SAD UPDATE! Janelle shares heartbreaking news about Savanah
Savanah, mom Janelle and Christine all speak out against Kody’s behavior, while he defends himself — saying he hasn’t “had the emotional fortitude to reach out” to some of his kids.
Another one of Kody Brown’s 18 children expressed her disappointment, frustration and “anger” with him on the latest episode of Sister Wives.
The polygamist father — who shares almost 20 kids with four wives Robyn, Meri, Janelle and Christine Brown — was called out by daughter Savanah, as well both Janelle and Christine, for his behavior around the holidays.
The family dynamic really splintered after Kody placed restrictions on the family during Covid lockdown. He felt some of the kids — especially his sons with Janelle — weren’t respecting his orders and were prioritizing their social lives over safety; they, however, felt he was prioritizing his family with wife Robyn over everyone else.
That led to a blowout between Kody and Janelle, before she celebrated the holidays solo with her children, separately from Meri, Kody, Robyn and the latter pair’s kids with each other.
On Sunday’s new episode, filmed in the middle of January 2023, Kody and Janelle’s daughter Savanah said she hadn’t spoken to her father since her birthday — which is on December 7.
While Kody had issues with her brothers Garrison and Gabriel, Janelle has been adamant Savanah “has done nothing” to her father, leaving Savanah, Janelle and Christine all baffled about their estrangement. Making it all the more confusing was the fact Kody did meet up with the daughters he shares with ex Christine — Mykelti, Truely and Ysabel — for a belated holiday celebration.
“I’m angry at him, mostly,” said Savanah to her mom and Christine as the three met up at Janelle’s apartment. “I was really sad, it’s my dad. Now I’m just angry at him. No gifts, nothing.”
“Nothing for Christmas, that’s what floored me the most,” Janelle said in a confessional. “I get that you’re busy or whatever, but it’s Christmas. He didn’t even send a gift back with Truely, Ysabel and Mykelti back to the vacation rental for Savanah. Nothing.”
Added Christine in her own confessional: “I’m so mad and furious at this whole situation. I don’t think he understands how easy it would be to fix this. All he needs to do is see his kids.”
Christine was pretty upset about the whole situation, going on to say that she “would not be as in control” with her words if Savanah wasn’t around. “I’m so frustrated and so mad. I don’t care if he’s mad. When you’re a dad, you’re a dad, you step up,” she continued, before saying Kody was behaving with Janelle and her children just like he was with her own before she decided to split from him permanently.
“My kids felt neglected for years. It’s just happening all over again,” she added, before asking, “Is he going to leave everybody but Robyn?”
In his own confessional — apologies, but this show almost entirely made up of them — Kody defended himself, saying he believed Christine and Janelle had “banded together” against him.
“I’m in a place where i’m separated from my children because they kicked me out of my home. I haven’t had the emotional fortitude to reach out,” he continued. “The phone goes both ways. The kids can always call me. I’ll reach out to Savannah and I’ll bring her Christmas. It’ll be late, but eventually it’ll happen.”
No word on whether that happened in real life, but his issues with his kids will continue to play out as the new season progresses.
While Janelle, Christine and Savanah spoke, Janelle revealed that if her daughter wasn’t still in school in Flagstaff, she’d consider moving to Utah to live near Christine. With her and Kody all but separated, she said she wasn’t sure if she was “even interested” in rekindling things with him.
“I know I’m not going back to what we had before. I kind of coasted over a lot of things that were problematic for me,” she elaborated in a confessional. “My children feel like there was so, so much favoritism and so much inequality and time and resources toward Robyn. I was fine with it. Now, I wouldn’t do that. I would want to feel like we were truly more of a couple.”
She added that it’s hard for her to leave Kody completely and find someone else because of her religious beliefs. However, she noted that she basically knew it was “over” between them because she didn’t believe she could “be a better sister wife” to Robyn, something Kody has “implied” she needs to be.
“He’s basically saying because you’re not the best sister wife with Robyn, I’m not interested In having a relationship with you,” said Christine, who went on to point out how Meri always treated Robyn well and he still wasn’t attracted to her in the long run. “He’s full of s–t,” Christine concluded.
