Kody Brown yells during a 'Sister Wives' confessional, which aired on TLC.

Thanks, I Hate It

‘Sister Wives’: 3 Ways Kody Brown Acts Like a Temperamental Toddler

The reality star behaves in a trio of ways that make him look like a child to his family and TLC viewers.

by Lucille Barilla

Published on October 20, 2023

3 min read

Sister Wives star Kody Brown claims he would rather spend more time with his younger children than his older ones. This point was driven home by Janelle Brown in ep. 8 of season 18 when she said it’s “easier” for Kody to dote on his younger children, as his older ones now question and don’t “respect” him. However, has Kody picked up on some of the younger kids’ habits when interacting with others? Here are three ways Kody Brown has historically acted like a temperamental toddler.

He blames others when he is wrong

Kody Brown began acting like a toddler and blaming others when he was wrong in season one of Sister Wives. He fled Utah for Las Vegas, packing up his family because he told them he would be arrested for practicing polygamy.

He blamed the government for rules that outlawed the religious practice. However, Kody chose polygamy and put his family in the public eye, but he didn’t want the criticism that came with it.

Kody doesn’t see his older children with Janelle Brown for the holidays. However, he claims it’s their fault; he tried texting them.

He doesn’t visit his youngest daughter with Christine Brown, Truely, often enough? It’s because Christine took her away from him to live in Utah when he lives in Arizona.

Janelle wants a full marriage, but Kody doesn’t want to give it to her. It’s because she’s not “fundamentally loyal to him” like his wife, Robyn Brown.

Meri looked for a fulfilling emotional relationship online and got catfished because Kody wasn’t giving her affection at home. He blamed Meri for looking for companionship, saying on the series her online relationship “turned out to be extremely exploitative and abusive. And from that experience, Meri and I sort of saw our marriage dissolve.”

Kody Brown uses unkind words to hurt others

Just as a toddler uses words without thinking, so does clueless Kody Brown when he wants to hurt someone. Case in point: Kody’s infamous “knife in the kidneys” speech when the Brown adults gathered to discuss Christine Brown’s exit from the family.

The TLC star opened up about his deep-seated anger and resentment toward his ex during the family meeting. He began by being mean and cruel toward Christine for not treating his favorite wife, Robyn, well from the beginning.

“That’s the reason I’m pissed off. Is because you never tried to have a really good relationship with these people,” Kody claimed. “It’s vomiting out of me. Because I’ve sat here with it like, ‘Christine, try and do this.’ You wanted to renegotiate a relationship with me but wouldn’t even have a decent one with them.”

Kody hurled even more hurtful words at Christine, saying he “sacrificed” himself to love her. “Man, just the knife in the kidneys over all these years! The sacrifices I’ve made to love you. Wasted!”

He later criticized Christine instead of taking accountability for his part in the breakdown of their relationship and listening to her needs rather than ignoring them. Kody also told Christine that he “wasn’t attracted” to her on their 1994 wedding day.

“I felt pressured into the marriage,” he continued, as reported by Business Insider. “I did not know better at the time.”

Kody Brown pitches toddler fits

Just like a toddler who is upset and throws a fit when they can’t get what they want, so does Kody Brown. Nowhere was that more evident than when he and Janelle discussed her holiday plans in season 17.

He claimed she wasn’t “culpable” about her respect for his COVID-19 (coronavirus) rules. Janelle insisted she didn’t have the rules for months.

Kody pointed a finger at her and yelled, “That’s a lie.” He continued, “Everybody put this s*** on me, and when I finally got sick from COVID, it was a death-like experience.”

The father of 18 then said he was trying to “save” everyone. He threw his head back and rubbed his eyes, yelling, “I cannot believe I have done all of this to save you, Truely, my children.”

He continued his rant at Janelle, yelling, “I did not know it wouldn’t harm them. I got criticism from you and my boys, zero respect, and you wonder why I’m mad!”

Kody Brown most recently called his older kids “jerks” in a confessional. Kody exclaimed, “All of you are just kinda jerks. I don’t wanna be around you, and I am tired of it, and I don’t want to call them or talk to them.”

Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC.