Thanksgiving seemed very totally different for the Brown household in 2023 after patriarch Kody Brown's huge breakups with Meri Brown, Janelle Brown and Christine Brown.
For Kody, this introduced up each optimistic and adverse feelings for him.
“This is the first Thanksgiving that Robyn and I are having with just our children alone,” Kody, 55, mentioned in a confessional interview in the course of the Sunday, Oct. 6 episode of Sister Wives. “We have never had this before.”
Janelle, 55, and Christine, 52, celebrated the November vacation collectively alongside their youngsters. As for Meri, the 53-year-old Lizzie's Heritage Inn proprietor opted to spend it alone, passing on Robyn Brown's invitation to hitch her and her youngsters with Kody for the event.
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“I had had kind of tentative plans to take a trip to California over Thanksgiving, and that fell through,” Meri advised the cameras. “Robyn did reach out and ask if I wanted to go over there for Thanksgiving, and I'm not going to do that. That's just weird.”
Although Kody famous that “it was a pleasant experience” when Meri joined him, Robyn and their youngsters final yr regardless of their strained marriage, he believed that his first spouse's presence posed an issue in a significant approach.
“Robyn and I don't behave like a married couple when my other wives are around,” he mentioned.
“We weren't acting like a married couple with Meri in our presence. That's mostly on Robyn,” he continued. “To be fair, that's because Robyn is very sensitive to other people. She wants to be very careful about their feelings. So when Meri's there with us at our Thanksgiving, I'm not close with Meri. And now, I'm no longer close with Robyn because Meri's present and Robyn wants to be sensitive to Meri.”
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Sharing an identical sentiment, Meri (who ended up falling sick on the vacation) mentioned she's “heard Kody say multiple times how awkward it is that I'm even there, because you can't show the affection and the adoration to Robyn that he wants to.”
“And I'm not going to inhibit that,” she continued. “I'm not a member of the family. I just really don't want to go be a third wheel at Robyn and Kody's house.”
Janelle later advised the cameras she was “surprised” to be taught that Meri was not spending Thanksgiving with Kody and Robyn, because it differed from the norm. But Janelle nonetheless hoped Meri would no less than be with “somebody,” including, “I think Meri deserves a lot more and I think it's time for her to do something different. I thought that for a while and she still is around.”
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Reflecting on what it was like spending Thanksgiving with out his whole brood, Kody admitted he was “really struggling in many ways” as a result of of how “small” the gathering was amid the household estrangement, noting that it was “just the seven of us.”
“It's quiet. It feels safe. By safe, I simply mean that we are all in a state of respect with each other,” he defined. “Ten years ago, I was safe for everybody, but they weren't safe for each other. It shows me in so many ways the dysfunction of just the basics in plural marriage.”
However, Kody nonetheless missed being together with his full household, saying, “I want my other children in my life. I don't know how to do that. I believe I'm grateful for the faith and hope that I have that things get better in the future.”
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Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
