There’s trouble in paradise.
In an explosive new trailer for season 18 of Sister Wives, major problems are brewing between Kody Brown and all but one of his wives.
Legally, Kody, 54, is married only to wife Robyn Brown. But he's still considered his ex-wives Christine Brown, Janelle Brown and Meri Brown his “spiritual” wives. Between all four marriages, the Sister Wives family shares 18 children.
Kody's first wife Meri, 52, announced her separation from him in January after 32 years of marriage. Meanwhile, his second wife Janelle, 54, confirmed their split in December 2022.
Christine, 51, who was the first to leave, confirmed her split from Kody in November 2021 after 25 years of marriage. She's now engaged to David Woolley.
All of Brown’s marriages seem to be imploding except for his relationship with his fourth wife, Robyn, 44. The trailer kicks off with Janelle tensely asking Kody if he still wants to continue with their polygamous lifestyle. “Do you really wanna still have a plural family?” she questions. “Sometimes I can’t tell.”
Kody admits that things are pretty grim. “I’m in this bad place with Janelle, and Christine’s gone,” he says. “Don’t even know what to do with Meri.”
Meri tells Kody that she doesn’t want him to think she’s “walking away” and that she still has “hope” for their relationship. However, he says he wonders why she even still lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Meanwhile, Janelle says she’s “growing” and yearning for something “different” in her life. “I don’t wanna be married anymore,” she admits. Later in the trailer, she and Kody get into a heated argument and he questions what partnership they even have anymore.
“This is not only me, Kody,” Janelle responds. “Don’t you dare point your finger at me!”
Despite Robyn’s marriage to Kody still being solid — or at least, as solid as it can be — she’s still struggling amidst the drama. “Kody’s gonna do what Kody’s gonna do,” she sighs. But when Meri announces that she’s “not going to be around” any longer, Robyn breaks down in tears.
“I wanted to sit on a porch with my sister wives!” she sobs.
Kody expresses frustration with all the fighting. “I worked so hard to do what was right,” he insists. “And when you lose that, well, I should just be the devil I think I am now.”
At the end of the trailer, he storms out after Janelle tells him to “shut your f------” mouth so she can talk to him. She attempts to grab Kody to prevent him from leaving, but he says he’s “done listening to her,” angrily slamming the door behind him.
“Okay, so we’re done?!” Janelle says. “F--- you!”
Meri recently opened up about learning how to trust herself after her separation from Kody. At the time, she posted a TikTok encouraging her followers to trust themselves and pay attention to their own intuition.
“I am thinking a little bit about trust. You've heard that quote, right? Trust is transparency and consistency over time,” she reflected last month. “And that's well and good when you are thinking about the trust that you are trying to build with others or that you want others to build with you. But what about the trust that you have for yourself? I think all too often.”
Season 18 of Sister Wives premieres Aug. 20 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
