For over a decade, the Brown family represented the public face of modern American polygamy, navigating the complexities of one man, four wives, and eighteen children under the watchful eye of reality television cameras. However, the facade of a unified plural family has finally crumbled, leaving patriarch Kody Brown to navigate a landscape of wreckage and resentment. In a series of recent, emotionally charged encounters, Kody has embarked on what many are calling an "atonement tour," attempting to offer apologies to the three women who have walked away from him. Yet, as the dust settles on these fractured unions, it is becoming increasingly clear that for Meri, Janelle, and Christine Brown, these words of regret may be too little, too late.
The latest chapter of this public dissolution centered on Meri Brown’s home in Utah, where Kody arrived with the intent to settle the emotional books. Having already delivered apologies to Janelle and Christine—including a self-deprecating admission to Janelle that he had acted like a "bastard" throughout their separation—Kody turned his attention to his first wife. Meri, who remained legally married to Kody for decades before their 2014 divorce and subsequent spiritual split, met the gesture with a wall of skepticism. For Meri, the interaction felt less like a bridge toward healing and more like a tactical maneuver. She noted that she felt guarded, citing their history of volatile interactions and Kody’s tendency to control the narrative.
During their conversation, the tension was palpable. Kody, who remains in a monogamous marriage with his fourth wife, Robyn Brown, was quick to suggest that Meri needed to move on with her life. He pointed to the way her friends spoke about him as evidence that she was still holding onto the past. When Meri attempted to engage in a deeper dialogue about their history, Kody shut the door, insisting he was only there to apologize and not to argue. This refusal to engage in a two-way conversation left Meri feeling silenced once again. In a poignant confessional, she reflected on a pattern she had seen for thirty years: Kody talking over her or preemptively stopping her from expressing her truth.
The apologies Kody did offer felt surreal to a woman who had spent half her life by his side. He expressed regret for everything from his public claims that he never truly loved her to his failure to appreciate her sense of humor. However, for Meri, the frequency of the word "apologize" seemed to drain it of its meaning. She told him directly that the more he used the word, the more insincere it felt. To Meri, this wasn’t a conversation between two people who had shared a life; it was a performance intended to ease Kody’s own conscience. She ultimately allowed him the space to speak, acknowledging that if he needed this for his own peace of mind, she would let him have it, even if she remained unconvinced of his sincerity.
One of the most jarring moments of their meeting occurred when the topic of their children arose. Kody was quick to shut down any mention of the next generation, labeling the subject "verboten." He described the ongoing conflicts with his adult children as a "stream of bulls—t" that he was unwilling to discuss. This refusal to address the deep-seated rifts within the family is a recurring theme for Kody, who has admitted that his relationships with the majority of his adult children are currently "garbage." For Meri and the other ex-wives, Kody’s inability to take accountability for his role in these estrangements is a major barrier to any real reconciliation.
While Meri is building a new life in Utah, Janelle Brown is navigating her own path toward spiritual freedom. Having been spiritually married to Kody for 29 years, Janelle recently revealed that she is seeking a formal "spiritual release" from their former church. Inspired by Meri’s successful application for a release on the grounds of abandonment, Janelle is looking to officially close the book on her union. This move is particularly significant given Janelle’s deep roots in the faith; her own mother, Sheryl, famously married Kody’s father, Winn Brown, just months before Janelle and Kody wed, creating a complex web of familial and religious ties.
The financial fallout of these divorces has been just as messy as the emotional one. For years, the family’s ultimate goal was the development of Coyote Pass, a 14-acre property in Flagstaff, Arizona, purchased in 2018. However, the dream of four separate homes on one communal lot never materialized. Janelle, who was perhaps the most dedicated to the land, eventually realized that she was the only one who truly wanted to live there. The property was finally sold in April 2025, a move that Janelle described as a "nice parting gift" that allowed her to finally say goodbye to Kody forever.
The sale of Coyote Pass also brought long-simmering financial resentments to the surface. Janelle and Meri were forced to push for an equal 25 percent split of the proceeds, a battle that Robyn Brown reportedly fought alongside them against Kody’s initial inclinations. Janelle has also spoken openly about the money she contributed to the purchase of Kody and Robyn’s $1.6 million home, expressing doubt that she will ever see those funds returned. She recalled the early years of the marriage when money was so tight that she had to put groceries back at the checkout counter, contrasting those struggles with the relative luxury Kody and Robyn have enjoyed in recent years.
As Kody reflects on the collapse of his plural marriage, he has offered various theories for what went wrong. He has pointed to a "mid-life crisis" or "male menopause," suggesting that his testosterone levels dropped and he simply lost the will to do the hard work required to maintain four separate unions. He has also acknowledged that his devotion to Robyn created a toxic level of jealousy within the family. He admitted that he was willing to fight more for Robyn’s security and comfort than he was for his other wives, a reality that the other women found impossible to ignore.
Meanwhile, Christine Brown has moved on to a life that looks radically different from the one she shared with Kody. Now married to David Woolley, Christine has described her former marriage as "a lot of work," citing Kody’s specific dietary restrictions and grooming habits as exhausting to manage. Her new husband has been a source of stability, though Kody has expressed bitterness over the relationship, even suggesting he should have had the right to "vet" or "discriminate" against David before he was allowed around Kody’s youngest daughter, Truely.
The children of the Brown family continue to bear the brunt of the fallout. Madison Brush, Janelle’s daughter, has not spoken to her father in years, even keeping her most recent pregnancy a secret from him. Other children, like Ysabel and Mykelti, have expressed a mix of love and disappointment. Mykelti, who was once a vocal supporter of her father, recently noted that Kody’s refusal to take accountability is the primary reason his children remain distant. She suggested that a simple, sincere apology—one that didn’t involve blaming "trash talk" or "innuendo"—would go a long way toward healing the divide.
As the Brown family enters this new era of "unintentional monogamy" for Kody and Robyn, and independence for Meri, Janelle, and Christine, the legacy of Sister Wives remains a cautionary tale about the complexities of plural marriage. While Kody continues his tour of atonement, the women he once called wives are busy writing their own next chapters, proving that while an apology can be spoken in a moment, true healing takes a lifetime of being "better." For these women, the focus is no longer on being a sister wife; it is on being themselves.
