Later, he refused to take any responsibility for the breakdown with his daughter. Instead, he hinted that she was the culprit behind their estranged relationship. He was recently quoted in People Magazine, saying ,”To be honest with you, I didn’t really cut off communications with Madison. She cut it off with me. Every time I talked to her, it was a fish for gossip and I got tired of it,” he claimed.
Kody’s inability to take accountability for the toxic relationships around him is nothing new. His daughter Ysabel with wife Christine has echoed Maddie’s sentiment, stating she and her father don’t have much of a relationship.
After she graduated from high school, Ysabel was nervous about heading off to college. Christine bought her a car and invited Kody to join them taking Ysabel to college and getting her settled in.
Kody found an excuse not to participate and later tried to excuse himself when questioned about it during a confessional scene during season 17. “I think Ysabel is probably hurt that I didn’t go but there are people depending on me, more than just Ysabel.
And it just wasn’t going to work in this case. I would’ve done it if we hadn’t had the COVID thing,” he explained.
Kody Doesn’t Have a Relationship With His Grandchildren
Kody’s excuses have caused tremendous strains on the relationships he has with most of his children. He is currently being sued for child support by Christine for his daughter Truely. As things continue to fall apart for him, it appears Maddie is washing her hands of him for good. The married mother of three is pregnant with her fourth baby and doesn’t see her relationship with Kody as a priority at all. She is focusing on encouraging her mother to embrace a new chapter and put Kody behind her. Janelle, of course, supports Maddie and believes Kody brought the strained relationship upon himself. During a recent episode, Janelle shared that after their divorce, Kody cut off communication with their children. Janelle insisted that Kody stopped calling Maddie and her husband Calebm and has made no effort to reach out to build a relationship with his grandchildren.
