Another Sister Wives star is moving on (well, technically away), putting more distance between Kody Brown and his children.
Mykelti Brown and her husband, Tony Padron, are gearing up for a big move from Utah to North Carolina later this month. This transition marks another significant shift for the Brown Family, as they continue to leave their Southwest roots behind and settle in the Tar Heel State.
Notably, Mykelti’s sister, Maddie Brush, has already established herself in North Carolina, and it seems their mother, Janelle Brown, has also recently relocated east, as shared by Tony.
Why Mykelti Brown Is Moving Away
In a recent live session on her YouTube channel, Mykelti opened up about the reasons behind their decision to move. She explained that the move is a strategic step to distance their family from past conflicts and to focus on their own lives and future plans.
“It’s a way to distance ourselves from the drama,” Mykelti said. “And really just figure out our own lives and our own things that we want to do with our kids.”
While Mykelti has been one of the few Brown children who maintains a relationship with her father, Kody Brown, and his wife, Robyn, she has also been supportive of her mother Christine’s decision to leave Kody years ago.
In her YouTube update, Mykelti explained that part of their reason for moving was to provide Christine with a stable base during her separation from Kody.
“Some of the reasons we chose to move to Lehi, too, was kind of to make it easier for my mom to separate [from Kody], to leave, to have a home base, to have kids close by to have a support system,” she shared. “And now she’s got all of that. She’s got her support system; she’s got the love of her life. She has people, she’s good. She doesn’t need me to hold her hand.”
Mykelti also expressed a desire for independence and the chance to create their own path away from family expectations. “And I’ve never really wanted to live super-close to family,” she admitted. “I’ve always wanted to be able to do my own thing and be independent and run my life how I like it, and kind of how I want to.”
Kody Is Becoming More Estranged From His Kids
In the episode “How the Mighty Have Fallen,” the father of 18 revealed that one of his children had cut him off for good.
Kody and his wife, Robyn, had a heart-to-heart outside their Flagstaff home. They discussed his broken relationship with most of his adult children. Robyn urged Kody to continue trying to make amends with them by not giving up on calling and texting.
However, according to Kody’s version of events, he has tried to mend his relationships with his kids, but most of them aren’t willing to reciprocate the effort. In fact, one of his children has cut him off completely.
One of Kody Brown’s 18 children will never speak to him again
During a confessional, Kody shared, “I’ve had one of my kids just [say], ‘You’re an a**hole. I’m never talking to you again. You manipulated me, and you brainwashed me.”
The 55-year-old former polygamist didn’t reveal which child he was referring to. We know that his relationships with Garrison and Gabriel were the most talked about in recent seasons.
Kody’s strict pandemic rules caused contention among his family, especially Garrison and Gabriel, who refused to abide by them. Things got so intense that Kody even suggested that Janelle kick Garrison out of her house.
Admittedly, Kody told Sister Wives viewers during a previous season’s Tell All that he and his boys needed therapy.
At the time, Kody revealed that he was not on speaking terms with Garrison or Gabriel. It’s unclear whether they were ever able to mend their father-son relationships.
We do know, however, that Kody regrets not taking advantage of the time he had with Garrison before his passing.
Six months after Garrison’s untimely death earlier this year, Kody told PEOPLE that his and Garrison’s relationship “certainly could have been better.”
“We could have been talking more. I’d get texts, stuff like that, and we could have, retrospectively, we could have done so much more,” Kody admitted.
Kody isn’t willing to reach out to his kids forever
In Sunday night’s episode, Kody also revealed that his and Janelle’s daughter, Madison, didn’t even tell him she was pregnant with her daughter, Joey. But in Kody’s eyes, he shouldn’t be the only one trying to reconcile with his kids.
As he confessed, “Some people think that parental-child relationships don’t have to be reciprocal, but when they’re adults, yeah, they do.”
Kody said he would not continue to reach out to his kids forever. Although he said he would make the effort, he expects his kids to do the same.
He said, “I’m not going to camp out on somebody’s doorstep.”
