‘Sister Wives’ Star Kody Brown Says His Adult Kids Are ‘Jerks’ Amid Estrangement

Sister Wives patriarch Kody Brown had some harsh words for his estranged adult kids in the latest episode of the TLC show, revealing that he doesn’t want to be around them or speak to them at all.

“All of you are just kind of jerks,” Kody, 54, said of his older children during a heated discussion about the family’s dynamic in the Sunday, October 15, episode.

Kody’s relationships with many of his 18 children, whom he shares with ex-wives Christine Brown, Janelle Brown and Meri Brown and his only remaining wife, Robyn Brown, have cracked under the tension of their divorces and other feuds. For example, he is estranged from sons Gabriel, 22, and Garrison, 25 — both of whom he shares with Janelle, 54 — due to their ongoing feud over Kody’s strict COVID-19 rules. Kody said during the new episode that he has tried to reach out to his sons, but they have been “blocking him.”

Gabe shared his side of things during the October 8 episode, revealing that he and Garrison were “met with a wall” when they tried to discuss the COVID-19 situation with their father.

“And there was no line of dialogue. I think that that is what really drove the wedge between us,” he added.

Janelle admitted during the October 15 episode that she believes Kody struggles to relate to his older kids but “dotes” on the younger ones, which include Breanna, 19, Savanah, 18, Truely, 12, Solomon, 11, and Ariella, 7. While this can make Kody’s older children feel resented and fight back, Kody feels disrespected in turn.

In addition to his feuds with Gabriel and Garrison, Kody has been estranged from daughter Ysabel, 20 — whom he shares with Christine, 51 — ever since he refused to go with Ysabel and her mom to her scoliosis surgery in 2020 because he was concerned about cross-country travel amid the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Gwendlyn, 21, another child of Christine and Kody, opened up about her strained relationship with her father in a December 2022 YouTube video.

“As people I think that we’re all typically ignorant to our mistakes and when we’ve hurt our loved ones, especially our loved ones. We’re pretty unlikely to admit when we’ve done wrong,” she said, admitting that Kody had not been “actively reaching out” to his children.

“I’ve had to reach out to him and ask when he’s available, but he has been working on it,” she said. “With time he will get better.”

Amid the tension of the October 15 episode of Sister Wives, however, Gwen’s feelings of neglect from her father were clear as she said, “Imagine your dad loving you.”