The effects of the Covid pandemic are still being felt throughout the world even years later. On Sister Wives, it’s clear that the choices made by patriarch Kody Brown during the pandemic have changed the fabric of his family for the rest of his life.
Sometimes, it sounds like he cares. In the most recent episode of the 19th season, it’s clear that this is not one of those times.
In fact, he seems at peace with the fact that his choices during Covid have cost him two marriages, and relationships with the majority of his kids.
Kody Brown’s Covid Rules: Harsh or Necessary?
Travel back with us briefly to 2020 and the 16th season of Sister Wives.
Being in a plural family meant that over 20 people, varying in ages from infant to adult, had to navigate new restrictions like social distancing and masking.
Under the guise of wanting everyone to feel “safe,” Kody asked the entire family to follow a strict set of guidelines. Janelle at the time called them the “10 billion commandments of Kody.”
This included everything from not leaving the house to wiping down mail with alcohol wipes.
Now, while we applaud Kody for taking the situation seriously, it was argued, by fans and his family alike, that his restrictions were place more for the sake of some of the family, not for the family as a whole.
While Meri, Janelle, and Christine were quarantined from Kody, Robyn got months of quality time with Kody, as did her children.
Things came to head eventually with the older boys he had with Janelle were ordered by Kody to move out of their family home because they could not follow the rules.
The Rift Between Garrison and Kody
One of the kids whose relationship with their father essentially ended during Covid was Garrison.
At the time, Kody expressed anger after his and his second wife Janelle’s son called him and accused him of being too extreme with his COVID protocols.
“The fact is, in this environment, I’m just trying to keep my children, especially my small children, from getting COVID,” Kody explained during an episode, referencing the younger children he shares with Robyn.
Kody went so far as to accuse Garrison of spreading COVID to all of Janelle’s kids, Janelle, and Garrison’s own girlfriend.
The fight resulted in Garrison and Kody refusing to speak to each other, and it remained that way until the day Garrison died in the winter of 2024.
Kody Admits His His Rules Ruined His Family – But Stands By It
It takes a lot for Kody to admit that he was wrong – unless you’re offering straight up cash, in which case he owns up to his mistakes for the low, low price of $99.
Case in point, for some reason known only to them, a fan of Kody’s paid the price in exchange for the Sister Wives star to record a video for her on Cameo.
Referencing the VERY strict rules he put in place over a year ago in the face of a deadly pandemic, Kody actually admitted in this footage that he’s been “struggling.”
“I don’t even know what to say about [COVID] anymore,” Kody says in the video.
“I think that my cure has been worse than the disease. That’s just a personal thing… I’m second-guessing myself, which I probably shouldn’t do at this point.”
Oh no, you should.
Alienating your children and procalming they’re not aren’t allowed to spend time with you? That’s pretty bad.
“It’s been a long two years, this whole thing, almost two years,” Kody continues in his latest Cameo, adding as a message to the person who ordered the clip:
“Anyway, hang in there. All of us are having to do it. All of us need to hang in there.”
It’s true.
One can’t blame Kody too much for taking every safety precaution possible, but even Janelle told him to f–k off when he got out of control.
He Did It All For Robyn
“I know there’s a lot of accusations from the boys about me and they’re false,” Robyn told the Sister Wives cameras at the time.”
Janelle and Christine’s children collectively felt that Kody used Covid to choose a family to settle down with, rather than spread himself amongst his 4 wives. They felt he chose Robyn and that she, in turn, insisted on the very strict Covid rules.
But Robyn insisted that was untrue.
“I just don’t have the kind of power over Kody. And if I did, I certainly wouldn’t have chosen what we chose through COVID,” she said. “I would have had us sit down and find a compromise about how to handle COVID together as a family. That’s what I would have done if I’d had ‘the power’ that they think I have.”
A fair point, and we also think, given how much Robyn pushes for family, that if she did have the power, she would made Kody be with his daughter Ysabel when she had necessary spine surgery during the pandemic.
Kody outright refused to travel with her to get the operation. The decision destroyed their relationship and ended his marriage with Christine.
Shortly after, his inability to repair his relationship with their children forced Janelle’s hand as well and they divorced.
(It doesn’t really apply to this story per say, but as a point of order, Meri and Kody also split a year after that. Now Kody is JUST with Robyn.)
Kody Admits His Mistake, But Hasn’t Changed
Fast forward to 2024, and the 19th season of Sister Wives shows where Kody’s at today.
The episodes were filmed in late 2022, well before the death of his son Garrison. In the 3rd episode in, Kody admits he regrets abandoning Ysabel and forcing the boys to move out.
However, he has yet to repair any of his relationships with his kids that were affected.
In fact, it doesn’t sound like he was able to repair his relationship with Garrison before his passing.
“We could have been talking more,” Kody said when he broke his silence on Garrison’s passing.
“I’d get texts, stuff like that, and we could have, retrospectively, we could have done so much more. And it was almost like — I’m busy with my life, he’s busy with his life, and when we connect, we’ll connect.”
Such a shame