Why Sister Wives’ Kody Brown ‘Favors’ Robyn Over Other Wives

Taking sides? Sister Wives’ Kody Brown denied he has a “favorite” wife — but he confessed to favoring fourth wife Robyn Brown amid drama with his other three spouses.

“It’s not about a favorite, it’s about finding favor,” Kody, 53, said during part 3 of Sister Wives: One-on-One, which aired on Sunday, January 8. “The words that Christine [Brown] uses incite enmity toward Robyn. She never did anything to Christine but be kind to her.”

The Wyoming native insisted that Christine, 50, whom he split from in 2021, had a screwed view of his relationship with Robyn, 43. Kody also claimed that estranged wives Janelle Brown and Meri Brown were quick to dismiss Robyn amid their own relationship issues with him over the years.

“There’s a character issue here. And it’s not just about my character, it’s about their character. And who wants to run deep here,” the patriarch said. “Do you want to find favor by being loyal to me and never allowing someone to trash talk me? Or do you want to sit here and be the one who is trash talking me?”

Kody — who is still legally married to Robyn but separated from Janelle, 53, and Meri, 51 — alleged that “Meri, Janelle and Christine have s—t talked me from the beginning of all of our marriages.”

He revealed that to his “knowledge,” Robyn puts up her “dukes if [they] s—t talk me.”

Christine, who announced her split from Kody in November 2021 after more than 25 years together, was taken aback by her former spouse’s claims that she and Janelle were not “loyal” during their respective relationships.

“Can I just say, she doesn’t deserve that. Janelle. She’s so loyal to him [that] it’s ridiculous. She was,” the Cooking With Just Christine star told host Sukanya Krishnan. “For years that woman was so loyal. That triggered me. It’s ridiculous. It’s obvious where you want to spend your time then.”

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Janelle, for her part, was surprised to hear her loyalty called into question. (The Strive With Janelle founder confirmed last month that she and Kody had been “separated for several months.”)

“Kiss the ring and then we’ll be good,” she joked of her estranged partner’s outlook on their romance. “I thought I’d been loyal. I thought Christine had been loyal. But apparently, we’re not loyal enough.”

While Janelle didn’t call Robyn Kody’s favorite during the interview, she did admit that both she and her six children “feel like he has been disproportionate in the amount of time that he spends there.”

The Utah native, who shares children Logan, 28, Maddie, 27, Hunter, 25, Garrison, 24, Gabriel, 21, and Savanah, 18, with the polygamist, added: “There’s this undertone of do what I want you to do and then I can love you. And maybe I’m perceiving that wrong.”

Meri, meanwhile, confirmed during part 1 of the Sister Wives: One-on-One special in December that Kody made the “decision” that they were no longer a couple.

When asked about a possible “favorite” in their plural family, Meri, 51, confessed that “Kody values loyalty and that’s very important to him,” seemingly hinting at the lack of respect he claims three of the wives have for him.

“Robyn is the one that he is most comfortable with,” Meri explained. “I have seen Kody be more comfortable with different ones of us throughout the years. It’s not always exactly, exactly equal. It really just is based on who you have a good relationship with.”

Scroll down for the biggest bombshells from part 3 of Sister Wives: One-on-One:

“That’s the most unfair question,” Kody said when asked if Robyn was his “favorite” partner. “You don’t have any idea the work she has done. What she has done as a person. The sacrifices that she’s made. The games that she hasn’t played.”

Christine, meanwhile, said: “I felt it like it was apparent [that she was the favorite]. To me, it was very apparent from the beginning because I’m not blind. That doesn’t make Robyn the scapegoat.”

The TLC personality, who shares children Aspyn, 27, Mykelti, 26, Paedon, 24, Gwendlyn, 21, Ysabel, 19, and Truely, 12, with Christine, then commented on how his third wife’s perception of his relationship with Robyn isn’t correct.

“I think that’s a lot of sour grapeing with Christine,” Kody explained of his ex-wife. “Something I discovered when we were in Vegas was that Christine was never happy unless she was getting more than everybody else.”

He noted that Christine’s choice to look at his dynamic with Robyn — with whom he shares children Solomon, 11, and Ariella, 6 — with “envy” is her problem. (Kody legally adopted the Utah native’s three children from a past relationship, Dayton, 22, Aurora, 19, and Breanna, 17, when they tied the knot in 2014.)

“Does that make me or Robyn bad? Stop where you’re going. Christine watches me and Robyn, Robyn watched me and Christine,” the former firearms salesman continued. “I’m saying if Christine was envious … does that make Robyn and I bad? Everybody is looking at [it] as [if it’s] some kind of unfairness. That’s the danger of polygamy.”

“I think they found soulmates in each other. I saw it,” Christine revealed. “Yeah, for sure [it made me jealous]. I didn’t know what a soulmate looked like before that. I didn’t know there could be more in a marriage.”

The Utah resident, who moved from Arizona in 2021, noted that while she and Kody “had something special,” when she “needed his help and he wouldn’t give it,” she decided their marriage wasn’t complete. “Then he and Robyn met and he was everything for her it seemed like and she was also everything for him,” Christine recalled. “They were just this unit together.”

Robyn, however, insisted that Christine and Kody “were so cute” and “so sweet” and had a “fun banter” for most of their marriage. “She had something with Kody, she did not take care of it. Kody wants a soulmate experience with each one of his wives,” the mother of five explained. “He wants to be looking in her eyes and get teary-eyed. He’s a loving person. He’s a loving husband.”

She noted that what fans witnessed during season 17 was “years of people not taking care of their relationships.” Robyn added: “He’s had wives reject him affection wise because they’re uncomfortable or they don’t like it. If you’re rejecting someone’s affection … I don’t see how that’s going to help your relationship.”

“I get so tired of ‘counselor Robyn,’” Janelle said after watching a clip of her fellow sister wife trying to be the mediator between her and Kody. “[She says] like, ‘Oh yeah, your pain. Your pain.’ It just feels like she’s placating him.”

When asked whether Robyn was “controlling” the message when she sticks up for Kody, Janelle responded, “No. I think she is sharing with him and he is listening to her. They have more of a mutual give and take. It’s a more complete relationship.” That being said, she noted, “I don’t always think she’s this perfect paragon. I think everybody has dark and light in them.”

While Janelle’s main issues stem from her relationship with Kody, she did point out that she felt like her needs weren’t being valued the same as Robyn’s were in the past.

“If I was prioritized, we would’ve figured out how to pay off the land [on Coyote Pass] and I would be in a house. Instead of this, ‘Oh, my gosh. We don’t have the budget. I don’t know,’” Janelle claimed, referring to her inability to build in Arizona due to alleged money restraints in the family. “None of that was ever discussed when it was time for Robyn to find a house.”

Robyn, for her part, claimed she wanted Janelle to get her house. “That’s them being stupid. I’m not choosing it. They’re making those choices but somehow, I get lumped into it,” she stated. “I’m like, ‘Leave me the hell out of it.’”

Robyn pointed to Christine and Janelle’s “choices” as the reason they felt neglected by Kody, claiming it wasn’t about favoritism. “They handed him to me and said we don’t want to spend time with him basically. ‘Here you have him all the time,’” she alleged. “They made choices that made it so that he wasn’t feeling like he couldn’t go over there — because of his personal beliefs. In protecting his family, protecting our jobs, protecting our health. Of course, he’s going to flourish with my kids because he’s around more.”

The reality star recalled coming into the family and seeing that Kody “still had this romance going with each of them” despite “being stagnant” in some marriages.

“He had sweet things with each of them,” Robyn said, before questioning the other wives’ actions. “You had this opportunity. Why are you looking at my orange, you have your apple? It’s not better. It’s just different. Relationships are hard. Get your butt in there and work it out.”

The TV personality admitted that she doesn’t “air” her issues with Kody, instead, the couple work together behind closed doors. “I’m tired of being punished and blamed and people thinking I’m a bad person because I am just communicating. I’m tired of it being somehow a bad thing because it’s not,” Robyn continued. “I don’t let Kody push me around. I say my truth. I speak to him like he’s my best customer. And I expect him to treat me the same way.”

During season 17’s finale, which aired last month, Janelle and Kody butted heads once again over sons Gabriel and Garrison’s alleged lack of respect for their father and his COVID-19 rules. Ultimately, Janelle sided with her kids, while Kody claimed his spouse wasn’t supporting him and his desire to protect the greater family.

“He does this intense [yelling, saying], ‘You’re copiable. You’re responsible.’ I’m like, ‘Hey dude, this is a multipiece here.’ I felt like I was being called to repentance,” she recalled. “’You’re the wayward wife who disrespects me and it’s all your fault so it’s time to come to repentance and see the light.’ That’s what it felt like.”

Kody, meanwhile, called the argument his “breaking point.” He explained that he felt like there was a “lack of empathy from my own divorce” with Christine, especially since Janelle was spending time with his ex while he was working through the breakup. “What I really felt like was, ‘Janelle, you’re not leaving. You’re not supposed to be leaving. You’re friends with Christine, you’re betraying me.’ It was all an emotion of betrayal and rejection,” he added.

When it came to their family, Kody alleged that Janelle “never teamed with me” and “never took my side.” He argued that their boys could’ve gotten the other kids sick during the coronavirus pandemic because they insisted on seeing their girlfriends and friends.

“All I wanted to do was to protect my family. They refused. Now with those two boys, I’m estranged from them,” he explained, before apologizing to Gabe and Garrison. “Boys I’m sorry. I was trying to protect my family. Next time I would manage it differently.”

Janelle, for her part, confessed that she is still “so mad about what happened with our kids” that it seeped into their relationship pre-split. “I’m losing respect for him in that regard,” she said. “I think that if he had truly been watching out for me and my children, he would have figured out a way to make it work for the whole family instead of having his rules and hanging out with the wife staying where he was respected and obeyed.”

Kody revealed that he and Janelle “could probably reconcile,” but he continues to question her respect level. “Kody always wants to find a reason, aside from looking at himself, to justify why he’s having a problem with you,” Janelle quipped.

“I love her. I know that she suffered more in plural marriage I think in a way than the other wives,” Kody said of his second wife. “I feel like Janelle came into this relationship idealistically and got shattered by the experience in plural marriage.”

When asked if he wants to work on their relationship, he responded: “Oh, yeah. Absolutely.” Kody, however, made it clear that he “won’t go to a place that I’m not respected,” noting, “Love doesn’t matter to me, respect matters to me.”

After confirming that he and Janelle “are separated,” the Brown Family Entertainment founder called it “pretty stupid for people who love each other” to be living separate lives. “I want to fix it, yes. That’s a whole new negotiation,” Kody added. “We’re in a new place. Christine’s left. Janelle likes her.”

Janelle, on the other hand, said she is “not waiting” for Kody to come back into her world. “I’ve kind of mourned that that part of our life is gone. I wasn’t heartbroken,” she explained. “We had this great run.” The mother of six noted that while the door “has to be” open to a reconciliation, she doesn’t know if she’s ready to fix their marriage.

“Part of me thinks, ‘OK, my religion requires that you continue to make a marriage work.’ I deeply believe in my faith,” she added. “I have been so much at peace that I don’t know how to reconcile that. I know I’m happy. I don’t want him to come back. But my faith requires that we are married eternally.”

“I don’t see them looking for another wife after this,” Christine revealed. “It’s also a lot of work and you already have this much failure behind you, would you really want that again. If you’re really happy with each other … is there room for anybody else?”

Robyn, meanwhile, said that her spouse “basically said no” to adding another wife to their family amid the current dysfunction. “I’m scared of it because of how badly this has gone,” she confessed. “I really, really struggled with it. It’s messing with my identity. It’s not the future I wanted.”

Kody didn’t directly say what his plans are with Robyn moving forward, but he did admit, “I’m right on the verge of not even being a polygamist.”

He added: “These days I’m thinking about, well, it’s good today but I really miss the past too. I’m really looking back a lot. Missing some of the past and regretting a bunch of it.”

“One of the kids told me, ‘Dad, mom says you have your soulmate and she wants hers,’” Kody said when asked about Christine. “Well, I hope she finds her soulmate.”

The father of 18, for his part, noted: “I hope I find a happy and beautiful place with Janelle and I hope all my kids and I can reconcile.”

“I don’t think Kody realizes the [queen] that I am,” Meri said, noting that “Maybe he doesn’t want it [to work].”

The Bed and Breakfast owner, who shares Leon, 27, with Kody, continued: “People change. Maybe he is just at this place that like, ‘She’s just not for me anymore.’ Time will tell. It’s for me to decide [if I’ll wait]. He’s decided, so now what?”