“Sister Wives” returned for Season 21 on Oct. 4 without its longtime star Kody Brown.
For 16 years, the TLC series followed Kody and his four wives and their children as they lived their lives in plural marriage.
Brown and his only remaining wife, Robyn, left the series before the new season began filming, leaving Kody Brown’s ex-wives Janelle, Christine and Meri to react to the couple’s on-camera exit.
“I don’t know how to process all of this. I’m just going to be honest. I have no idea how I feel about the whole thing,” Christine said in the confessional, adding: “It’s so weird that this has been done… I don’t know what it means. I have no idea.”
In her own admission, Janelle revealed that she was “very surprised” to hear that Kody and Robin would not be returning to the show.
Kody and Robin’s sudden departure comes after years of upheaval in the family.
Christine ended her spiritual marriage to Kody in 2021 after 25 years and six children.
Shortly after, Janelle ended her relationship with Kody after nearly 30 years and six children.
Janelle and Kody also shared the tragic loss of their son Garrison, who died in 2024.
Both Christine and Janelle continued to find love with new partners: In 2023, Christine married David Woolley, and Janelle went public in August with a new boyfriend named Pete, who appeared on “Sister Wives” this season.
Originally his fourth wife, Kody and Robin were legally married in 2014 after Kody’s legal divorce from Meri.
Already a mother of three, Robin went on to welcome two children, Solomon and Ariella, with Kody.
At the end of Season 20, due to the bitter feelings between Kody and his exes, Kody vowed to make a “pilgrimage” to “apologize” to all three women.
The Season 21 premiere included footage of Janelle’s apologies, which she said she made to boost Kody’s image.
“I think it was something he was trying to atone for at the end of the apology tour, and I don’t think it was that sincere because there has been no contact since then,” Janelle said in a confessional.
“He publicly undermined my character afterward, so am I, yeah, whatever,” Janelle added, addressing Kody’s public allegation that, unbeknownst to Meri, Janelle tried to arrange a deal with Kody to sell the family’s Coyote Pass property in Flagstaff, Arizona.
“Months after the deal was completed, all of a sudden, he started talking about how I did this backdoor deal,” Janelle said. “’Where did this come from?’ I thought
“I wasn’t planning. If I was planning, you wouldn’t know it,” Janelle added.
Janelle described Kody’s public accusation as “one last f*ck” for her.
“It would be one thing if he just said that, but everyone believes him,” Janelle said.
During the episode, Janelle asked Meri to meet with her in person so she could clear the air about what Kody said about the property deal.
“I’m disappointed that she wants to continue stirring up drama. I don’t want to give her that kind of power,” Janelle told Meri.
“It really got way more complicated than it needed to be, and I don’t know why,” Janelle said, adding: “But it’s over now, and I wasn’t trying to cut you out of the deal.”
The episode ended with Janelle, Meri, and Christine putting their tensions aside, reuniting, and editing their family photos together.
The news was confirmed in the Season 21 trailer, released in mid-September, with a title card that read: “After 16 years of filming ‘Sister Wives,’ Kody & Robyn will not be returning to the series.”
TODAY.com has reached out to Kody and TLC for comment.