Sister Wives: Kody Brown Shares His Honest Reaction to Ex Janelle’s New Chapter
Janelle Brown is opening the door to her new apartment—and new era without Kody Brown.
In a sneak peek at the Nov. 5 episode of Sister Wives shared exclusively with E! News, fans watch the Brown patriarch stop by to see his ex's place and their daughter Savanah amid their separation. And it looks like Janelle is feeling right at home.
"I guess in a way this has been a nice space because he's not ever been into this space," she explains in the preview. "So, it feels like it's kind of my space. I've sort of liked having it as kind of my little sanctuary."
And while Kody compliments Janelle on her new residence, he admits the moment is a little awkward.
"I don't know how weird this is," he says in a confessional after Janelle tells him she needs help hanging up some artwork. "I mean, maybe it's just a test. 'Hey, will you come over and hang pictures?' ‘Sure, OK.' I mean, I've been married to four women. Everything's a test. ‘Pick me, pick me. Do something for me. Do something for me.' That's what plural marriage can feel like sometimes."
Ultimately, the visit further reiterates that Kody and Janelle's relationship is over—with it being one of several breakups he's gone through over the past two years and his marriages to his wives Meri Brown and Christine Brown have also ended, resulting in Robyn Brown being his sole spouse.
"I like this place," Kody continues. "The other apartment was pretty cramped. But it's just dawning on me that maybe the whole reason Janelle moved here was because the other apartment was our place. You know, I was living there with her, and she's moved here and it doesn't look like I'll be living here with her."
As he puts it, "It's her apartment. It's not ours. But there's no room for me. It's not about me and her. I honestly don't know why she's showing me other than, well, I mean, our daughter lives there."
Speaking of their daughter, fans got a look at where Kody—who shares six of his 18 children with Janelle—and Savanah stand.
"Kody has been making effort with Savanah," Janelle says in the episode. "He takes her out to dinner every couple of weeks. He is seeing her more frequently than he was at the beginning of the year for sure."
Kody calls his bond with Savanah "sweet" and "gentle" and indicates it's different than his estranged relationship with his sons Garrison and Gabriel.
"I haven't been in touch with Gabriel and Garrison for quite a while," he says. "I'm pretty sad that I'm not close anymore. There was just so many things in our lives that we did that were rich together, you know, just special experiences."
And while Kody suggests he's optimistic for a reconciliation with them in the future, he acknowledges it won't happen overnight.
"I think and hope that in time we'll just get over this and that we'll be safe being back around each other," he adds. "Right now, there's not really an open door with Gabe and Garrison between their—they're not willing to engage me."
Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC.
For a recap on the love lives of the Sister Wives stars, keep reading.
"She looked like a soccer mom," Kody Brown once joked on Sister Wives of meeting then-single mom Robyn in 2009. "She had a van, three kids and was divorced. I thought, 'I didn't need a van, a divorced woman, and three kids in my life—that's just trouble.'"
Nearly a decade and a half on, though, they're still kicking it, the pair adding son Solomon, 11, and daughter Ariella, 7, to the squad. As for bringing on other teammates, it's not in the game plan. "I really, really struggle with it because it feels, like, 'Oh, well. Those didn't work. So, on to [someone] new,'" Robyn said on the December Sister Wives: One on One special of Meri, Janelle and Christine leaving the fold. "That's hard for me. That's really, really hard for me. It feels disrespectful."
She got the man and the family. Going official with her and David Woolley's romance on Valentine's Day 2023, Christine Brown shared, "I finally found the love of my life, David. The first time he held me close, it felt like my soul took its first breath. He's wonderful and kind, incredible with my children and an adorable grandpa. I never dreamed I could find a love like this."
Two months later he added to the fantasy with a spring proposal. "David treats me like a queen and tells me I'm beautiful everyday," Christine told People. "I've never been in love like this before and the world seems like a brighter place with him in it."
Tying the knot in Utah Oct. 7, she wrote, "I'm so blessed! I've married my best friend."
The first of the 18 Brown children to walk down the aisle, Janelle's eldest daughter, Madison Brown, now 27, wed Caleb Brush at a 2016 outdoor wedding in Montana captured by TLC's cameras. Nearly seven years later, the two have multiplied their love with Josephine joining big brother Axel, 6, and big sister Evie, 3, in February.
"One month as a family of 5 and my heart is bursting," North Carolina-based Maddie wrote on Instagram in March. "I didn't know this kind of peace amongst chaos could be had."
Four years after their engagement aired on the TLC reality show, Meri Brown's only child, Leon Brown, has settled in Denver with partner Audrey Kriss. "my sweetest symphony," Leon, 27, raved of their fiancé. "Life with you truly is so sweet." Echoed Audrey, "Being your partner and watching your growth and coming into yourself over the years has been an honor and joy."
Eldest kid Logan Brown, 29, got the gang back together when he married longtime girlfriend Michelle Petty in Arizona this past October. "It was a beautiful day and this mama's heart was mush the whole time," Janelle shared on Instagram of her son's wedding. "You always have such a sense of peace when your children find amazing life partners."
More than six years after her 2016 wedding to Antonio "Tony" Padron, Mykelti Brown joked that they'd already tested the limits of their marriage vows by welcoming twins Archer and Ace into the fold this past November.
"We have 3 kids and 4 moves under our belt," noted the 27-year-old, also mom to Avalon, 2. "A whole lot of good times and some hard times #surprisetwins But here we are still doing this whole marriage thing."
In the nearly five years since they wed, Christine's daughter Aspyn Brown, 28, and husband Mitch Thompson have traveled everywhere from Paris to Alaska. But this past December, they put down roots, Mitch sharing on Instagram, "We bought our first home! Just in time for Christmas."
Before hitting their one-year anniversary, Christine's daughter Gwendlyn Brown and love Beatriz Queiroz went to the happiest place on earth and marked six months together with chocolate fondue. Then came the really sweet part. The 21-year-old shared a glimpse at the candlelit, rose-filled proposal on Instagram in November, writing simply, "i'm engaged!!"
The couple wed in July, sharing the news on Instagram the caption: "Say hello to mrs (x2) queiroz."
