Kody Brown’s Exes Dish About His ‘Ego’ at the Sister Wives Reunion

Kody Brown’s former spouses Meri Brown and Janelle Brown shared their thoughts on his alleged “ego” during part 3 of Sister Wives: 1-on-1 reunion — and they were quite candid.

“Kody definitely has a big ego. He always has,” Meri, 54, stated during the episode that aired on Sunday, January 25. “But, I enjoy him. He’s fun, right? He’s enjoyable to be around. He’s charismatic.”

She admitted, “He’s a bit too cocky for my taste. I don’t like cockiness. That tends to align with ego. So, there are times when he exhibits that.”

Janelle, 56, concurred that “yeah,” Kody does have a “big ego,” but like Meri, she didn’t seem troubled by it.

“It’s fine. It’s not my issue anymore,” Janelle joked. “I think he has an ego, and that’s perfectly okay.”

Meri was Kody’s first wife in 1990 when they were legally married. He entered into a spiritual union with Janelle in 1993 and then spiritually married Christine Brown in 1994. The fourth wife, Robyn Brown, joined the family in 2010 through her own spiritual ceremony.

Four years later, Kody divorced Meri but remained spiritually connected to her and legally wed Robyn, 47, adopting her three children from a previous marriage.

In 2021, the Brown family dynamic began to fray when Christine, 53, declared her separation from Kody. Janelle announced her split from Kody in 2022, and Meri confirmed her own separation from him in 2023.

While both Meri and Janelle recognized Kody’s “big ego,” Janelle pointed out on Sunday’s episode that she doesn’t believe that men need to possess that characteristic to be polygamists.

“You need to have a strong sense of self. An ego can be misinterpreted. I think a healthy ego is beneficial for being confident in yourself and in leadership. That’s impressive,” Janelle explained. “But an ego like [Christine’s new husband David Woolley] speaks of machismo or claims like, ‘I’m the man.’ That’s not ideal.”

Janelle’s comments followed David, 61, who claimed on season 20 of Sister Wives that men in polygamy “enjoy the fighting” and “thrive on competition among the women.” He suggested that the religion is about “controlling” women.

During the reunion special, David reaffirmed his claims, stating that “all guys have egos,” and alleged that Kody “does have an ego.”

While Christine expressed that she perceives “more sadness in polygamy than anything else,” she admitted that she finds it “difficult” to fully align with David’s views on the practice.

When it came to whether Kody expected his wives to “compete” for his affection during their relationships, neither Janelle nor Meri felt that pressure.

“No, I never felt that way. I never felt like I had to compete,” Janelle told reunion host Sukanya Krishnan.

Meri remarked that she has seen polygamist women vying for their spouse’s attention, but insisted, “I’ve never felt the need to compete.”

She then acknowledged, “But I did find myself wondering, ‘What do I need to change to be accepted and to be loved and welcomed?’”

Meri shared her uncertainty about “how empathetic” her former sister wives were towards her emotional challenges during various stages of her marriage with Kody, particularly regarding her difficulties with conceiving. (Meri and Kody have one child together, while Kody welcomed six kids with both Janelle and Christine during their marriages and two more with Robyn. Kody also adopted Robyn’s three eldest children.)

“It’s one thing to see my sisters or friends have babies when I’m longing for them, right? It’s an entirely different experience to witness my husband having children with other women,” Meri reflected.

Robyn, who remains married to Kody, recounted having “special circumstances” with Meri as their families grew over the years.

“Each of us would tell Meri when we were pregnant before we informed anyone else, allowing her to process that,” Robyn recalled. “We wanted her to feel supported and to know, ‘I understand this is tough for you, and I’m pregnant and I care about you.’”

Robyn also offered to act as a surrogate for Meri. “I was trying to support her through that pain and her story,” she stated.

Reflecting on the challenges with his exes — especially during the early days of his plural family with Meri and Janelle — Kody acknowledged his role in their conflicts as wives.

“I could reflect and say they didn’t respect me or they had too much contention with each other. I could easily blame everything on them,” Kody expressed. “But the reality is, I was overwhelmed in my leadership role that I couldn’t handle.”

Part 4 of Sister Wives: 1-on-1 special airs on TLC Sunday, February 1, at 10 p.m. ET.