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Kody Brown walked away from Sister Wives ahead of season 21, but he’s still worried about his ex-wives amid drama over the sale of their land.
“I feel like the apology tour at the end was something he was trying to redeem himself from,” Janelle Brown said of Kody, 57, at the TLC series premiere on Sunday, October 4. “And I don’t think he was necessarily honest because there’s been no communication since. And it was very public [torpedoed] my character after that. … so I – f*** it.”
Janelle, 57, noted that Kody’s claims at the season 20 reunion – which began in January – were specifically that she wanted to make a “backdoor deal” with him and cut him out. Mary Brown in their Coyote Pass sale, completely wrong.
“As a parting gift because Kody and Robyn [Brown] that they’re not filming with us anymore, it felt like he should make up this story that I somehow tried to go behind Meri’s back,” Janelle told ex-wife and close friend Christina Brown at first sight.
Janelle marked the moment, saying, “Months after the deal was closed he starts talking about how I was doing a backroom deal with him. … It wasn’t true.” (Coyote Pass sold for $1.5 million in April 2025.)
In Sunday’s episode, Meri, 55, admitted she didn’t “know all the details” but was under the impression that Janelle and Kody had reportedly talked about wanting to sell the land in Arizona without her permission and just give it to her “however much they felt like they owed me.”
Although she wasn’t sure who was telling the truth, Meri told her friends that Kody and his wife, Robyn, 47, were “not willing” to have a conversation, which was a red flag. (TLC confirmed in September that Robyn and Kody did not return for the new season after 16 years. The exit follows Kody’s divorces from his first three wives in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively.)
Janelle, Meri and Christina Brown.
Courtesy of TLC“She and I are not the best of friends. We don’t fully trust each other. Maybe there are things she holds back,” Meri admitted to the cameras when she was talking about her relationship with Janelle.
Janelle, meanwhile, said she “always tries to be very fair and very transparent in my dealings,” pointing to Kody as the problem.
“Not only did this accusation feel very personal, like the last F-thou while he was leaving,” Janelle admitted. “But everyone believes it and even Meri is like, ‘I don’t know.’ I’m like, ‘What the hell?'”
When Janelle and Meri finally met in person to discuss the dispute, it was clear that they were on different pages.
Kody Brown gets a frosty reception from exes Meri Brown and Janelle Brown on Sister Wives as they try to make small talk on a Zoom call. “Hey, guys, how’s it going?” Kody, 56, asks Meri, 54, and Janelle, 56, in Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek at the Sunday, Nov. 2, episode of TLC […]
“Kody is stirring the pot, even after the fact. I’m like, ‘Leave him alone,'” Janelle told Meri. “But he can’t help himself.”
Meri explained that Kody accused Janelle of coming up with the idea of selling Coyote Pass without her knowledge and she denied the accusation.
“He had all these things about, ‘Maybe I’ll sell and keep some money in reserve for Meri in reserve so when she basically does what I want her to do, I’ll give her the money,'” Janelle said. “There were so many threats. … I’m still kind of surprised, Meri.”
Janelle said Kody “suggested this from the beginning” and did it so he could have the “power.”
Janelle Brown and Mary Brown.
Courtesy of TLCMeri was hesitant to believe Janelle, wondering why she didn’t tell her about it then.
“It was more like he was saying one-on-one to me,” Janelle said. “He was making little threats of carnage. It got a lot more complicated than it needed to be and I don’t know why.”
Meri admitted, “I don’t understand any of it.”
Janelle doubled down, saying, “I wasn’t trying to cut you out of the deal,” insisting that she never tried to get Meri out in any way.
“It’s done. Aren’t you glad it’s done?” Janelle asked.
Meri still wasn’t sure what happened, admitting she had “so many questions”, but she let it go. “I appreciate you,” Janelle said.
“I’m not taking sides with Janelle or Kody and Robyn, because to be honest with you, all of us in the human race will tell our stories to make us look better,” Meri told the cameras after the conversation.
Janelle admitted in her confession, “I just want this thing to be over. I thought it was. Apparently not, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Thank you, Kody Brown.”
She said, “I said what I needed to say. I’m sincere. I wasn’t trying to double-cross a deal.”
Sister Wives airs on TLC Sundays at 10pm ET.
