Sister Wives season 18 episode 13 brought the Brown family together for the first time in years, making things uncomfortable for everyone.
Sister Wives season 18 episode 13, “The Elephant In The Room”, brought the Brown family together for an exciting event, but shed more light on the way Christine Brown, Janelle Brown, and Meri Brown feel about their futures with Kody Brown. Throughout Sister Wives season 18, the Browns have spent time trying to rebuild and repair what’s broken between them, though Kody is having a tough time ensuring Robyn Brown feels heard in the mix. After his fallout with Christine, Kody’s relationships all hit a rough patch. Despite trying to curb his anger over the split, Kody’s been left with shallow relationships with everyone other than Robyn.
After Janelle and Kody’s major blowup early in Sister Wives season 18, Kody and Meri’s relationship began to crumble as well. The couples were unable to keep their lines of communication open, and while Janelle felt she was taking some of the blame for Christine’s departure, Meri and Kody simply weren’t speaking at all. Kody’s relationship with Robyn became the most important thing for him to take care of, which was already Kody’s priority, anyway. During the most recent episode of Sister Wives season 18, the state of Kody’s relationships with his family became more clear than ever.
Mykelti & Tony Hosted A Zoom Gender Reveal
It’s a boy…and another boy!
On an awkward Zoom call that included Christine, Kody, their daughter Mykelti Padron and her husband Tony Padron, along with many of the other members of the Brown family, Mykelti and Tony hosted a gender reveal for their twins. Though everyone was excited about getting together and supporting Mykelti in the next chapter of her life, the call was deeply uncomfortable for Kody and Robyn, who felt ostracized. Kody, who hasn’t been communicating much with many of his children, was nervous about anyone he’s estranged from trying to speak to him. Though Kody and Robyn were uncomfortable, everyone made it through the call unscathed.
Robyn Hoped Being On A Call With The Family Would Repair Her Reputation
While Robyn was nervous about the Zoom call, she was also open about the fact that she was hoping it would help her out with the rest of the family. Despite Robyn openly blaming the larger Brown family for ostracizing her and her children, she was hopeful that seeing her present on a Zoom call would push them to bring her kids back into the fold. Robyn’s strugged throughout Sister Wives season 18 to stop making every issue in the family about her and her children, and though she didn’t succeed here in not making Mykelti’s big day about her kids, she was supportive of Mykelti and Tony’s next phase.
Kody Shared His Fears Surrounding Connecting With The Family
While Robyn was nervous about her kids feeling left out from the Zoom call, Kody was worried about something else entirely. He spent the Zoom call fearful that something difficult would come up, especially since he hasn’t put forth much effort to spend time or connect with many of his children recently. For Kody, the kids who have not reached out to him, he hasn’t reached out to either. He was worried about connecting with everyone because he was certain that there were some children who would choose to put him on blast, and he didn’t want to deal with that.
Kody Doesn’t Want A Relationship With His Children If Robyn Isn’t Included
During one of Kody’s Sister Wives season 18 interview segments, he revealed that he isn’t interested in a relationship with his children if they don’t want a relationship with Robyn, too. Kody explained that he and Robyn are closely intertwined, and if his kids are going to have a relationship with him, they can’t unless they also have one with Robyn. If his wife isn’t included, Kody shared that he can’t, in good faith, move forward in a relationship with anyone. He no longer wants to connect with his kids if that means Robyn’s put at a disadvantage, but doesn’t see this as poor parenting.
Meri Was Not Invited To The Gender Reveal
Meri and Mykelti have a difficult past
Although the rest of the family was invited to Mykelti’s gender reveal Zoom, Meri was not. Though this was only marginally touched on during Sister Wives season 18 episode 13, Meri’s absence was discussed by a few members of the family in interview segments. Christine shared that as the kids get older, they get to choose who they want to interact with. Mykelti has openly chosen not to interact with Kody’s first wife, especially after having some dark times with Meri in her younger years. Meri, instead, was at her bed & breakfast during the event.
Christine Revealed She’s Afraid To Start Dating
After the Zoom revealed Mykelti would be having fraternal twin boys, the family went their separate ways. At a dinner hosted by Mitch Thompson and Aspyn Thompson, Christine’s daughter, to celebrate Ysabel Brown heading back to North Carolina for school, the family talked about what’s to come in the new year. Tony and Mitch had some fun poking at their mother-in-law Christine, asking her about when she was going to start dating again. Christine revealed she’s afraid to start dating, though she wants to, as Kody’s the only man she’s ever dated in the past. Despite being fearful, Christine shared she’s ready to get out and try something new.
Janelle And Christine Discussed Their Relationship With Robyn
Taking a road trip to see Christine’s brothers in Idaho, Janelle and Christine spent some time one-on-one during their drive into farm country. During their drive, both women discussed their relationships with Robyn, comparing notes about her behavior in the last several months. Both Christine and Janelle felt strange about the way Robyn’s portrayed herself as the victim while also notably being a problem in their family. Janelle shared she hasn’t felt the need to speak to Robyn much at all, revealing the pair haven’t shared any time together in nearly a year. Both women agreed Kody is truly only married to Robyn, at this point.
Kody Explained He Uses Friendship To Distract Him From His Troubles
As Kody took some time to himself, he explained that when he’s able to spend time with his male friends, it distracts him from the struggles he faces in plural marriage. While hanging out with his friend Brian Coalwell, Kody explained a long-drawn-out metaphor for himself as a husband. Kody and Brian were attempting to get a sports car into a trailer hitch, but Kody didn’t measure anything prior to the day they were set to get the car into the hitch. Without any planning, the car didn’t fit and Kody was frustrated. Much like he is as a husband, Kody got annoyed when his half-hearted plan didn’t work.
Janelle And Kody Revealed They Don’t Consider Themselves Married
During her time with Christine, Janelle reflected on the state of her relationship with Kody. She explained that though she and Kody haven’t had any formal release from their marriage by church officials, she doesn’t consider herself married to him anymore. After choosing to spend 10 months apart, both Kody and Janelle shared that they don’t consider themselves married to one another. Kody explained that he feels they may not have put in enough work to salvage their relationship, while Janelle shared that she feels they’ve both grown past their time together as a couple.
Christine And Janelle Bonded Over Their Desire For Independence
During their time together at Christine’s brother’s home, Janelle and Christine were able to speak openly about the lives they want in the future. While Christine has been independent since leaving Kody, it was more clear than ever that Janelle was interested in leading a similar life. Christine was thrilled to hear that Janelle was truly ready to leave Kody and already considered herself unmarried. Throughout Sister Wives season 18 episode 13, it became even more obvious that Janelle and Christine will continue to support each other through this new independent phase of life.
