Kody Brown Shares What He Could’ve Done Differently With Christine Ahead of Split, More ‘Sister Wives’ Tell-All Part 3 Revelations

Credit: Shutterstock; Courtesy of Christine Brown/Instagram

Kody Brown Shares What He Could’ve Done Differently With Christine Ahead of Split, More ‘Sister Wives’ Tell-All Part 3 Revelations

Putting it all out there! Kody Brown and Christine Brown didn’t mince words while discussing their relationship during the third part of the Sister Wives: One on One tell-all special on Sunday, February 20. The estranged couple’s ups and downs were the main focus of Sunday’s episode, which aired several months after Christine, 49, announced her split from Kody, 53, in November 2021. The pair were spiritually married for more than 25 years. "It’s not just a marriage I’m leaving. It’s a whole family. And it’s Sister Wives,” Christine told tell-all host Sukanya Krishnan on Sunday. “And what does that do to us? I don’t know.” The Utah native — who shares son Paedon, 23, and daughters Aspyn, 26, Mykelti, 25, Gwendlyn, 20, Ysabel, 18, and Truely, 11, with Kody — reflected on her choice to leave their plural family, admitting it was not easy. “I’m like, ‘Am I being super selfish?’ I'm changing the whole dynamic of a huge family with so many people,” she recalled. “Is it just selfish? Is that what it is? I just decided I’ve got to live my life for me too. I wasn’t present. I wasn’t happy. It just wasn’t working anymore.” The Wyoming native is technically still spiritually married to Christine, with a source exclusively telling Us Weekly last month, “Kody wouldn’t go through with a ‘spiritual divorce’ from Christine." The insider added in January: "He left her on her own to make peace with the separation — it was her and God, not her and Kody.” Kody’s rocky relationship with Christine, whom he spiritually wed in 1994, caused him to question whether he wants to continue with polygamy, per the source, who told Us that the reality star has felt “more angry and bitter” about his three other marriages. The Brown family patriarch legally wed first wife Meri Brown in 1990. Janelle Brown entered a spiritual union with Kody in 1993 before the duo welcomed their six children: sons Logan, 27, Hunter, 24, Robert Garrison, 23, and Gabriel, 21, and daughters Maddie, 26, and Savannah, 17. Robyn Brown eventually became part of the family in 2010. [jwplayer oGqH2Nog-zhNYySv2] Four years later, Kody divorced Meri, 51, to legally marry Robyn, 43, and adopt her three children — David, 21, Aurora, 18, and Breanna, 16 — from a previous relationship. (He and Robyn later welcomed two children of their own: Solomon, 10, and Ariella, 6.) Kody and Meri, who share 26-year-old daughter Mariah, are still in a spiritually union. "I don't know if it's about love or determination or commitment. ... I know that I've got a couple wives standing on a bridge with a torch just wondering, 'Do I throw this thing in the water or do we light this thing up?'” Kody said during the tell-all, explaining that he doesn’t know where he stands with all of his wives at this point. “There’s no better awareness than reading the facts from the light of a burning bridge … but then it’s too late. You can’t rescue that.” The father of 18 explained that since he and Christine called it quits, he’s done a bit of soul searching and realized there were things he could’ve done better in their relationship. “I’m looking at this whole experience with Christine and I’m going all the way back [to] 12 years ago [when she said], ‘I hate polygamy.’ And I just could’ve validated [her feelings],” he revealed. “Instead of just becoming so … [full of] righteous indignation. That was some arrogance there.” Kody continued: “My first reaction was, ‘I’ve been loving to you. I’ve been this husband. We’ve done all this together. We’ve got these great memories and we’ve got these great children and you hate polygamy? What the crap?’ That was my reaction instead of going, ‘Oh, I know it’s so hard.’ I’m looking back now, and I’m going, 'If I could go back, would I save it all with being empathetic instead?'” When asked whether he would make the change if he could turn back time, Kody played coy. “Now we’ll never know,” he replied. Scroll down for the biggest revelations from part three of Sister Wives: One on One tell-all: [podcast_block]

Credit: Shutterstock; Courtesy of Christine Brown/Instagram

Kody Brown Shares What He Could’ve Done Differently With Christine Ahead of Split, More ‘Sister Wives’ Tell-All Part 3 Revelations

Putting it all out there! Kody Brown and Christine Brown didn’t mince words while discussing their relationship during the third part of the Sister Wives: One on One tell-all special on Sunday, February 20. The estranged couple’s ups and downs were the main focus of Sunday’s episode, which aired several months after Christine, 49, announced her split from Kody, 53, in November 2021. The pair were spiritually married for more than 25 years. "It’s not just a marriage I’m leaving. It’s a whole family. And it’s Sister Wives,” Christine told tell-all host Sukanya Krishnan on Sunday. “And what does that do to us? I don’t know.” The Utah native — who shares son Paedon, 23, and daughters Aspyn, 26, Mykelti, 25, Gwendlyn, 20, Ysabel, 18, and Truely, 11, with Kody — reflected on her choice to leave their plural family, admitting it was not easy. “I’m like, ‘Am I being super selfish?’ I'm changing the whole dynamic of a huge family with so many people,” she recalled. “Is it just selfish? Is that what it is? I just decided I’ve got to live my life for me too. I wasn’t present. I wasn’t happy. It just wasn’t working anymore.” The Wyoming native is technically still spiritually married to Christine, with a source exclusively telling Us Weekly last month, “Kody wouldn’t go through with a ‘spiritual divorce’ from Christine." The insider added in January: "He left her on her own to make peace with the separation — it was her and God, not her and Kody.” Kody’s rocky relationship with Christine, whom he spiritually wed in 1994, caused him to question whether he wants to continue with polygamy, per the source, who told Us that the reality star has felt “more angry and bitter” about his three other marriages. The Brown family patriarch legally wed first wife Meri Brown in 1990. Janelle Brown entered a spiritual union with Kody in 1993 before the duo welcomed their six children: sons Logan, 27, Hunter, 24, Robert Garrison, 23, and Gabriel, 21, and daughters Maddie, 26, and Savannah, 17. Robyn Brown eventually became part of the family in 2010. [jwplayer oGqH2Nog-zhNYySv2] Four years later, Kody divorced Meri, 51, to legally marry Robyn, 43, and adopt her three children — David, 21, Aurora, 18, and Breanna, 16 — from a previous relationship. (He and Robyn later welcomed two children of their own: Solomon, 10, and Ariella, 6.) Kody and Meri, who share 26-year-old daughter Mariah, are still in a spiritually union. "I don't know if it's about love or determination or commitment. ... I know that I've got a couple wives standing on a bridge with a torch just wondering, 'Do I throw this thing in the water or do we light this thing up?'” Kody said during the tell-all, explaining that he doesn’t know where he stands with all of his wives at this point. “There’s no better awareness than reading the facts from the light of a burning bridge … but then it’s too late. You can’t rescue that.” The father of 18 explained that since he and Christine called it quits, he’s done a bit of soul searching and realized there were things he could’ve done better in their relationship. “I’m looking at this whole experience with Christine and I’m going all the way back [to] 12 years ago [when she said], ‘I hate polygamy.’ And I just could’ve validated [her feelings],” he revealed. “Instead of just becoming so … [full of] righteous indignation. That was some arrogance there.” Kody continued: “My first reaction was, ‘I’ve been loving to you. I’ve been this husband. We’ve done all this together. We’ve got these great memories and we’ve got these great children and you hate polygamy? What the crap?’ That was my reaction instead of going, ‘Oh, I know it’s so hard.’ I’m looking back now, and I’m going, 'If I could go back, would I save it all with being empathetic instead?'” When asked whether he would make the change if he could turn back time, Kody played coy. “Now we’ll never know,” he replied. Scroll down for the biggest revelations from part three of Sister Wives: One on One tell-all: [podcast_block]

Credit: TLC (2)

What Christine and Kody’s Relationship Looks Like Now

"Kody and I are divorced. We’re completely separate. We're just going to be friends, eventually," Christine said. "I just realized I had to make a decision for my heart and my heart was done being broken, and it felt, well, freeing."

Kody confirmed his relationship status with Christine, saying, "Christine's moved. She's left. We're no longer married.”

The patriarch revealed that he is still conflicted after Christine chose to leave their plural family. "I love her and I, um ... I don't know what to do because I've got the grief, but I'm still angry. I’ll take the grief right now to be out of the anger phase,” he added. “Just moving on. Have a good life and find happiness. I think, to be honest with you, there’s going to be some relief from the family too."

Credit: Shutterstock (3)

Meri, Janelle and Robyn Are Still Processing

Robyn was the most vocal of the sister wives, expressing anger about Christine’s choice to leave Kody. "What a waste. Because there's two functioning people that could figure it out,” she said, breaking down in tears. “I don't see why giving up is an option when you haven't actually tried to fix it. I am frustrated and angry and devastated by Christine's choice. She's part of my big picture."

The mother of five added: “Her kids are part of my big picture. I have been wanting to have a close relationship with her for years. Divorce just breaks everything up. It’s just hard."

Janelle, meanwhile, acknowledged that Christine and Kody’s relationship was broken beyond repair. "They tried and tried. They have been to counseling. On both sides, they’ve tried,” she explained. “I think it got to the point where they just realized that it didn’t work anymore.”

She noted that the entire situation has been “hard,” especially since all of the wives lives are so entwined. “You’re pulling apart something that has been for 20 plus years. Who are you after that? Christine has been such this huge thing,” Janelle continued. “I’m trying to figure out how to not take sides.”

Meri, who has been going through her own ups and downs with Kody for years, admitted Christine’s absence is “so new to me.” She revealed during the tell-all, “I don’t know what to do with it. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it and get it. It makes no sense to me.”

Credit: Courtesy of TLC

Who Still Wants the Polygamist Lifestyle?

"I know polygamists who are doing a much better job than me," Kody vented during Sunday’s episode. “I wonder if there’s a disconnect. Are they living in that dissonance that I have experienced?”

The TLC personality reflected on how his plural marriages got so complicated over the past few years. “I wanted my wives to love each other. My biggest anger with [my] wives is the way they treat each other,” he said. “Honestly, there’s a wakeup call that I had in Flagstaff, [Arizona]: ‘If I was out of the picture, it’d be over.’”

Kody added that his split from Christine “had me questioning the lifestyle itself. Oh, hell yes. I question it all the time when you talk to women who are struggling in it.”

Christine, for her part, is totally done with the practice. "I don't want polygamy, that's for sure. Part of the reason I’m sure that I’m leaving is because I don’t believe in it for me anymore,” she explained. “God’s like, ‘No girl, you did it. You can go. Check.’”

Janelle noted that she is all in on the polygamist lifestyle after briefly questioning it amid the coronavirus pandemic. “There was a period of time when Kody was away for about six weeks and I thought, ‘Wow, life is really easy,’” she recalled. “I had to really kind of do some soul searching and realize that I want to be here still.”

Meri also confirmed her dedication to their family, saying, “I’ve put in a lot of work. [Kody’s] put in a lot of work. I still see the value in it.” However, when it comes to her husband’s future within the institution, she wasn’t as confident, adding, “Anybody can do whatever they want. If he wants to give up, he can give up.”

Credit: Kcr/Shutterstock

Utah Dealbreaker

The Brown family revealed during the tell-all that they were surprised to learn that Christine’s plea to move the unit to Utah appeared to be the final straw for her — and that it was ultimately what led her to leaving Kody.

"Why am I in the dark here?" he asked after watching the playback of Christine saying she wanted to end her marriage when Kody vetoed her choice to relocate from Las Vegas to Utah. "We’re supposed to be taking care of our kids here. For her, she's just had her life completely controlled by four other people. That, I get."

Looking back, Kody noted that Christine had been “complaining since the time we moved to Las Vegas” that she didn’t want to stay there. “Years ago, she shrugged. She did not like her life anymore. This is a singular moment that has been building up for years,” he claimed. “I’ve been trying to make her happy all the time. It's this constant burden. ... Frankly, [the problem could just be] plural marriage."

Robyn explained that she didn’t think the Utah discussion was as big of an issue as it ended up being for Christine. (Christine has since relocated to her home state following her split from Kody in November 2021.)

"I had no idea that was what was at stake. I didn’t realize that if she didn’t move to Utah, she was done,” Robyn said on Sunday. “I knew there was some stuff going on, but it’s supposed to be none of my business. Even though it affects my life completely. She's someone I love, and he's someone I love. It's very hard to watch.”

Credit: Courtesy of Christine Brown/Instagram; Shutterstock

How Christine and Kody’s Relationship Evolved

“For me, the real reality is [that] I didn’t know her. She didn’t know me. When we got married, we just didn’t know each other,” Kody shared about his early years with Christine. “We had never seen each other in tough situations. It frankly was a bad match.”

He revealed that within a year, his feelings toward the union changed. “I was like, ‘This is magical.’ And she had lifted the burden were struggling with so much with the relationship with Janelle and Meri,” Kody recalled. “I was really in love with her for 10, 12 years. A breath of fresh air. She brought a brightness to the experience.”

Christine remembered those times as well, claiming that she was a bit of a yes girl. She said that when she finally started saying “no,” things shifted in their marriage. “I had to be always positive and upbeat. All of a sudden, I realized I couldn’t [be like that] anymore,” she explained during the TLC show. “I think that he heard [me] but had no idea what to do because I had changed so much in a blink. Kody withdrew and then I withdrew and we just withdrew.”

Toward the end of the relationship, Christine said she and Kody went to therapy, claiming that’s where she learned he held "grudges way longer" than she did. Kody, however, denied the allegations. "I don’t carry grudges. She's told you things that I fundamentally disagree with and all I'm doing now is defending myself,” he said in a strong tone. “I'm going to ask you now, [Sukanya], I don't want to talk about Christine anymore."

Credit: Courtesy of Christine Brown/Instagram; Shutterstock

The Intimacy Factor

“[The] hardest decision was to ask him to not be around anymore,” Christine said, noting that she couldn’t live in a loveless marriage. “I found out that he wasn’t attracted to me when we got married and I thought, ‘Oh, gosh, well that’s terrible.’ But then he said [that] he loved me now. So, I thought we were fine, and then it just became more and more apparent, certainly the last few years, he just wasn't interested."

The mother of six hit a breaking point when Kody allegedly said they would probably never be intimate again. Christine, who claimed she and Kody hadn’t held hands, touched or hugged in years, couldn’t get past that comment.

"I never said, no, that we weren't going to be intimate again," Kody claimed during the tell-all, noting that he wanted Christine to address the rumors that she was thinking about leaving when they discussed their sex life. "But I didn’t want to be intimate because I had someone who was basically stabbing [me] in the back, I felt like."

When their relationship was breaking down, Kody remembered the disconnect between him and Christine surrounding the topic of sex. "I mean, there's pressure in a bad relationship that is still intimate. It's a really tough place to get to where intimacy is a duty, and I'm sitting there well aware of it,” he said. “I’m sitting there without the tools to say, 'What’s going on here?'"

Christine, however, didn’t want to keep going through the motions once Kody allegedly took sex off the table. "I'm done pretending," she said. "If when he comes into my room, he really doesn't want to be there, I don't want him there. And I tell you, it felt really good when he wasn't there anymore."

Credit: Courtesy of Christine Brown/Instagram

Future Friends?

Looking ahead, Kody hopes Christine “gets married” and that she has “a wonderful relationship," adding, "I hope she’s happy.” His own path is a little more unclear, however.

“Now I just look forward to the healing process. Managing it and coming to a place where we’re friends again," he said. "We had this experience. That’s over and have a good life. Be well, be happy. But I'm still in a grieving process now.”

Christine isn’t looking for romance just yet, but she is in a good place. "I’m dating me. I’m getting to know me better,” she concluded. “I feel light and I didn't know life could be like this."