Kody Brown faced a chilly reception from his ex-wives, Meri Brown and Janelle Brown, during a recent Zoom call for an upcoming episode of Sister Wives. The joint video conversation quickly descended into awkward silence as Kody attempted to make small talk.
The exchange is featured in an exclusive preview from Us Weekly for the TLC series. It shows Kody, 56, greeting Meri, 54, and Janelle, 56, with a casual "How are you?"
Both women offered only a brief "fine" in response. Kody then tried to further break the ice, asking, "What’s new? Anything exciting?"
An uncomfortable silence followed before Meri and Janelle shook their heads. This indicated nothing new had transpired since their last discussion about selling the Coyote Pass property.
The trio, along with Robyn Brown, sold their Arizona land in April after years of disputes over the agreement. Kody later pressed Meri about her bed and breakfast, noting it "looks different."
Meri remained curt in her reply. She simply stated, "It’s the same."
While Meri and Kody exchanged uneasy glances, Janelle turned her attention away from the screen. She chose not to intervene in the strained conversation.
Kody persisted in trying to engage Janelle. He asked her, "Well, how are you doing, Janelle?"
She responded with a minimal, "Good. All good." Kody then inquired if she had heard any good jokes recently.
Janelle told him, "No. I live with kids. They don’t tell very funny jokes." Kody countered that his children tell amusing jokes.
Janelle, however, did not participate further, stating, "Mine are younger." She was seemingly referring to her grandchildren, who are under ten years old.
Meri took a large sip from her straw as the awkward interaction concluded.
Reflecting on the exchange, Kody later told the cameras about his confusion. He said, "I don’t know what happened with Meri because I remember helping her move into her home in Parowan, Utah, and it was all fun and cordial."
He continued, "From then to now, it’s gotten weird. I can’t even find words to describe how weird it’s gotten."
Meri offered her own perspective in a separate confessional. She explained she had to establish "some very strict boundaries" since distancing herself from Kody and his fourth wife, Robyn, 47.
Meri stated Kody acting "so kind and trying to act like everything is normal" after making negative comments about her and her friends was unacceptable. She firmly added, "That’s not going to work."
Sister Wives debuted in 2010 with Kody married to Meri, Janelle, and Christine Brown. He was also courting Robyn at the time.
Robyn joined the plural family later that year. Kody legally divorced Meri in 2014 to marry Robyn, adopting her three children from a previous marriage.
Kody’s relationships with his first three wives began to unravel in 2021 when Christine, 53, ended their marriage. Janelle confirmed her separation from Kody in 2022.
Meri announced her own split from him in 2023. Kody remains married solely to Robyn.
The upcoming Sister Wives episode airs Sunday, November 2, at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.