Gwendlyn has given fans glimpses into her life on the TLC show, though she has become even more candid with her thoughts and feelings while recapping episodes of the reality show on her YouTube channel.
While watching a season 17 episode in February 2023, the TV personality became emotional when she saw Kody lovingly welcome his youngest children Ariella and Solomon, whom he shares with Robyn Brown, home from their first day of school.
“It’s terrible that I’m making this about myself, but it hurts so much to see him be a good father to others when I didn’t really get that much,” she said while fighting back tears. “I’m so happy they have a good father or from what it looks like to be a good father and an active father.”
Gwendlyn went on to admit that she never had similarly sweet moments with her father when she was younger. “I don’t remember coming home from kindergarten or anything and seeing my dad being happy that I ate all my lunch, or that I made a friend at school, [it] was always my mom,” she continued.
She added that she “was so happy” that her mom was present during her upbringing, but acknowledged “it was never” Kody who showed up for her. “It sucks that he was not there so much, but I’m happy for them,” Gwendlyn noted.
Kody – who has 18 kids in total – split from Christine in 2021, followed by breakups with both Janelle Brown and Meri Brown in 2022. Robyn, who he legally married in 2014 in order to adopt her kids from a previous marriage, remains his only wife.
During a December 2022 video, Gwendlyn admitted she’s not a fan of Robyn. “I do feel less about Robyn from watching this,” she said at the time. “But I feel like that’s not very fair from me, ‘cause I really don’t like her as a person.”
After noting that “virtually none” of Kody’s children watch the series, she added, “Watching [Robyn] makes me like her less for sure.”
Slamming Robyn
During a recap video of the season 17 finale on her YouTube channel, Gwen reacted to Robyn tearfully explaining that she always hoped their extended polygamous family would stay together. She made the comment following Kody’s split from Christine.
The college student said that Robyn’s idea was “so lovely and so cute,” though added that it doesn’t seem realistic.
“I’m not sure that Robyn can be reunited with it,” Gwen told her viewers. “With Robyn, she’s made it very clear that she no longer sees herself as part of the family. I’m not sure if she’ll allow that to happen with her kids.”
She then admitted she didn’t think Robyn’s comments were sincere “She states that she wants us to be this big happy family but in my experience, that’s not true. She doesn’t feel like this perfect person to talk through your emotions,” Gwen said. “When she says she is and she claims it’s going to be this little one-on-one, it feels – at the risk of sounding like I’m accusing her of being this bad person – it feels manipulative to me.”
Kody’s Arrest Scare
While answering questions from fans in her April 21 YouTube video, Gwen revealed that Kody was almost arrested when one fan asked why her family decided to leave Utah for Las Vegas before settling in Flagstaff, Arizona.
She revealed that the decision to leave Utah wasn’t made by choice and was linked to the family’s polygamous lifestyle. “Police were actually coming to our door when I was a kid and being like, ‘You have to leave. We’re gonna take your dad to prison,”’ Gwen claimed.
Gwendlyn Slams Kody As ‘Manipulative’
In a YouTube video shared in February 2023, Gwendlyn watched a season 17 episode in which Kody admitted he didn’t “consider [himself] married to Meri.”
“The thing is, he’s just leading her on at this point,” Gwendlyn said in response to the clip.
After Kody said he didn’t “believe he will ever be emotionally safe” with his first wife, the college student reacted by saying, “Then tell her!”
As the clip continued, Gwendlyn said it was “unfortunate to see my dad going off about, like, how he and Meri basically have this done relationship because she doesn’t know that.”
“They haven’t had a conversation about it, and I think that’s what’s so important with what my mom, did with him because she said, ‘We are done,’” she continued. “She told him to his face that they’re over. And Kody hasn’t done anything. He’s just letting Meri believe in this, like, fantasy that he’s created that they can somehow work on their relationship, which is manipulative.”
Gwendlyn added, “It feels completely manipulative to me because he’s basically keeping this information from her and letting her be in this loveless relationship with this false hope that it’s going to be fixed.”
