How Sister Wives’ Kody Brown Plans to Fix Estrangement From His Kids

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Kody Brown, the father from the show *Sister Wives*, is hoping a new approach will help fix his strained relationships with his children.

Aside from his oldest children Dayton, 25, Aurora, 23, and Breanna, 21—who are the only ones still close to him and his current wife, Robyn Brown—the father of 18 children has a strained relationship with most of his adult kids. Now, he’s trying to reconnect by welcoming them to the large, 7,884-square-foot home he and Robyn bought last year.

Kody was keen to leave behind the negative memories associated with their $1.65 million house in Flagstaff. It was there that he went through splits with his former wives, Meri, Janelle, and Christine Brown, battled COVID-19, and tragically learned of his son Garrison Brown’s death in March 2024.

The 56-year-old described his $2.1 million Arizona property – which includes six bedrooms, a guest house, and an RV garage – as “a fresh start,” and said it would be a welcoming place for his children, as he shared on the October 12th episode of the TLC series.

Finding a home with enough room for Dayton, Aurora, Breanna, and their younger siblings, along with spaces for Solomon, 13, and Ariella, 9, was essential. He also needed a room for his 15-year-old daughter, Truely Brown, with Christine – one of his three children still at home.

More importantly, he felt like this was a fresh start. He and his adult children haven’t always had a close relationship, and he hopes the new house will give them a chance to reconnect. He wants to create a welcoming space where they can visit and enjoy each other’s company, even if it’s just for a short time. He simply wants to be able to say, ‘You’re welcome here, there’s always room for you to visit.’

Whether any of them actually come calling, however, remains to be seen. 

During the season premiere on September 28th, Madison Brush—one of Kody Brown’s children with Janelle—expressed sadness about their strained relationship, saying she wished he would try to reconnect. Later, on October 5th, Christine Brown admitted that Kody’s connection with their daughter, Mykelti Padron, was weakening. She explained that Mykelti was disappointed in her relationship with Kody and his wife, Robyn.

I was really saddened to hear that Christine’s son, Paedon Brown, shared on TikTok that he hasn’t spoken to Kody since Garrison’s funeral. It just breaks my heart to think about that lack of communication, especially during such a difficult time.

Okay, so I was listening to the *I Do, Part 2* podcast, and Meri was being so real! She basically admitted that, and I totally agree, he was a better dad when he was younger. Like, parenting? Definitely his strong suit back then, not so much now, if you ask me. It’s just… obvious, you know?

Meri continued, saying she was heartbroken by the way Kody parents her child, Leon Brown, who is currently estranged from him.

Kody believes a fresh start in a new location could help fix his relationships, but Meri thinks it will take a lot more work to rebuild trust.

She observed that he has children who care about him and want to be close, but he doesn’t seem to be trying hard enough to connect with them. While she couldn’t definitively say he wasn’t making any effort, she felt his children weren’t receiving the attention they needed.

In the first season of the show, Kody often talked about how proud he was of his “three amazing wives” and “12 beautiful children.” Meri remembers him being completely focused on his kids—they were everything to him. Now, she says it’s heartbreaking to see the difficulties he and his children are facing.

Even though Kody’s difficult relationship with most of his adult children is a frequent subject on *Sister Wives*, it’s not the only thing causing problems.

Catch up on all the drama that’s been discussed since season 20 premiered last month. 

Now that her divorce from Kody Brown is final, Janelle Brown shared in the season 20 premiere of *Sister Wives* that she’s taking a similar approach to Meri Brown.

Though they were married for 29 years, Christine was never legally married to Kody. She explained on the show’s premiere that she’d considered a ‘spiritual divorce’ years ago but didn’t know it was possible. When Meri pursued one, Christine asked her who she needed to contact to do the same.

Janelle’s former sister wife—who had been released from their church because she felt abandoned—was glad to help connect Janelle with other family members. Janelle explained, ‘She’s been really helpful in getting me back in touch with everyone.’

Madison Brush is still dealing with the fallout from her father’s actions and choices. Despite being estranged from Kody, Madison—one of his six children with Janelle—shared on the September 28th episode that she continues to struggle with their separation.

Oh my gosh, it just breaks my heart listening to her! She admitted she *really* wants her dad to be there for them, for the kids, and she’s desperately hoping they can fix things. It’s so sad because she knows she contributed to the problems, but she’s also frustrated and hurt because she’s trying SO hard to not expect things to fall apart again. Like, she’s working on herself, but it’s clearly still really painful for her. I just want them all to be a happy family!

She’s having a hard time accepting him as he is. She explained she’s working on understanding that he may not have known how to be there for her, and that he could be going through his own difficulties.

He also might not be willing to cede too much ground. 

Kody expressed wanting to repair his relationships with Meri, Janelle, Christine Brown, and their kids, but feels it can only happen if they decide to make it happen. He believes they’ve reached a standstill where healing is dependent on their willingness to try.

Robyn Brown, Kody’s last remaining wife, says she always desired a family, not just a relationship with Kody himself. In the September 28th episode, she shared that she had received marriage proposals before – not always formal, but several men had expressed wanting to marry her quickly.

Let me tell you, when I first met Kody, my answer was always the same: I was open to the idea of a plural marriage. Honestly, if he hadn’t already been married with three wives at the time, I would have felt exactly the same way about getting to know him. It really wasn’t about *him* specifically, but the lifestyle itself that I was considering.

Kody explained that, surprisingly finding themselves in a monogamous relationship, he felt it was now just the two of them, saying, “It’s you and me, baby.”

Though he admittedly had one concern. 

Kody hinted to Robyn that he desired a more fulfilling intimate life. In a private interview, he explained his perspective: he believed polygamy allowed him to have everything he wanted, while monogamy left him feeling unfulfilled.

Meri is actively dating and has a clear idea of what she wants in a partner. She’s looking for a tall man who loves to travel and, importantly, prefers dogs over cats, as she shared on the October 5th episode.

And she definitely needs someone who won’t scare easily. 

She recounted a difficult dating experience, explaining that a man she was talking to ended the conversation as soon as he learned she practiced polygamy. He told her he wasn’t interested in continuing a relationship with someone who did, which she found very hurtful. She felt rejected simply because of her lifestyle.

Meri explained that it was the first time she truly understood that some people wouldn’t even want to speak with her because of who she was.

Janelle believes she was the only one in her large family who really desired to settle on Coyote Pass.

On the October 3rd episode, Janelle revealed she never truly envisioned the entire family living on the 14-acre Coyote Pass property they bought before moving to Flagstaff, Arizona, in 2018. She described the situation as a family disagreement over the land.

Although Kody’s second wife thought living there could work—she described the land as beautiful and wondered why not?—she believed his interest in the property was just a temporary one, and that he and his other wives wouldn’t stay for long.

She explained that no one was eager to live in that area, especially not Christine. Meri would have agreed to move if everyone else had, but they didn’t.

Janelle explained that Kody and Robyn’s recently sold house—a five-bedroom home on two acres that sold for $1.7 million—felt unfinished despite being structurally complete.

Janelle explained that despite all the arguing about dividing the land into four pieces, she quickly realized after moving to Flagstaff that it wouldn’t work out.

Kody believes he knows why his relationships with most of his adult children (excluding Robyn’s oldest, Dayton, and her daughters Aurora and Breanna) aren’t very good.

He admitted on October 5th that he feels distant from his grown children. He explained that their relationships are difficult because of hurtful comments and unspoken implications, which have damaged trust and created divisions between them.

And these days, not many of his grown kids are on Team Kody. 

Even though Mykelti Padron, one of Christine’s six children, had seemed the most publicly supportive of her father, she shared her thoughts on the family split several months after she, her husband Tony Padron, and their three children moved to North Carolina.

She believes that if he simply took responsibility for his actions, at least some of his children would try to reconnect with him. During a fan Q&A in October 2024, shared on Instagram (@withoutacrystalball), she explained that instead of blaming his children, his other wife, their parents, or rumors, a simple apology and willingness to discuss his mistakes – like saying, ‘I understand I messed up. I’m sorry. Can we talk?’ – would make a huge difference.

When Coyote Pass was sold in April 2025, Janelle and Meri finalized their separations from Kody and received money from the sale. Christine had previously traded her share of the land for the profits from selling her house in Arizona.

On the October 5th episode, Janelle playfully told Meri it felt like saying, “Goodbye, and I don’t expect to see you again.”

But she certainly wouldn’t have waved off an even nicer present. 

She stated that if she had been legally married to Kody, she would have rightfully claimed half of his possessions, as they would have been considered jointly owned.

Kody and Robyn had to review the paperwork for their new $2.1 million home before they could finally give up on their plans for Coyote Pass. Kody explained on the October 12th episode that selling the Coyote Pass property only became possible when they decided they really wanted to buy the new house, after a long process of discussing it with his former wives.

The father of 18 children is also looking forward to leaving behind painful memories from their old house. He explained, “We’ve gone through a lot of difficult times here, and we’re hoping for a fresh start – a completely new chapter in our lives.”

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2025-10-13 06:18