Robyn Is the Only Wife Standing by Kody Brown Amid ‘Sister Wives’ Cancellation

Things aren’t looking good for Kody Brown! When Season 11 of his reality show Sister Wives debuted in late 2016, “TLC was less than impressed by the ratings,” an insider revealed, explaining that premiere viewership of 1.8 million “was not enough” for the network. “So Kody told them he’d be willing to have the network slash his family’s pay from $180,000 for each adult to $180,000 total if it meant they could make Season 12. He put everything on the line to convince them it could still work.”

But, he couldn’t deliver and now his wives are turning on him. They’ve been struggling for the past few years, and Kody’s three “spiritual marriages” have all fizzled out. “His only real connection seems to be with [legal wife] Robyn now,” an insider revealed to Life & Style. “The other wives have all but given up on him. They mostly see him as an ex-husband who turns up to help with the children.”

But, Kody doesn’t want to accept that it’s all coming to an end. “He’s been blaming everyone for the current state of the show — except himself,” the insider admitted. “He’s too proud for that.” When the show began in 2010, viewers were fascinated to see a seemingly happy polygamous family on TV. But those days are over. “TLC has discovered you can only pretend things are all rosy for so long. Fans now realize the Browns are anything but a happy group.”

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Meri has pulled away completely. She first shattered the illusion that all was well when she had an emotional online and phone affair in 2015 with a man, Sam Cooper, who turned out to be a female catfisher. “Kody has never forgiven Meri for it,” the insider said. She moved out of their Las Vegas culdesac months ago after purchasing a Utah bed-and-breakfast in late 2017 and rarely returns to Vegas except for family events or when TLC needs to film something with her there. “Kody’s happy with that arrangement. He doesn’t want to have too much to do with her. Their relationship is dead.”

(Photo Credit: Getty Iamges)

He doesn’t want his reality-TV career to die too, but it’s out of his hands. TLC is planning to create a series focusing on the children of sister wives, the insider says, which will feature Meri and Kody’s daughter, Mariah, who came out as a lesbian last year. “She’s a favorite with fans because of her maturity,” the insider added. “But while Meri will make the occasional appearance on the show, there are no plans to feature Kody. For him, things are very much over.”