[Kody] Previously on Sister Wives...
[Christine] Mykelti is pregnant with twins.
And so we have to have a party to celebrate that.
Hello!
Hey, Tony.
Mykelti's like, "Dad and Robyn are here."
Your stuff.
Oh, thank you. Thank you.
Well, I haven't seen Christine in months.
Hi. [chuckles]
I kept my distance and did not...
greet Christine,
because she told me she didn't want a relationship,
and I don't want to push myself on her.
Is your marriage with Kody over?
[Janelle] I feel like I'm on trial,
like I'm being cross-examined.
It's really complicated because there's no legal marriage.
He's not talking to me about it.
So, I think I'm going to have to lawyer up.
Kody and I are officially done.
- [softly] Oh, jeez! - [Meri chuckles]
I'm upset that I was neglected and abandoned.
I wonder if Robyn will leave him?
[Meri] You know, I know who I am.
I'm confident in who I am.
And he's going to wake up one day
and be like, "Wow...
What the hell did I just do?"
He's going to be accountable for that.
Whether he likes it or not.
[theme music playing]
[pleasant music playing]
Are you going to come to Oma?
Babies.
Oh, hi, Archer.
[Tony] Babe, I made you food.
Hello, Ace.
- Thank you. - Oh, my gosh.
Hi, boys.
Your Oma missed you so much.
I missed you. I didn't see you all day.
Mykelti just barely had the twins.
Like, Ace and Archer
are so cute, so delightful.
But they're really newborn,
like, she had to have them
Cesarean section in the hospital.
She left pregnant,
and less than an hour later
she came back with twins.
It was amazing.
How was your first night home?
- It was good, It was nice. - You know that's...
that's like a record.
You had your Cesarean.
I don't think it's a record.
Yes, it is. You had your...
You were in the hospital for one night.
Ace and Archer are fraternal twins.
You can definitely tell who is who.
So, last night I was definitely hurting a lot.
Worst night of sleep
of my entire, entire life honestly. My stomach,
just because everything's loose in there
would kind of move over and slide
so it would pull the scar.
So, no matter how I slept,
it hurt so bad.
But then I'd also have to get up
and then sit up
so that I could hold the baby
and try to nurse one of the boys
and Robyn helped me
through all of it.
Um, what did we do?
Oh, we put a mattress pad down
in our closet,
Robyn slept in the closet.
[Christine] Seriously?
And she had both boys with her.
And then, when they would, wake up
and be hungry,
she brought the boys to me,
helped me, like, sit up and stuff,
and then I'd feed one of the boys
and then give the boy back to, uh,
to Robyn and she'd go back to bed.
So, I know that some people will think,
"Well, why are you sleeping
in the closet? That's weird."
But then it's just like,
well, it's really close.
It's convenient, their closet is huge.
You know, just...
I could be close.
She didn't get any sleep.
She's sleeping right now.
She doesn't even... and she wouldn't want it.
Guaranteed Robyn didn't sleep at all.
There's no way.
But she got to hold the babies.
That's the most important part.
[Mykelti] Ysabel.
[Christine chuckling]
[chuckles softly] I'll trade you places.
- Going behind you. - [chuckling]
Hello.
[Ysabel speaking]
I'm really grateful that, you know,
Robyn could be there
and she really was helpful.
It sounds, like, especially, with those...
those first few hours.
I can remember when Logan was born,
Christine was brand new in the family.
She and Kody had just married a few months ahead.
And I remember Christine keeping Logan for me one night.
And that was
the most awesome thing,
'cause, like, I could sleep.
And so, having somebody do that
while you are at home
in your own bed, resting,
is huge.
Look, I will say
when it comes to the kids,
we really hope that we can all
co-parent together peacefully.
So, baby slept good.
How was Avalon with them?
She like kind of put one of the boys
in her arms for a second,
and then she started crying.
[gasps] Wait. What?
Tony had a kid
- and I had a kid. - [gasps]
She, like, realized that we're not holding her.
I don't know, it was sad.
That's one of the saddest things
I've ever heard.
- Yeah, that was rough. - [Mykelti] Yeah.
Our whole world revolved around Avalon.
And she knew it.
And in one day everything changed.
And everything became hard.
I'm sorry, you guys.
I'm so sorry.
She looked at her mom,
then she looked at her dad,
and she realized her whole world
was going to change.
It's so sad.
We're going to need to spend
some extra time with Avalon,
for sure.
Oh, you got Maria here.
How long is Robyn going to stay?
She wants to be home for Thanksgiving.
So, no matter what,
I think she'll leave Wednesday.
Thanksgiving is less than a week.
So, I'm going to be making Thanksgiving dinner.
'Cause it's Mykelti's year to host.
I'm going to cook a little bit,
hold the baby, cook a little bit, hold the baby.
So, this year has little to do about the food.
What is cool is, so Jessie,
one of the labor and delivery nurses,
she was the one that kind of took care of...
She was one of the nurses
that took care of Archer when he came out.
Um, they both had their own team...
Hey, Robyn.
- [Christine] Hey. - Hey.
I hear you slept in the closet
with the babies all night?
That not even your life, right?
[Christine] Nice.
[Mykelti] Did you sleep well?
Did you have a good nap?
Yeah.
- Good. - Yeah.
My desire and intention
has always been to have
a good relationship with Christine.
That's what I'm putting forward.
Maybe this is kind of laying a foundation
for future interaction, you know.
So that it's positive.
[Mykelti] So, time wise,
they're probably not too hungry.
It's more like--
- [Christine] Yay! - [Mykelti] Yeah.
- So, they're... - [Christine chuckles]
[Christine] Oh, I bet.
[Mykelti] Uh, partially,
They really don't necessarily need the food right now.
- [Christine] That's amazing. - Yep.
That's amazing.
[Robyn] It'll help.
So, you think they're gonna keep taking them?
- Maybe? - Mmm-hmm. Yeah.
Yeah, you know, it's a little bit awkward
that Robyn's here, of course.
You know, we're not on...
the best of terms, huh.
I wish I didn't feel awkward.
That's just... It's just stupid.
This is the last...
It's not even about me at all.
[Christine] Yes.
Like the kids were, like, super unsettled.
She's like, "They need to poop."
And so she comes over here,
and opens one up...
- [Christine] He did? - [Tony] Yeah.
[Christine] Yes, yes.
[Tony] It was so funny.
Good.
He would just like, poop in another diaper, like,
okay, we'll wait, and that...
So, I went through, like, three diapers
because he just kept pooping and pooping.
[Christine chuckles]
- Nice. - I kept thinking he was done.
[Mykelti] I know that the dynamic
between my mom and Robyn is really difficult.
This new transition that my family is going through,
it's, it's hard.
But I think that it just stands up
for the incredible character of both of my moms.
That they are able to work with each other
for somebody that needs them.
[Christine] When Robyn came in the family
and it was obvious her and Mykelti had a great relationship.
It was everything that I hoped for.
When I was so excited
about having a plural family,
I was hoping that my kids would have
a great relationship with other moms.
It's great that Mykelti has
a great relation with Robyn.
It's what I've always wanted
for my kids to have.
But, like, you take...
just taking the kids out of the bassinet
and just keeping them with you
helped so much.
'Cause I was like, "Okay, I don't have to worry.
I don't have to do anything.
Robyn's got the kids
I'm going to pass out."
And I solid passed out.
[Robyn] Yeah, Christine was great.
We just co-grandparented,
and that's kind of always what I've wanted.
I understand, and I have to respect
that she doesn't want it the same way,
and I know that she was
probably just making sure that...
she was supportive to Tony and Mykelti,
which I appreciate and so it worked out.
It was fine. It was great.
I just had to leave...
the twins and Avalon
and Tony and Mykelti
and I just don't want to go.
I have had the most beautiful experience
with those babies.
The family is in a weird place,
as I guess you would expect from a divorce.
The struggles that we have had have been...
so foreign...
from what our family was.
It's been such a sweet experience,
being a part of all of this
and being there...
at the hospital, and helping
taking care of the babies,
and getting to bond with them.
and... [chuckles]
I just really love being a grandma.
[chuckles]
I... I'm having a very difficult time
connecting with all of my kids.
And, of course, twins being born
is going to give us all something special.
Something...
maybe, maybe that heals, helps to...
you know, move things forward.
I don't know if it would heal anything
between me and ex-wives,
but I'm gonna have to go see
those babies.
I gotta see those grandkids, you know.
So I'm gonna be excited to go see them.
And this is going to give us more opportunity
to open the doors with...
my children.
Ah, I don't know. I don't know.
I'm gonna go home
and not see them every day.
I'm having a hard time
even thinking about it.
[clicks tongue]
It's just been such a sweet, sweet experience.
So, you want some dark meat, right?
Robyn and I don't behave like a married couple
when my other wives are around.
So, we weren't acting like a married couple
with Meri in our presence.
[Meri] I've heard Kody say multiple times
how awkward it is
'cause he can't show the affection
to Robyn that he wants.
I just really don't want to go
be a third wheel
at Robyn and Kody's house.
[indistinct conversations]
Okay? All right. So...
I guess we'll worry about you later.
This is the first Thanksgiving
that Robyn and I are having
with just our children, alone.
We have never had this before.
Ooh, there's another nice piece.
[Meri] So, I had had kind of tentative plans
to take a trip to California
over Thanksgiving,
and that fell through.
Yeah, Robyn did reach out and ask
if I wanted to go over there for Thanksgiving,
and... I'm not going to do that.
That's just weird.
Oh, my God!
[Kody] Last year, Meri was here with our Thanksgiving,
and it was a pleasant experience.
But Robyn and I don't behave like
a married couple when...
my other wives are around.
So...
we weren't acting like a married couple
with Meri in our presence.
That's mostly on Robyn, to be fair,
that's because Robyn is very sensitive to other people.
She wants to be very careful about their feelings.
So when Meri's there with us
at our Thanksgiving,
I'm not close with Meri,
And now, I'm no longer close with Robyn
because Meri is present.
And Robyn wants to be sensitive to Meri.
That's it. That's nice.
[Meri] I've heard Kody say multiple times
how awkward it is
that I'm even there
'cause he can't show the affection
and the adoration to Robyn that he wants to.
And I'm not going to inhibit that.
You know, I'm not...
a member of the family.
I just really don't want
to go be a third wheel
at Robyn and Kody's house.
[indistinct conversation]
[Christine] What's wrong? What?
What this year, this Thanksgiving, this year is about
and what we're most grateful for,
is those babies being healthy.
And we're just grateful for...
that they have this little family now,
and everybody's doing great.
Let's get the bowls up there and put on the table.
Ysabel's here, Aspyn and Mitch.
And then we have Tony's family.
Tony's mom, Maria,
dad, Antonio and then some
of his siblings are here as well.
[indistinct conversation]
[Christine] So Gwendlyn came into town
with her girlfriend, Bea.
Uh, Gwendlyn and Bea together are adorable.
They are a cute couple. They're really cute.
If they wanted to get married,
I'd be fine with it, just saying.
I'd be fine.
[Janelle] So, this year, Logan and Michelle
are hosting Thanksgiving
in Las Vegas, at their house,
they just bought a house.
We're gonna be there.
It's gonna be very fun.
Oh, okay.
With the garlic cloves,
do you want to smack...
I want to smash them
and put them in there.
[Janelle] Paedon is Christine's
biological son.
And he always says to me,
"Well, you're my other mom."
[Christine] So, I only had one boy,
just Paedon.
And he escaped
living a house full of women,
all the time.
Rub outer...
Like he is my kid,
but he's not my biological child.
But it doesn't seem any different.
He just fits right in
with all my boys.
It just feels like he belongs there.
[Christine] He was always over
at Janelle's house,
He's definitely benefited
from me living polygamy,
'cause he has so many brothers now
and he loves it.
Him doing Thanksgiving
with Janelle is just awesome.
[Kody] You want some of the drumstick?
[kid 1] I'll have the drumstick.
[kid 2] Drumstick.
I want a drink, but I don't know about that.
[Robyn] I love my children,
and we're having a nice time.
But I miss the family.
I miss the big experience.
Hey, listen, very exciting
to have all, you here for Thanksgiving.
This is a very nice layout.888
Thank you, ladies, for this setup.
All the food that's been cooked, it's very nice.
[Janelle] Thanksgiving was always such
a big deal,
when we were all together as a family.
We'd have 50 people over.
Like, we never had Thanksgiving that was small.
We originally started out with the vision888888
of having one family,88888
and we worked very hard.
Even when Robyn came,888
we tried very, very hard to...8
still have that one family identity.888
I never imagined that we would not ever spend
Thanksgiving together.
But I'm really enjoying
this smaller Thanksgiving,
and I'm with people
I want to be with.
It's actually fun.
I'm enjoying it.
Are you good?
[Kody] I'm really struggling
in many ways that it still feels
like something's missing.
This is small.
There's just the seven of us.
It's quiet.
It feels safe.
By safe, I simply mean
that we are all
in a state of respect with each other.
Ten years ago, I was safe for everybody,
but they weren't safe for each other.
It shows me in so many ways the dysfunction
of just the basics
in plural marriage.
[Janelle] I've heard that Meri is not going88
to be spending Thanksgiving
with Kody and Robyn,
which kind of surprised me,
And I wondered who she was
gonna be spending it with.
I hope somebody.
I think Meri deserves a lot more,
and I think it's time for her
to do something different.
I've thought that for a while,
and she still is around.
[Meri] I don't really plan on telling anybody
about mine and Kody's decision.
I don't feel like it's necessary
for me to go make a big...
announcement about it.
I'm actually staying in town.
It's just gonna be an easy day
of just...
getting caught up on work.
Logic says that when
a man and a woman decide they are
not going to be married any longer,
they also, therefore,
don't spend Thanksgiving together.
[chuckles]
[Christine] See, right there?
That's what Thanksgiving's about.
It's just these babies laying on Tony
and sleeping, finally.
I mean, come on,
[Mykelti] The kids are a week old today,
- [gasps] - Congratulations, baby.
Happy week birthday.
[Kody] I want my other children in my life.
I don't know how to do that.
I believe I'm grateful for the faith
and hope that I have,
that things get better in the future.
[Robyn sighs]
So, yeah, I miss...
I miss everyone.
And I wish we were together.
So, yeah.
It's a trigger point for me.
I'm tired of being angry.
I just don't understand
why you're not like...
Ugh, like...
just talking to the kids
as much as you can, like,
I just don't know why you're not
reaching out to them more.
I'm having a hard time,
not like, feeling like
[grunts] losing respect for you
a little bit.
[Meri coughs]
So, it is Tuesday,
the week after Thanksgiving,
and I spent Thanksgiving here, in my bed...
[breathing heavily] sick.
Meri had told us she wasn't gonna
do Thanksgiving with us.
She was gonna do it with her children.
Like, I found out later
that she was at home sick.
I just was like, "Oh, my gosh,
she's right here."
After my conversation,
with...
Kody in April,
I had already kind of made
the... decision
that I wasn't going to spend Thanksgiving
with Kody and Robyn.
I mean, I don't know,
exactly, what's going on...
with Meri and Kody's relationship.
Like, I heard that they were separated.
And... I don't know where she's living.
I really have no idea.
I don't really talk to Meri.
So, I'm not sure.
I think, I think that me being sick, honestly,
is just my body's way of saying,
"Hey, it's time you stop,
and you think about this
and you figure it out."
So...
[melancholy music playing]
Earlier, this morning, Robyn and I
got into a conversation
after we got the kids to school.
Robyn is extremely upset
that I'm not reaching out more to my children.
I was putting pressure
on Kody
to work on his relationships
with his kids,
and it triggered him
and it upset him.
[Kody] Well, this all just came to a head.
Our voices are starting to raise.
I'm not gonna sit here
and fight with you
and have a rift in our relationship,
caused by these people,
who have created the biggest rift in my life.
I'm not...
I'm not doing that, okay?
So, I just decided
I needed to take off.
[Robyn] So Kody's, uh, coming home.
He let me know he's on his way.
I have to talk to him more about this.
I have to have it sink in.
It's just something that is just
eating at me.
I'm so worried about these kids.
- [Robyn] Hey. - Hi.
How you doing?
[Kody] Good.
Come back.
Mmm... maybe we can finish the conversation.
Are you feeling a little better?
Well, I'm a little emotional.
- Well, I mean-- - I was just thinking
about what you're saying, so...
Do you mind if we talk about it?
Are you in a place where we can talk
about it more?
Yeah, I... It's a trigger point for me.
You know...
I'm tired of being angry.
I know. I'm tired of it, too.
- It's hard. - I. I...
I'm tired of feeling betrayed.
What has happened is in the divorce,
in the divorces,
the ugly finger of blame has come out.
"Dad, you were never at my house."
I'm sorry. I had four wives.
I was at your house, though, because...
the other wife was complaining that I was at your house.
I just don't understand why you're not like...
like just talking to the kids as much as you can, like...
I just don't know why you're not reaching out to them more.
This has been going on for so long.
- They're trash talking. - No. They're hurting.
Robyn. You saw how they were at the wedding.
I recently went to a family wedding. The whole family was there.
There was so much animosity from some of my family.
There's a couple of my kids who wouldn't even engage me at the wedding.
Some of them wouldn't even talk to me.
- But some of the kids have flat out rejected me. - I know.
You saw Madison take her kids and scuttled them away from me.
- Yeah, I saw her. - She never told me she was pregnant.
She never told me she was gonna have a baby.
The only thing that kids are upset with him
is the way he has treated his family,
the way he has completely, like, ditched out.
And really, Maddy doesn't have any contact with him.
She is very protective of her children.
Kody has not been there since Evie was born,
and Evie's three and a half, and she didn't want him to just drop in
and be like, "Oh, I'm your grandpa,"
and then be like, "What? Who is this guy?"
You know what I mean?
[Kody] It's unrealistic expectation for grandparents
to be in their grandchildren's lives all the time,
especially if you move your children to an entirely different coast.
I have work and a life in Flagstaff.
They're purposefully leaving me out of their lives
to punish me for a crime I did not commit.
I am only guilty of not falling madly in love with their mothers.
- Well-- - Madison actually called Janelle
saying, "Dad said he didn't love you."
I know. But couldn't you, like, reach out to her?
Every time I talk to her, she spreads gossip about me to the rest of the family.
I never said that I didn't love Janelle.
On the contrary, I actually said that I loved Janelle.
This was some rumor that was created in the family.
That's just so division.
Our family was killed by gossip.
Kody has this narrative about Madison, where she's such the gossip,
but he is as big of a gossip.
He'd always say that Meri was difficult, or Christine was or whatever,
like, he would always say things like that to me about Meri and Christine.
He never said it about Robyn, but he would say stuff about Meri and Christine.
What they've done is they've got...
There's all this contempt that they have for me. Listen, I need--
I'm just having such a hard time with this.
Well, I will work, I will reach out to,
I will love those children who will allow me to do it.
And in time, maybe the rest of them will come back around.
You know... You know...
You know that my biological father did not...
- I know and-- - ...do what he was supposed to
as far as a dad is concerned.
Yeah, but I've not been doing that.
When I was little, my parents got a divorce.
He lived with one wife in another city, and then my mom lived alone.
I remember confronting my biological father, saying, "What happened? Why?"
All he really did was just make a bunch of lame excuses
as to why he wasn't there for me when I was young.
And it just sucked.
To Kody, I'm like, "Hey, listen. You don't want to be this guy.
I know you're hurting, but you don't want to be this guy."
But don't you... I'm just struggling--
- I text one of my kids... - I'm starting--
...and they send back notes saying, "You're a piece of trash.
I would never speak to you again anyway."
I'm not trying to do anything...
- Well, if you sit there long enough... - ...but have a relationship.
...and like--
I'm not going to do it with the rejection every single time,
I'm not abandoning my children.
They have betrayed me. Inadvertently, maybe.
But they're kids and they're trying to--
No. They're adults.
- They're your kids, though. - I know.
- They're still young. - But they have animosity.
I do not want to talk to a person who sits there with so much contempt.
They need you.
They can have me.
They just don't need to treat me like crap to get me.
They are purposefully leaving me out of their lives
to punish me for a crime I did not commit.
Experience with COVID. One, two, three divorces.
The breakup of the family, the different directions, all the secrecy.
All this upheaval, all this damage, all this tearing us apart.
I don't know how we fix it or when we fix it or whether we fix it.
It's like, "We want to sit down with you, Dad,
and blame you for everything that happened."
There's no respect.
I'm having a hard time, not like feeling like...
losing respect for you a little bit.
- Just, I'm trying to be careful, maybe honest, but-- - Well, join the club.
Robyn, did I...
Do you know of something I did wrong
besides, not falling madly in love with their mothers.
Every... Okay. I'm sorry, but there's two sides to all of it.
Okay? I know that you weren't perfect in those marriages.
- They weren't either. Okay, I'm not, but I'm not-- - Well then, fine.
- But let's go from there. - [Robyn] But I don't think anyone--
But every one of those kids who has shut me out
- is blaming me for what happened, or you... - Or--
- ...which is a bunch of crap. - That's just misguided.
I don't need to sit down with them and have to defend you.
Usually after I have a date, I don't like, you know,
say anything or anything like that.
But I just had a date with this guy, David.
His pictures were beautiful. It was him with these eyes.
We've already planned our second date.
I'm just telling you that straight up.
They need you in their life.
They can have me.
All they have to do is pick up the phone and call.
You want to ask the question, "What did I do to deserve this?
What did I do wrong?"
[Christine] Okay.
Okay.
Usually, after I have a date, I don't, like, you know,
say anything or anything like that.
But I just had a date with this guy, David.
We've been talking for, like, a month.
I signed up for a dating website that is for people with kids.
It's crazy. I was so excited.
The first time that I got on, I met David.
His pictures were beautiful. It was him with these eyes.
Pictures do not do him justice.
His eyes were beautiful and I told him. Oh, my gosh.
We're walking into the restaurant and I go,
"I just have to tell you, I think your eyes are beautiful."
Just like that.
And so we met up at a breakfast place and we sat down at a table.
And he was like, "This is kind of far away.
Let's get closer to each other."
I'm like, "Okay."
So we scooted our chairs closer to each other and talked.
We just started talking about everything.
Anyway, oh! It went so great.
[Janelle] At this point, I'm still just not interested in dating.
I was married to Kody for 30 years,
and Kody is a complicated person.
And there's a lot of like what Robyn used to call the roller coaster ride,
and I don't want to do that anymore.
I just want to be me and do me and, like, pursue my own...
pursue my own things.
You know, at this point,
I can go to bed when I want, I can get up when I want,
I can I do what I want, I can travel where I want.
Oh, I love it. It's just fun.
It's easy and it's fun and it's exciting
because I can do what I want to do.
But anyway, we just have this date and he's a man.
He's not a guy. He's not a dude. He's a man.
He has eight kids.
So he goes, "How many kids do you have?" And I'm like, "Six."
And it killed me to just tell him I had six kids only.
We've already planned our second date.
I'm just telling you that straight up
He's everything I've been looking for, I'm just saying.
I'm putting it on the line on the second date.
But if I can't say who I am, I live polygamy,
that's part of, like, a really big part of me,
and Janelle's kids and my kids all together.
I claim Janelle's kids as my kids,
and I'm going to do things with Janelle for the rest of my life,
and he probably needs to know that.
I'm just saying.
[Robyn] I don't want to judge Kody, but at the same time,
I feel like you just have to let your kids know you're there.
If I were him, I would be calling, emailing, texting,
maybe showing up flying out there, you know, whatever.
Every one of those kids who has shut me out
is blaming me for what happened.
- Or you. - Or--
So what I do? Just say, "Okay. You can call Robyn whatever you want."
No, you can say they can talk to me.
I would love to work it out with each of them,
any of them that have an issue.
Where this hate for Robyn came from, I don't know.
But it's like if I can't protect her from it,
I'm just not going to engage it.
She never did anything to you.
What are you complaining about?
I just loved her. And I didn't love your mother.
Okay, so there's the guilt. The guilt lies there.
I'm just having a hard time with this, and I don't want to pile on.
I know you're going through a lot.
I know that you're going through a lot.
I see you struggling.
I see you angry...
and I'm dealing with my own grief about it.
It's just... I... Okay.
I need to get this because I just--
Robyn, I'll make the effort.
Okay, so I've spent a year here just lamenting the situation.
When I get over that, those children who are open to me will get my attention.
Well, don't you think you could do a little bit of communication?
- At the wedding-- - Just to let them know it's open?
- I tried connect with Madison. - Have you been trying to communicate with them?
Gabriel? Yes, I have.
- Any of the other kids? - Hunter.
But I'm received with total contempt.
I'm sitting here with a broken heart
over these people who have shut me out.
That aren't talking to me.
You want to ask the question, "What did I do to deserve this?"
Like, what did I do wrong?
Divorce is hard on kids.
- Yeah, but it's a total betrayal. - Separation is hard.
It's not about the divorce. I'm not even talking about their mothers.
I know, but they just... They're getting caught in it.
They're getting fed information that is not true or is one-sided.
Well, they can be mad at their mothers ten years from now,
when they want a relationship.
They need you in their life.
They can have me.
All they have to do is pick up the phone and call.
All they have to do is answer when I call
without having total contempt for me,
This argument, this disparity in relationship with my children
is specifically in my mind because of [bleep] talk.
There's this whirlwind of disappointment
from the family breaking up or whatever.
And it's like, "Well, blame Dad. Dad screwed up."
Right. I did screw up. I gave up.
I gave up on love because it wasn't enough love,
and I'm pretty sure they're going to say,
"That's Dad's fault," and, well, you can blame me, and I'm fine.
Just don't bring contempt to our conversation.
I am so angry that when somebody opens up to me,
I'm likely to lash out. I can't...
Robyn, I can't even get it straight with you right now.
This takes some time.
I've got to get over what has happened and how I've been treated.
You need to figure it out because it's hard on us.
I... Listen, when the time is right, I'll finally feel forgiving.
I think. I hope.
But it doesn't take anything for me to just get forgiving
- and then to not even have one of these-- - Not even like just,
like getting on your knees and asking God for help or...
Well, yeah.
I'm pretty desperate.
- 'Cause I know-- - It takes more than just that.
It's going to take a change of heart with me.
It's all so complicated that I can't make sense of it.
When I go to God, there's still a wall for me.
Well, I've completely lost my religion, which is sad.
[girl] We're sisters.
[Kody] Sisters from the same mister.
She's a sister from the same mister,
and he's a brother from another mother.
I feel like Kody was a very present dad in a lot of ways.
To truth be told, that was what made me fall in love with Kody.
Seeing him be present with his kids.
Does everybody remember Robyn?
Yes.
- Do you guys like Robyn? - Yeah.
Well, Robyn likes us.
But he's so hurt by some of the children's rejection and anger
because he's just like, "Wait a minute, I was there for you.
"Why is that your rejection of me is so drastic it doesn't fit
what has happened?"
Do you know anybody who's gone through three divorces?
- In-- - No.
- The fact that you're-- - Like really kind of almost one or two years.
No. Like... Kody, I know--
I'm not looking for your pity.
- I'm looking for understanding. - I'm not--
No, I'm... I am.
- I am. - But you're losing respect for me.
'Cause it's just...
Is that from your own experience with your father?
I mean, like, I have not betrayed these kids.
I just know how much I needed my dad.
My biological father, still, like my whole life, was very absent.
Did not fight for the relationship, did not, um...
care to have one.
Still doesn't really care to have one.
I'll see him now and then. He'll tell me how much he loves me.
But he's very absent.
The kids who are mad at me get together
and they're all colluding...
Not all, but they're colluding against me.
- Okay. - It's a betrayal.
- Had days where I want to talk about it. - Listen, they're hurting.
They... Their whole family is in pieces
and they don't know how it's going to turn out.
That's got to be hard for them.
Don't you see that?
Oh, I see that and I can be forgiving of it completely, Robyn.
It's tough in separations and divorces.
People drag their kids into it.
- It's hard. It's complicated. - Robyn--
- The kids get very mixed up in their heads. - What do you want me to do?
I've reached out to him.
I don't want to judge Kody, but at the same time, I feel like...
and I don't think Kody should be accepting it.
I think that Kody should be camping out on their doorsteps and saying,
"Hey, you're going to talk to me."
Because sometimes, that's just what you got to do
is, you know, when you care about someone,
is just say, "Hey, you need to talk to me."
Kody, honey, yes, your kids need you.
They need you in their life.
Kody, honey, yes, your kids need you.
They need you in their life.
I know they're angry right now, but I need you.
Can I just have some time then?
Can you give me enough space with this
without losing respect for me?
- Yeah. Yeah, I will. Yeah. - Let's just understand.
It boggles my mind that I am being punished for a crime I never committed.
Well, they don't understand that.
- They think I did something? - Yes.
What would they think I did? I didn't love their mother?
Anything that they've been told. Okay?
There was a lot of misunderstandings through COVID.
Some of them thought that you wanted to be here instead of with them,
and that's why you made the rules, which is ridiculous.
During COVID, there's two huge mistakes I probably made.
I wanted the boys to move out because they couldn't comply to the COVID rules.
That just became sort of a foolish power game.
And one of those mistakes was also not going to Ysabel's surgery.
And that put some bad blood between a bunch of us.
It's... In plural marriage, it's tough.
It can get confusing for wives and kids
when it comes to the husband and the father.
And they can think someone is more important or someone is more loved or...
And I know you love all your kids.
With plural marriage, It's very difficult
for a dad to get one on one time with kids.
He has to be really present.
But then, at the same time, it's still difficult
just because of math, just because time.
It's very natural for kids to kind of become closer to their mother.
Just last week while I was skiing, I was up there.
It was nice and sunny.
- And I texted Gabriel. - Yeah.
And I just thought, I just... I... So I reached out to him.
Nothing yet.
Keep trying. Okay? I'm glad to hear you are trying.
I don't try enough. I know that.
That's because it's not safe to go there and I'm triggering like crazy.
I know what you're going through.
I don't want to trigger while I'm in a conversation with them.
I am so angry about what has happened that if I talk to my kids,
I'm worried that they'll trigger me with an accusation.
Really, I'll be honest with you. I don't have the bandwidth...
yet to go to God in gratitude and try and fill my love tank with the spirit of God.
I'm just bitter right now.
- Okay? I'm not gonna argue. - I'm too hot-headed right now, Robyn.
- All I'll do is more damage. - Okay. I just want to know you're trying.
- Okay? - Okay.
Because this needs... These relationships do need to get mended.
You know what, Robyn? We have had such a struggle with this.
I'd almost rather just take some time
to get in a better place with you and me,
because I've been in this place for a very, very long time
and it's hurt us more than it's hurt them.
Thank you for saying that. I appreciate that. That's good to hear.
Well, I'm mad as hell, and I'm not meaning for it to come out on you.
My heart is broken when I'm sitting here
with the person that I love the most in the world.
And my heart's still broken. What do I do with that?
And my heart's broken, too.
You react with this very special and sweet emotion that you have.
I am angry.
I'm angry out of my mind.
The kids are...
They are always the collateral damage when this happens.
But I'm not trying to damage them.
No, but just... Just keep trying.
That's all I'm asking. Okay?
I've had one of my kids just said, "You're an ass [bleep].
I'm never talking to you again.
You manipulated me and you brainwashed me."
Some people think that parental-child relationships shouldn't,
don't have to be reciprocal,
but when they're adults, yeah, they do.
I'm not gonna reach out forever.
I'm willing to make the effort.
But somebody else is going to have to be on the other end of that
and make some effort too.
I'm not going to camp out on somebody's doorstep.
I really need the space to do...
I'm not fixing this today, tomorrow or next week.
- Okay. - And with the kids who are reaching out to me
and who are listening to me--
Just promise me you'll keep trying at least a little bit
until you're ready. Promise me.
Okay. A little bit.
Just enough, a little bit to let him know that you still care.
- Please? - Okay.
They need you and you need them.
Thanks for coming down and talking to me
before I went back in the house.
I didn't want to go back to where we were.
[Robyn] I know those kids need their dad.
They need him.
They need him to try harder.
It's his role. He's a dad.
I don't think he realizes how important that is.
He just doesn't grasp how important a dad is to a child.
Mmm.
[Christine reading]
Okay, so... Ahhh! David and I have gone out twice now.
God, he's just solid and he's real.
I really like him a lot. Just saying. Oh!
I think that Robyn definitely has a victim complex.
There's a lot of anger towards Robyn.
You know what I mean? They're leery of Robyn.
But I'm not hopeful for a relationship with Dad and Robyn.
For me, now, my prayer was just like, "Save me and Robyn.
Save our marriage, save us, Save the special
after this horrible experience of breaking up."
[sobbing]