The effects of the Covid pandemic are still felt around the world, even years later. On Sister WivesIt’s clear that the choices patriarch Kody Brown made during the pandemic changed the structure of his family for the rest of his life.
Sometimes it seems like he cares. In the most recent episode of 19th seasonIt’s clear this is not one of those times.
In fact, he appears to be at peace with the fact that his choices during Covid have cost him two marriages and relationships with most of his children.
Kody Brown’s Covid Rules: Harsh or Necessary?
Journey with us briefly to 2020 and the 16th season of Sister Wives.
Being in a plural family meant that more than 20 people, of varying ages, from children to adults, had to face new restrictions such as social distancing and the use of masks.
Under the guise of wanting everyone to feel “safe,” Kody asked the entire family to follow a strict set of guidelines. At the time, Janelle called them “Kody’s 10 Billion Commandments.”
This included everything from not leaving the house to cleaning mail with alcohol wipes.
Now, while we applaud Kody for taking the situation seriously, it has been argued by both fans and his family that his restrictions were imposed more for the good of some family members, not the family as a whole.
While Meri, Janelle, and Christine were quarantining from Kody, Robyn spent months of quality time with Kody, as did her children.
Things eventually came to a head with the older boys he had with Janelle and were ordered by Kody to move out of his family’s home because they couldn’t follow the rules.
The rift between Garrison and Kody
One of the children whose relationship with their father essentially ended during Covid was Garrison.
At the time, Kody expressed anger after his and his second wife Janelle’s son called him and accused him of being too extreme with his COVID protocols.
“The fact is, in this environment, I’m just trying to keep my kids, especially my little kids, from getting COVID,” Kody explained during one episode, referring to the youngest children he shares with Robyn.
Kody went so far as to accuse Garrison of spreading COVID to all of Janelle’s children, Janelle and Garrison’s own girlfriend.
The fight resulted in Garrison and Kody refusing to speak to each other, and it remained that way until the day Garrison died in winter 2024.
Kody Admits His Rules Ruined His Family — But Maintains It
It takes a lot for Kody to admit he was wrong – unless you’re offering straight cash, in which case he owns up to his mistakes for the very low price of $99.
Case in point, for some reason known only to them, a fan of Kody paid the price in exchange for the Sister Wives star recording a video for her on Cameo.
Referencing the VERY strict rules he put in place over a year ago in the face of a deadly pandemic, Kody admitted in this footage that he is “struggling.”
“I don’t even know what else to say about (COVID),” Kody says in the video.
“I think my cure was worse than the disease. This is just a personal thing… I’m second guessing myself, which I probably shouldn’t be doing at this point.”
Oh no, you should.
Alienate your children and calm them down, they are not not allowed to spend time with you? This is very bad.
“It’s been two long years, this whole thing, almost two years,” continues Kody in his latest Cameo, adding as a message to the person who commissioned the clip:
“Anyway, hang in there. We are all having to do this. We all need to hang in there.”
And truth.
One can’t fault Kody too much for taking every possible safety precaution, but even Janelle told him to fuck off when he got out of control.
He did everything for Robyn
“I know there are a lot of accusations from boys about me and they are false,” Robyn told Sister Wives cameras of the time.”
Janelle and Christine’s children collectively felt that Kody used Covid to choose a family to settle down with instead of being spread out among his four wives. They felt he singled out Robyn and that she in turn insisted on very strict Covid rules.
But Robyn insisted that wasn’t true.
“I just don’t have that kind of power over Kody. And if I did, I certainly wouldn’t have chosen what we chose through COVID,” she said. “I would like us to sit down and come to an agreement on how to deal with COVID together as a family. This is what I would have done if I had ‘the power’ they think I have.”
A fair argument, and we also think, given how much Robyn pushes for family, that if she had the power, she would make Kody stay with him. daughter Ysabel when she had necessary spine surgery during the pandemic.
Kody outright refused to travel with her to have the operation. The decision destroyed their relationship and ended his marriage to Christine.
Shortly after, his inability to repair his relationship with his children also forced Janelle’s hand and they divorced.
(This doesn’t really apply to this story, but as a point of order, Meri and Kody also broke up a year after this. Now Kody is ONLY with Robyn.)
Kody admits his mistake but hasn’t changed
Fast forward to 2024 and the 19th season of Sister Wives shows where Kody is today.
The episodes were filmed in late 2022, well before his son Garrison’s death. Node 3rd episode inside, Kody admits that he regrets abandoning Ysabel and forcing the boys to move away.
However, he has yet to repair any of the relationships with his children that have been affected.
In fact, it doesn’t seem like he was able to repair his relationship with Garrison before he passed away.
“We could have talked more,” Kody said when he broke your silence on Garrison’s passing.
“I would get texts, things like that, and we could, in retrospect, have done a lot more. And it was almost like – I’m busy with my life, he’s busy with his life, and when we connect, we connect.”
How embarrassing