Season 18 of Sister Wives picked up ahead of the 2021 holiday season, right where season 17 left off. Christine Brown was visiting Janelle Brown in Arizona after previously splitting from Kody Brown and moving to Utah. While in town, she decided to meet up with Kody for lunch to talk about how their daughter, Truely Brown, who was 11 years old at the time, would spend the holidays. It was Kody and Christine’s first time reuniting since Christine moved away two months prior.
“I would like to have an amiable divorce and be able to talk to him about stuff,” Christine explained. “I think it’s good to keep things lighthearted and casual as much as possible.” Kody wasn’t as optimistic about how things would go, though. “I’m not feeling like I’m in a great place,” he admitted. “I kind of feel like I never want to see her again. I want to spend some time hating her.” Kody was still frustrated because he was convinced that Christine talked badly about him to several of his kids amidst the split.
After an awkward hug hello, Christine and Kody discussed holiday plans and when Truely would visit her dad. Kody asked if Christine and Truely would be testing for COVID before Truely came to his and Robyn Brown’s home for Christmas. Christine was shocked to hear that Kody was still so set on following strict COVID rules, especially since he’d just had COVID-19 himself. However, Kody pointed out that his and Robyn’s daughter, Aurora, had not gotten sick yet, so he wanted to protect her.
The conversation then turned to how sick Kody was when he was battling COVID just weeks prior. Christine chuckled as she recalled how “out of it” Kody was when he called their daughter, Gwendlyn, for her birthday. “Her description of you is what’s funny,” Christine explained, when she realized that Kody wasn’t laughing with her. “What are you gonna do? You can either laugh or cry about things. If you can’t look back with a sense of humor…what a waste.”
Kody wasn’t on the same page, though. “I’m not laughing. I’m not laughing here,” he said in a confessional. “I haven’t been laughing with her leaving. I’ve never been laughing about this thing. She asked me to stop staying at her place…wasn’t laughing then. She moved my stuff in the garage…wasn’t laughing then. She left with Truely…wasn’t laughing then.”
While filming her confessionals, Christine couldn’t have cared less about Kody’s frustrations. “I’m not married to him anymore and it’s so freaking awesome!” she declared. Meanwhile, throughout the episode, Janelle’s frustrations with Kody also continued to build. The two went on to split in the summer of 2022, and their marital issues will play out throughout this season.