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Part one of the Sister Wives season 17 tell-all revealed stunning bits of information about the Brown family to the TLC audience. First, the divide between Kody, Janelle, Christine, Meri, and Robyn Brown is more significant than fans realized. Two, Kody’s recollection of events appears to be clouded by his emotions. Third, perhaps most shocking, was his final statement before the episode ended. He claims “love” is secondary to “respect” from the women in his life, leading fans to call him “vile.”

Kody Brown is seated in a confessional interview for "Sister Wives."
Kody Brown of TLC’s ‘Sister Wives’ | TLC/YouTube

‘Sister Wives’ fans now know Kody Brown is separated from three of his four wives

After years of fans watching the personal relationships between Kody and his wives unravel on the TLC series, the three-part tell-all has made it official. Not only did Kody divorce Christine in Nov. 2021, but he and Janelle are currently separated.

He and Meri also no longer consider themselves married. Therefore, that leaves Kody legally married to Robyn, his fourth wife.

Janelle and Kody have yet to detail the reasons behind their split on the tell-all. However, Kody’s demand for a particular type of compliance from Janelle to have a functioning marriage similar to his and Robyn’s may have prompted her to end the relationship. The other was his treatment of their children, particularly Gabriel and Garrison, who no longer speak to their father.

As for Meri, she addressed her estrangement from Kody during the tell-all. Host Sukanya Krishnan aired a clip where Kody said he didn’t consider himself married to Meri and wouldn’t care if she married someone else. Meri responded: “Well, he’s already made the decision. You just saw him say that.”

However, it was Kody’s statement during the last moments of the first part of the tell-all that had fans seeing red.

Kody Brown claims “love” is secondary to wives “respect”

In Kody’s last statement to TLC’s cameras ahead of the episode’s end, he said that “love” comes second to “respect” from the women in his life. This remark cements Kody’s decision to return to a form of patriarchy in his relationships, where he is the head of his households, and his wives must follow his lead.

Sister Wives fans saw red, taking their remarks to Reddit, where they put Kody on blast for his behavior throughout the past several seasons.

“Love doesn’t matter to me. Respect matters to me. What a dysfunctional SOB,” penned one viewer.

“This man is vile. His enabler wife [Robyn] is vile. I think, though, that his last comment summed up his relationship with each woman. Respect is code for submission and compliance in his mind. He doesn’t love these women,” a second fan deduced.

A third fan wrote, “This is why Christine’s comment about him being a coward lives rent-free in his head. She spoke out into the universe exactly how he felt about himself deep down. He is a coward for sticking with a religion he wasn’t all into.”

They continued, “For holding onto wives. He wasn’t the father he was supposed to be. Man up, apologize, and try and mend fences.”

Can fans expect a new episode of ‘Sister Wives’ on Dec. 25?

Christine, Janelle, Meri, Kody, and Robyn Brown of TLC's 'Sister Wives.'
Christine, Janelle, Meri, Kody, and Robyn Brown of TLC’s ‘Sister Wives’ | Discovery Press/TLC
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‘Sister Wives’: Tell-All Host Talks Her Lack of ‘Pushback’ on Brown Family, Addresses Fans Desire for ‘Tough Questions’

Sister Wives fans will have to wait a bit longer for the second installment of the tell-all. The series is on hiatus for several weeks due to the holiday season.

Part two will air on Jan. 1, 2023, while part three will air on Jan. 8.

Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC.

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