Kody Brown’s ego may have been showing during a recent Sister Wives episode, when he compared himself to one of his ancestors who was considered a womanizer. At one point, Kody was married to four different women: Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and Robyn Brown. While embracing plural marriage, Kody and his wives lived as one happy family, with 18 children among them. However, following a challenging few years, Christine made the choice to leave Kody in 2021. Janelle and Meri soon followed. Kody remains in a monogamous marriage with Robyn today.
In a tragic turn of events, Garrison Brown, the son of Kody and Janelle, took his own life in 2024. On Sister Wives season 19, the family is still grappling with how to navigate the loss, and in a recent episode, Kody, Robyn, and their children travel to Cody, Wyoming, where Kody grew up, to have a burial for Garrison. Kody took the opportunity to show his family his old stomping grounds. When the subject of Kody being named after Cody came up, Kody explained the origin (and managed to pat himself on the back at the same time).
Kody’s Denying That He’s A Ladies’ Man
Kody Mentioned His Ancestor Had A Reputation
Kody and Robyn brought their kids, Aurora, Breanna, Solomon, and Ariella Brown, to Cody for Garrison’s service, but they used their time there to show the kids where Kody grew up. Kody brought the kids on a tour of small-town Cody, which was about an hour away from where Kody was born. Kody described Cody, which has a population of about 10,000, as the town where he used to run around “chas[ing] girls” in his younger years.
“Wyoming is where Kody’s roots are. It’s where Garrison’s are. The family, when they first got started, a lot of their time was there… It’s a place of home,” said Robyn.
As Kody proudly showed his kids around Cody, he told them stories about his past as a sign salesman. Robyn tells the kids that Kody was named after Buffalo Bill, also known as William Frederick Cody. The town of Cody was named after Buffalo Bill, and Kody’s dad named him Kody, but wanted to be different, so he spelled Kody with a K.
Kody tells his kids about the lore of Buffalo Bill, saying he met up with Sitting Bull, and they traveled around in a Wild West show together. “Basically, he was a showman. He was an entertainer,” Kody said of Buffalo Bill, which prompted Robyn to ask if Kody saw himself that way as well. Kody initially balked at Robyn’s question, but then said there were some similarities.
“I think I’m sort of entertaining. I try to entertain you.”
Kody goes on to say that Buffalo Bill was probably “very charming, very entertaining, very friendly, and maybe a bit of a ladies’ man, I’m assuming.” Robyn and their older daughters giggled when Kody said this, and Kody exclaimed that he doesn’t consider himself a ladies’ man. This makes Robyn and the kids laugh harder, because it’s difficult to say Kody isn’t a ladies’ man when he had four wives.
“I never considered myself to be a ladies’ man. I was a polygamist because of religion, okay, I was never a ladies’ man.”
Kody explained that having four wives was because of the religion the family followed, not Kody’s desire for more women. This earned an eye roll from Robyn, who felt the term might apply to him. Kody seemed excited to compare himself to his famous ancestor, and it seemed obvious that Kody related to him in certain ways.
Kody’s Often Grandiose About Life & Relationships
Kody Has A Poetic View On Life
Kody is the type of guy who waxes poetic about life, and finds symbolism in the everyday. He tends to romanticize things, whether it’s being a father, being polygamous, his family origins, or even his past as a sign salesman.
Kody has an innocent quality, distilling his life into little lessons, and this could be a sign that his ego’s a bit grandiose.
Kody once gave all his wives’ necklaces that he designed specifically for them. His reasoning behind each one echoed his sentiments. Meri’s necklace was designed as a scroll with the Latin word for loyalty etched on it. Janelle’s was designed with earth elements in mind, Robyn’s was a phoenix based on a song she and Kody liked, and Christine’s was a pixie queen. Kody’s choice of design for each of his wives’ necklaces was symbolic, and it was important to him that they understood that.
Can Kody Ever Change?
Kody Has Made Some Progress
Kody’s multiple divorces rocked his world. Sister Wives spent many seasons covering the fallout from the divorces, and especially Kody’s mental state as his world crumbled around him. Kody went through all the stages of grief, including anger and denial. But recently, we’ve seen a different side of Kody. He’s come to accept what happened, and he’s able to empathize with his former wives.
Kody did the right thing when he sold Coyote Pass, the 18 acres of land the family purchased in 2018, and gave Meri and Janelle their fair share of the profits. Of course, Meri and Janelle were both threatening legal action, but Kody did make good on the sale of the land. He also has a more mature view of what went wrong in his marriages.
On a recent episode, Kody expressed regret about the way things went down, and said that when he said he never loved Christine, Janelle, and Meri, he said that out of anger, not truth.
Kody has a childlike spirit at times. Despite being a father of 18, he can seem like a kid, particularly when he’s expressing happiness or excitement. He can be dramatic and over-the-top, but at least there’s a whimsical side to him. Kody tries to find the beauty in life, and find the lessons in that beauty.
Even when describing his feelings after Garrison’s death, Kody has a poetic view of grief, describing it as something one needs to live with, otherwise it will overtake them. It’s probably a coping mechanism for Kody to frame things in his way, and it adds a little bit of magic to the realities of everyday life. Especially in the case of Garrison’s death, whatever Kody needs to do to make peace with it and continue living is probably for the best.
Sister Wives season 19 airs on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on TLC.