‘Sister Wives’ Recap: Robyn Brown Says She and Her Kids Are ‘Outsiders’ in Kody’s Plural Family

Robyn Brown is the last of Kody Brown‘s sister wives still standing, but she doesn’t always feel like No. 1 in the family.

During the Sunday, August 27, episode of Sister Wives, Robyn, 44, was left disheartened after unsuccessfully trying to set up a Zoom call with Christine Brown and Janelle Brown‘s children to organize a holiday gift exchange between the siblings.

“I was pushing for the video chat for the sake of the kids,” Robyn said in a confessional, claiming that she faced “all this pushback” and felt like giving up. “I just finally went, ‘Why am I trying here?’ … Here it is, just another reaffirmation of all the messages that we’re getting that we’re the outsiders and we’re on the other side [of the family].”

Christine, 51, told the cameras that the situation was “blown out of proportion” and brought up “all these hurt feelings” from the past several years. Janelle, 54, meanwhile, declared her kids weren’t “opposed to” the video call but lead busy lives.

“Everybody was trying to deflect, but it just kept spiraling,” Janelle added.

Kody, 54, chimed in with his own perspective on the drama, asserting that he didn’t want to “pick sides one way or the other.” Robyn, for her part, was nearly moved to tears as she reflected on the “horrible day.”

“It’s just another example of them not wanting to be a family with us,” she claimed. “It’s been like this from the beginning. By the time the whole thing was over with, my older kids … did not feel comfortable being involved in the gift exchange anymore.”

Robyn was already the mother of son Dayton and daughters Breanna and Aurora when she began her romance with Kody in 2010. Four years later, Kody ended his legal union with Meri Brown in order to lawfully wed Robyn and adopt her kids. He and Robyn later welcomed son Solomon and daughter Ariella.

Kody remained in a spiritual relationship with Meri, 52, until the pair confirmed earlier this year that they officially called it quits. Christine and Janelle previously announced their splits from Kody in November 2021 and December 2022, respectively.

The gift exchange debacle was “heartbreaking” for Robyn and her kids, but she said through tears that they “refuse to be” on the outskirts of the plural brood.

Kody’s now-exes — and even some of his kids — have been vocal over the years about how the dynamic shifted when Robyn joined the family. While Janelle hinted on Sunday’s episode that “maybe there were always cracks” between the wives, Robyn claimed she wasn’t treated fairly at the outset of her relationship with Kody.

“There were some people that were willing to make the adjustments and were welcoming, and then there was a lot that weren’t,” she alleged.

Kody went on to claim that “the only people who welcomed [Robyn] warmly” at first were him and Meri. “The big shakeup wasn’t caused by Robyn,” he continued. “It was caused by the fallout of going public. That decision was made by our family before we met Robyn.”

Sister Wives — which reached a decade-highest season return in ratings on August 20 — airs on TLC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.