‘Sister Wives’: Kody’s Daughter Gwendlyn Says It Was ‘Upsetting’ He Wasn’t There for Ysabel’s Surgery

Kody Brown’s fractured relationships with his wives and children have been a major theme in Sister Wives Season 17. Fans have seen the way the TLC star focuses on his fourth wife, Robyn Brown, and her kids at the expense of his other wives and their children. 

Kody’s behavior has already cost him three out of his four marriages and may have permanently damaged his relationships with a number of his kids. But what does the family dynamic look like on the inside? Kody’s daughter Gwendlyn Brown recently weighed in on her relationship with her dad and how she felt when she learned he wouldn’t be there for her sister Ysabel’s spinal surgery. 

‘Sister Wives’ fans have slammed Kody for the way he handled Ysabel’s surgery

For many Sister Wives viewers, there’s one shining example of Kody’s tendency to favor one part of his family over the others: His decision to not accompany his then-wife Christine and their daughter Ysabel to New Jersey when Ysabel needed scoliosis surgery in September 2020. 

“I need him to be there. Why isn’t he coming?” a tearful Ysabel said on an episode of Sister Wives. She added: “Why wouldn’t he be there? Why wouldn’t he drop everything for me? I think his priorities are a little screwed up.”

At the time, Kody blamed COVID for his decision not to be by his daughter’s side during a difficult time. He and Robyn had instituted strict precautions to protect themselves and their young kids from the virus. Kody was unwilling to relax the rules, even to be with another one of his kids. But viewers were skeptical of that reasoning, with many feeling that Kody should have made an exception to support his daughter. 

“I am DISGUSTED at the selfishness Kody is (once again) displaying. Poor Ysabel,” one person tweeted. 

“This is pathetic. Sorry, but he should be there for her. It’s obviously affecting [Ysabel] deeply,” another wrote. 

Gwendlyn Brown says it was ‘pretty upsetting’ that Kody wasn’t with her sister at the hospital 

In a recent YouTube video, Ysabel’s older sister Gwendlyn shared her thoughts on her dad’s choice regarding Ysabel’s surgery. She admitted that, at the time, she didn’t find it that odd that he didn’t go to New Jersey to be by her sister’s side. 

“In the moment, I didn’t really notice a change,” she said. “It seemed logical that since he wasn’t really visiting us a bunch at the time that he wouldn’t really come with us to her surgery.” 

But upon reflection, Gwendlyn said she realized how hurtful Kody’s decision was. 

“Looking back, it’s definitely pretty upsetting that I saw that as normal,” she said.  

Ysabel says Kody’s choice changed her relationship with him for the worse

Ysabel was clearly hurt that Kody chose not to be with her during her surgery. His decision seems to have permanently damaged her relationship with her father.

“I would describe my relationship with my dad as — it’s fine,” Ysabel, who was preparing to leave Utah for college in North Carolina, said in an episode of Sister Wives Season 17. “I’m gonna miss my mom more than I’m gonna miss him, I think because I don’t actually think we’re close at all.”

 For his part, Kody seemed baffled by the growing distance between himself and his daughter. 

“I don’t think I’m that big of an ogre; I don’t know why she’s not talking to me,” he said. “I’m open to her. I don’t know what it is.” 

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