Just going to say it: Kody Brown is something else all together.
We’re nearing the midway point of season 19 of Sister Wives, and the vibe is… slow
That’s the trouble with shows like this, that are filmed and then don’t air until literally years later.
Fans already know where Kody and Co. all stand now. They know where they are living, they know who they are loving and they know who hasn’t spoken in a LOOONG TIME.
But in episode 5, we’re getting a glimpse into Kody’s final days married to his first wife and his latest ex-wife.
And despite insisting that he wanted to end things, he’s also refusing to take responsibility for the marriage’s failure.
Picking Up From Last Week…
On the last episode of Sister Wives, we left Robyn crying her eyes out on Christmas eve, mourning the fact that this would be her first holiday as Kody’s only wife.
She pulled herself together though, for the sake of the kids, and to be honest, she seems to be the only one unhappy with the arrangement.
Christine is in her element on Christmas morning, surrounded by her kids at Mykelti’s house. Janelle spends the holiday in North Carolina, with her daughter Maddie and her family. And Meri kicks back some cocoa with friends on Christmas day.
As Janelle puts it, “It’s the new normal, and that’s ok.”
Clearly, everyone is moving on, though some are happier to do so than others.
By December 2022, when this episode takes place, Christine is just starting to date her now husband David Wooley.
Ok there are mixed reactions from the family about it.
Christine’s Kids Interrogate Her Over David
As all the kids are together for the holidays, Christine takes the opportunity to talk to them all about her new boyfriend.
Everyone seems generally on board; Mykelti let him hold the babies when they met!
But the conscious is that they’re moving pretty fast, having said the “L” word after only two dates!
But Christine admits, both in her confessional and to her kids’ faces, that their opinion matters, but isn’t going to stop her from getting serious with David.
We know how that works out…
As for Kody’s other exes, while Janelle is open to meeting someone “organically”, she isn’t ready to dive into dating apps. As for Meri?
“The idea of dating is so weird,” she says. “Then add the fact that I was in a plural family for 30 something years. They my just think that’s what I’m interested in because I’ve done it for so long.”
But despite neither of them dating, Meir and Janelle are making moves – literally and figuratively.
For Janelle, that means continuing conversations with Maddie and her husband Caleb about buying property together. At this point, all she needs is Kody to buy her out of Coyote Pass, and she’s set.
As for Meri, as she’s no longer living in Flagstaff, she’s looking for the same from Kody.
But she needs to confront him to do it.
Meri and Kody Face-Off
In a confrontation that does not seem to merit any purpose, Meri and Kody meet up at her house on the Flagstaff property for the first time since the split.
Kody says it’s to clear the air, but it actually feels more like Kody’s hoping Meri will clear his own conscious.
See, in one breath, he accuses Meri of “gaslighting” him for years, insisting she’d say one thing about their relationship, but the “vibe” was totally different.
When her response is that he’s the one who fell out of love for her though, he lays the guilty squarely on Meri.
“Don’t blame me for not loving you. I was doing my duty. Blame yourself if I don’t love you. When I’m in love with a woman, that’s her fault .”
“I’m not placing blame,” Meri responds. “All I did was acknowledge the fact that he told me he was not interested in working on a relationship.”
The confrontation is stiff and very forced, with Meri attempting to keep things civil, while Kody attempts to win back dignity he thinks he lost. They call it an “accountability conversation,” but the real question is, who needs that.
Clearly, the answer is Kody.
“You’re trying to make me own it,” Kody says to Meri, meaning to owning up to being the reason they split.
However, Meri is more than willing to own up to her role in the marriage ending. She just also knows that Kody’s unwilling to do the same.
“ I don’t think he likes to see that he failed, but if you didn’t want to fail, maybe you should have married the wrong person one or two or three times”
Touche, Meri!
Then the elephant in the room comes up: Robyn. She is, after all, the only person in the family who misses the way things were. But Meri stands firm.
“There’s no moving forward together,” she says, meaning she is no longer coming to holidays or being a part of the family.
In the end, Kody seems to relent – a bit.
I do not know why I’m still holding on a little bit because I know damn well that I don’t want to be in this relationship, and I know damn well that I don’t want to be in a relationship with Janelle.
And I know that Christine did me a favor by being brave enough to leave.
“I feel really peaceful about our situation. He doesn’t,” Meri admits.