The COVID-19 pandemic forced many of us to change up our lifestyles to keep ourselves and our loved ones as safe as possible. Getting masked up and social distancing were two common safety measures used to slow the spread. For Kody Brown of “Sister Wives,” the latter preventative measure was a tad bit too much for him to handle, especially because it dictated that he keep his distance from one of his families. But with Janelle making the rules for who was and wasn’t allowed in her home during the height of COVID, Kody was forced to deal with her decisions regarding safety management.
Kody and Janelle have since split up, but before their breakup, Kody’s visits to his former wife’s home were more frequent. So he was not pleased (that’s putting it lightly) when Janelle announced the decision without asking for his input. “I just don’t quite understand everything that’s going on in this family,” a disgruntled Kody said in a solo interview during the popular TLC show. “I don’t know why she’s just calling me and telling me that this is the way that it’s going to be.”
Janelle cites her youngest sons as the reasons for the strict rule
The drama all took place in the Season 15 Episode 5 of “Sister Wives”, aptly titled “Polygamists in a Pandemic.” To keep both Kody and her immediate household safe, Janelle Brown made a huge decision: Kody needed to “stay away” from her house until the pandemic was well under control.
“My household presents a risk,” she said during the episode. Janelle shares six children with Kody: Logan, Madison, Hunter, Garrison, Gabriel, and Savannah. It was her two youngest sons, Garrison and Gabriel, that Janelle was concerned could be at risk of contracting COVID-19. “I’ve been watching the news and they’re starting to talk about everybody staying home, but I have Garrison, who works with construction crews and stuff here in town,” she explained. She also expressed concern over Gabriel, who she said “is being careful associating with his friends.” She was not willing to put Kody in harm’s way if either Garrison or Gabriel fell ill, so she decided to go ahead and enact the rule that barred Kody from their home.
Kody felt he was left out of the decision
Kody was less than understanding about Janelle’s decision, and he had no problem sharing how he felt about the situation. “I wish you could have had a camera on me,” Kody said with an incredulous expression. “You’re making these choices and you’re telling the kids to continue what’s normal in their lives, and I’m supposed to pay for that?”
Janelle broke the news to him during a tearful phone call on the show. “This is nobody’s fault; it’s just circumstance. And I’m trying to be really brave and really smart and really logical, because I don’t know what that’s like to not see you for that long,” Janelle told him.
Janelle was clearly emotional when speaking about how devastated she was to have made the decision, and she wanted Kody to acknowledge what she called a sacrifice. She told Kody that he owed her, which he scoffed at. Later, during a personal interview, she clarified what she meant when she told Kody he owes her. “I’m implying he owes me some sort of tropical vacation,” she said with a laugh.
