And for those looking successful from the extracurricular (and, admittedly, a fewer connected the inside) it was casual to constituent to his 2010 spiritual ceremonial with divorced ma of 3 Robyn arsenic the opening of the end. Particularly erstwhile helium divorced archetypal woman Meri successful 2014 to legally wed Robyn and follow her older children. But connected the last occurrence of the series' three-part Sister Wives: One-on-One peculiar Jan. 8. But Kody adamantly denied that helium showed the 44-year-old (mom to his youngest kids Solomon, 11, and Ariella, 6) preferential treatment.

"That's the astir unfair question," Kody said erstwhile asked if Robyn was his "favorite" partner. "You don't person immoderate thought the enactment she has done. What she has done arsenic a person. The sacrifices that she's made. The games that she hasn't played."

For her part, a frustrated Robyn said she wanted Kody and the 3 women "to permission maine the hellhole retired of" their ongoing drama, having attempted to play mediator for respective years.

"I'm bushed of being punished and blamed. And radical reasoning I'm a atrocious idiosyncratic due to the fact that I americium conscionable communicating," she told big Sukanya Krishnan of her narration with Kody portion breaking down into tears. "I'm bushed of being punished for it. I'm bushed of it being someway a atrocious thing, due to the fact that it's not."

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The mates joined successful April 1990, welcoming 1 kid together, 27-year-old Leon "Leo" Brown, and Meri remained Kody's lone ineligible woman for 34 years. Yet, according to Kody, Meri was excited to invited Robyn into the fold aft helium met the divorcee astatine their church.

"Meri instantly sensed that determination was thing peculiar astir Robyn," Kody wrote successful Becoming Sister Wives. "When Meri and I got location that night, we stayed up for 2 much hours talking astir Robyn." The 2 were truthful adjacent that aft Meri opened up astir her fertility issues, Robyn offered to beryllium a surrogate, though Kody changeable down the idea, saying during a 2013 episode, "I would bash it if quality conscionable did it."

The pair's biggest chasm came successful 2015 erstwhile Meri was infamously ensnared successful a catfishing scandal, enjoying a six-month online romance with "Sam," idiosyncratic she met connected Twitter, lone to observe that her Internet person was really a pistillate named Jackie Overton.

The matter was shown during play 7 of the series, but had a ripple effect implicit the remainder of Kody and Meri's relationship. 

"This catfish was conscionable planting things successful my caput and telling maine however horrible my household was and specifically however horrible Kody was," Meri antecedently explained connected the show. "That was 1 of the reasons wherefore I didn't privation him around. I was conscionable angry. I'm conscionable aggravated astatine him. I conscionable pushed Kody away. I did. He's not the 1 I should've pushed away."

But, during the play 16 reunion peculiar successful January 2022, Meri said determination were issues successful their matrimony agelong earlier her affair, revealing, "A batch of radical similar to look astatine that arsenic the defining infinitesimal and the fracture successful excavation and Kody's relationship, and it wasn't."

Even though they stayed unneurotic aft Meri's narration with "Sam," and committed to therapy sessions, the concern caused their matrimony to "dissolve," Kody explained successful a March 2021 occurrence of Sister Wives.

"The catfish concern and fundamentally the twelvemonth earlier it, immoderate happened, it conscionable got flippin' ugly," Kody shared. "And adjacent a twelvemonth into surviving successful Flagstaff, I was inactive dealing with a batch of bitterness astir our past. In the past fewer months, I've been capable to truly fto that spell for myself. And I consciousness much affable with Meri than I person felt successful six oregon much years."

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Still, helium admitted to nary longer being funny successful Meri physically, saying, "It doesn't mean I've got immoderate romanticist inclinations wrong our marriage."

The reality TV mates yet separated, but kept the quality backstage for months until Meri confirmed her divided with Kody during the Sister Wives: One connected One special. The revelation came after Meri was shown footage of Kody saying helium doesn't see himself "married" to her, prompting the 51-year-old to constituent retired the differences betwixt their separation and however helium and Christine ended things.

"It conscionable doesn't marque consciousness to maine that helium would beryllium truthful frustrated with Christine and beryllium like, 'She conscionable made this decision. We didn't consult, we didn't talk, she conscionable made the decision.' And past helium says, 'No, I don't see myself joined to Meri,'" Meri said. "Like, helium conscionable made the decision. I've ne'er heard him accidental that to me."

Though Meri's catfishing ungraded caused a superior rift successful their relationship, Meri believed their matrimony was connected the upswing erstwhile the household moved to Arizona successful 2018. But she claimed Kody mislaid involvement successful her implicit time. 

"Even since being successful Flagstaff, helium has led maine to judge that helium was trying," she recalled. "You know, our archetypal day that we had present successful Flagstaff, it was, 'Cheers to a caller beginning!' As opposed to this past anniversary, he's like, 'I don't adjacent cognize wherefore you called me, Meri...we're not married. We're not acting arsenic married.'"

While Meri wanted to publically speech astir their separation, Kody insisted they support the accusation private, according to Meri. "He said, 'No I don't privation to code it. I don't privation that to beryllium retired determination publically due to the fact that I don't privation that judgment,'" she claimed.

Now that it is, though, she seems alternatively hopeful astir the future.

"All that I americium becoming is successful beforehand of me," she wrote successful an Instagram caption connected Nov. 9. "The aboriginal is agleam and holds the committedness of hope, the fulfillment of dreams, the excitement of creation! I americium astatine bid with me, with my past, with the experiences that person shaped who I am. I americium exhilarated for what is coming successful my future, for the things I'm creating, for the interaction I tin person connected the satellite astir me."

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And though tensions betwixt the 2 were evident on-camera arsenic they argued implicit Kody's strict COVID protocols, his contented with their sons Gabriel and Garrison continuing to socialize and Janelle making what helium called "single pistillate decisions" similar moving into an R.V. erstwhile her lease was up, the last straw had thing to bash with disinfecting message oregon tiny surviving spaces.

"He blew disconnected our past anniversary," the 53-year-old explained during the reunion special. "He conscionable didn't telephone maine oregon anything. Janelle added that they "had a large combat close earlier Christmas" successful 2021 regarding their differences erstwhile it came to his rules regarding COVID-19 and the mates didn't talk again until March oregon April. 

Ultimately, the mates couldn't marque it work, contempt Janelle's conflicting feelings astir divorce.

"Part of maine thinks, 'OK, my religion requires that you proceed to marque a matrimony work.' I profoundly judge successful my faith," Janelle explained. "I person been truthful overmuch astatine bid that I don't cognize however to reconcile that. I cognize I'm happy. I don't privation him to travel back. But my religion requires that we are joined eternally."

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"Love doesn't substance to me, respect matters to me," Kody explained. "I privation to hole it, yes. That's a full caller negotiation. We're successful a caller place."

Separate places, to beryllium specific. In the Jan. 8 installment of the reunion special, Janelle said she has moved connected from her narration with Kody, contempt being conscionable months distant from celebrating 30 years together. 

"I'm not waiting for him. I've benignant of mourned that that portion of our beingness is gone," Janelle explained. "I wasn't heartbroken. It wasn't heartbreaking for maine similar it was for Christine."

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"After much than 25 years together, Kody and I person grown isolated and I person made the hard determination to leave," she wrote connected Instagram astatine the time. "We volition proceed to beryllium a beardown beingness successful each other's lives arsenic we genitor our beauteous children and enactment our fantastic family."

In his ain statement, Kody said "Christine's determination to permission comes with a large woody of sadness." He went connected to bespeak connected their clip together.
"We enjoyed galore years unneurotic and I person a ample magnitude of respect and admiration for her," helium wrote connected Instagram. "Although we are moving guardant connected antithetic paths, we volition ever stay committed parents."

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"After helium said that, I was benignant of like, 'Oh, good past I'm done. Then it's over,'" she continued. "It was astir a relief. 'Well past I'm not going to support warring for this, and I'm not going to support trying and I'm not going to support doing this if you're not attracted to me. So everything that I've done for you, for the household means nothing.'"

Throughout play 17, Kody voiced his frustrations with his 3rd woman and what helium felt was her determination to flout his rules by traveling to spot their children successful different states. Though Christine maintained she was behaving safely by following CDC protocols, helium said helium was "turned off" by her "behavior," a remark she recovered infuriating.

"I'm not a child. I'm your wife. You don't speech to maine similar that," Christine explained. "My atrocious behavior? That's conscionable insulting. Please. I'm an adult. That's conscionable rude and belittling. No, however situation you. I was furious erstwhile helium said atrocious behavior."

As for Kody, helium claimed helium had heard "rumors" from their children that Christine was "threatening to leave," but was hesitant to code their issues because, "FOMO. Fear of missing out" helium explained to big Sukanya Krishnan. "If we truly person this conversation, however frank are we going to get? I don't privation her to leave." And, yet, helium acknowledged helium ne'er said that to her, admitting connected the peculiar helium didn't really archer Christine that helium wanted her to stay.

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And erstwhile they yet agreed to spell their abstracted ways, Christine said she remembered thinking, "Finally. Gosh. Huge weight. Finally, the extremity of the speech I was like, 'Good due to the fact that it's over. Come on. Stop warring for thing that your ego's attached to.'"

Following her 27 years with Kody, Christine precocious revealed she is done with polygamy and that she has moved to Salt Lake City, Utah.

"It was conscionable similar that," she revealed to People. "And I got to commencement implicit again and it was breathtaking and it was caller and truthful scary due to the fact that I had nary thought what to expect, but I was truthful excited. I retrieve feeling anticipation for the archetypal clip successful a agelong clip due to the fact that I conscionable got to instrumentality my beingness by my ain and go. It was wonderful."

Sister Wives airs Sundays astatine 10 p.m. EST connected TLC.