Previously on Sister Wives ...
I have been in the RV full-time for a month.
I'm still hauling my water, which is a booger.
I'm struggling with my solar panels,
and I'm struggling with finding just the right generator.
I've got hot water at Robyn's house,
why am I gonna sit here and suffer with you,
with your choices?
Oh!
I felt like that Christine was more than a sister wife,
I felt like that she was a friend for a lot of years.
It just makes me think was it just all a lie?
All those years.
There's so much investment here in this family.
You don't just let that go.
I just don't want to admit
whatever we had as a family is gone.
Why are you doing this?
How are you breaking up our family?
I'm sad to be leaving Flagstaff and friends
and Dad, I'm really sad to be leaving Dad.
Bye, sweetheart, I love you.
I am sitting here going, "What has happened to us?
What has happened to my life,
what has happened to my purpose?"
'Cause I feel so distant from it.
We drove for six days.
It was absolutely perfect.
We've seen so many wonderful things across the country.
We've stopped in great cities.
I thought the road trip went very well.
I feel like the three of us get along pretty well.
Yizzie's car is the smallest car
you will ever be in your entire life.
She didn't bring any furniture, thank God.
Ysabel, get off your sister.
I know you're gonna miss her, get off!
Ahhh!
They've been cooped up in a car for hours.
Oh, my gosh,
they are so loud in hotels.
Uh, if you hurt her...
Ow, stop!
Ysabel's moving to North Carolina...
...for an adventure.
She's never wanted to live at home.
Maddie, Janelle's daughter,
lives in North Carolina with her husband, Caleb,
and their two kids, Axel and Evie.
Ysabel has just bonded with Maddie and Caleb.
She's gonna go to college about 15 minutes away
from where they live.
She's just gonna start her new life in North Carolina.
I'm really close with Axel and Evie.
I think that Maddie and Caleb
are really, really great people,
and I think I would love to live next to people
who have such a beautiful relationship.
So, I think this seven out of ten
basically means I'm gonna miss her a lot,
but she's gonna be happy there, so, it's okay.
She just has to visit a lot.
When I told Truely about the divorce,
Ysabel was the first person she talked to.
Ysabel and Truely have gotten a lot closer
'cause Ysabel's been Truely's go-to
with everything.
'Cause it's not just, like,
like a short trip kind of thing,
like, I'll be staying there for...
...I think four years tops.
Once I decided to leave,
I never hesitated on my steps
and what I needed to do.
And no matter how uncertain
and scary and intimidating
it was to make the steps,
I've never hesitated on making the steps or look back.
...But sometimes it does
feel harder than I would like it to.
I think I'm also nervous about
how I'm going to live without Mom
because I do depend on her, like, too much.
How are you feeling about moving and everything now?
Ow, no, I don't like it.
I still don't want to.
Yeah.
Both Ysabel and Truely are...
...really protective of me,
and don't really wanna tell me full-on
how they feel about things sometimes,
and then sometimes I just find out.
I'm just find out from Truely
that she still doesn't want to move.
I've grown up in Flagstaff.
I've gotten used to it by this point,
so, I'm gonna really miss it.
So, we're leaving Flagstaff,
I mean, we're moving away from her dad
and from her other moms and siblings,
but we're moving towards family as well.
'Cause in Utah, we'll be living,
I don't know, right in between Aspyn and Mykelti.
Moving's really difficult.
I'm changing everything in her life.
But I firmly believe I am moving her to better.
I think it's hard for a kid
to not be able to see a functional relationship
between their parents.
As a family, the last time that we gathered
was at my graduation,
and that was two months ago.
You're so pretty!
Ahhh!
...but Mom and Dad are also separated,
so, that would make sense
that that would be the last time
that we were family-family,
and we pro... that probably will be the last time.
I think it would be good for Truely
to move to Utah where she's able to see
Mykelti and Tony's relationship,
which is extremely healthy,
and Aspyn and Mitchell's relationship,
which is also extremely healthy.
'Cause that's what I'm excited for when moving to North Carolina.
I'm excited to see a healthy relationship
between Maddie and Caleb.
I don't know, all right, Ysabel.
Oh, it's a pajama set, did you get me pajamas?
I got you or me pajamas, I don't remember.
They're probably for you then.
So, we're in North Carolina
in Maddie and Caleb's house
in Ysabel's bedroom.
Actually kinda cute.
It actually is.
Super cute.
Maddie and Caleb going out of their way
and, like, moving around their life so I can fit in it
was the kindest thing that I think
anybody has ever done for anybody on this Earth.
Cheese ravioli,
we've got cheese ravioli, we've got...
So, Hunter lives in Baltimore right now.
He never wants us to come visit him.
He always goes, "Just go to Maddie's
and I will come meet you there."
I'm super close to Janelle's older kids.
When Janelle was working all the time,
I just helped raise them.
I've just always been close to Janelle's kids.
We've always really worked as a team.
You got a donut?
I'm so glad we did this
instead of making dinner tonight.
There's nothing that can prepare you to say goodbye,
and I'm not ready to have her go.
Absolutely.
Last year, when we came out here,
and you guys were like...
The last year, like,
I, obviously, have been very emotional.
Everything was changing, and then, like,
Mom and Dad's divorce,
so, I think the past year has been really hard emotionally,
and so she's been going through a hard time,
and I think that, well, I also have, obviously,
how everything... that she depended on me,
not that it's a bad thing,
but I think that she depended on me.
And so, I think it got quite heavy in the house
and it got very emotional.
When she was going through it,
she sought out me.
I think it's hard for a young kid
to see their mom...
...in such a sad state
because the last year was really hard.
It was really hard living at home the last year.
I don't know when we're gonna see each other.
She was so cute, I said,
"You know, I wanna come out next month and see you,"
and she goes, "No," she goes, "We have to wait."
She goes, "If you come next month,
I'm gonna go back with you
and I'm not gonna stay here."
She's like, "The thing is,
I think it's gonna make it harder
if we see each other a lot.
So, I think our best bet is Christmas."
It's good for her to be able to...
...live with herself instead of...
...living with herself and needing me,
and also for me to not need her anymore.
Hey, Mom! Put your shoes on...
It's super cool that Maddie, Janelle's daughter,
and Ysabel, my daughter,
um, are super close.
They're raised with this big huge family
and this big huge family picture,
that's what they were raised with...
...but by leaving Kody
and leaving the family and moving,
I'm really changing the dynamic...
...and when I tell you that keeps me up at night,
believe me, that keeps me up at night.
I need to tell all the wives
and Kody that I'll be moving next week.
I have no idea how they're going to respond.
I can imagine, "What a shock! What a shock!"
We never made an official agreement.
We never went to our church leaders and said,
"Hey, we're divorced" or, "We want a divorce."
You know, would they even allow us a divorce?
I was sitting their talking with Truely,
and she's like, "Well, you and Mom are divorced."
I'm like, "Okay.
That's a little bit news to me."
Usually our church would say, "You're divorced."
You have to go ask for a divorce.
You know, technically, till Christine is physical
with another man, she's not divorced.
Make sure you're showing your best side.
My best friend, Jenn,
is here with me,
and we decided that we should
film a conversation of us.
chitchatting and being stupid 'cause it's what we do best.
And, honestly, I don't do this a lot with...
...very many people.
Hold on, Christine,
I'm gonna go look at that one.
I think that one might be a better one.
I will tackle you!
I wanna see that, I wanna see it!
Run, Meri, run!
I've had those kinds of relationships
within my family before.
Oh! Oh!
Oh, my...
...but my family is kind of weird right now...
...and relationships are weird.
I don't have those kind of relationships
with people in my family right now.
So, um, this is my BFF, Jenn!
She lived in Las Vegas
when we lived there.
- And then I left Las Vegas. - She left.
Jenn basically knows everything about my life.
I mean, she basically knows
everything about my situation with Kody.
She was the one person
that I could 100% trust
during that whole catfishing situation years ago.
She really earned my trust during that time.
Jenn moved from Oregon,
was on her way to Texas...
Stopped here for the summer.
...needed a place to stay for the summer.
So, yeah, so, we decided that we would stay for the summer
and I would help on the B and B,
and the kids fell in love with it,
and, um, I kinda fell in love with it, too.
So, at this point, I've been driving back and forth a lot
between Flagstaff and Parowan.
My mom passed away a few months ago,
and I've been like,
"I don't know what to do with this place."
Like, her coming and staying
and managing the inn for me,
it's really gonna take a lot off of my plate.
I will probably be actually...
...still traveling back and forth quite a bit
just because I want to be around her.
And she's really nice to the guests, too.
Most of 'em, yeah.
I do know Jenn.
Yeah, she's just very, very loyal to Meri.
I don't know if she's giving her good advice or not...
...'cause I don't know.
I'm sure that it's very helpful
for Meri to have a close friend outside the family.
Meri's relationship with the family is a strained one.
There's a whole history of struggle,
you know, from the very beginnings,
and so she needs a relationship
outside of their sister wives for sure.
So, if you know Fridays With Friends,
you're totally gonna appreciate
Sundays with Sister Wives.
She is not my sister.
She needs to remain my BFF.
Wait, does that mean you can't be a sister wife
- and BFF? - And be a BFF?
Sorry, Robyn!
It's not what I meant.
You know, the sister wife relationship
is pretty complicated.
You have to work really hard at it
for it to be a good one.
You know, they're fewer, but there are a few
that kinda seem like they're best buddies,
they're best friends,
and it, it's always this thing
that the rest of us look at like,
"Oh, I want that" kind of a thing.
We've been sister wives.
We have, we've been sister wives through...
...thick and thin.
Yep, through the thick and thin.
So, after Kody and Janelle got married,
Kody's dad married Janelle's mom.
They tell stories about
how it was kinda difficult and hard at first,
but through the years they figured their stuff out.
That's the ultimate goal.
If you're not in a decent sister wife relationship...
...then, you know, hopefully, you can kinda work through whatever
and then when you're older kind of a thing.
Like, literally, when Mom died,
she dropped everything and she's like, "'Kay, I'll be there."
Like, no question, she just came.
I was there to be there for her,
so that she could focus what she needed to focus on
and I could handle whatever needed to be handled.
And she did.
She...
...took some days off from her job...
you know, she had her husband take care of the kids,
she just left, like,
she got on a plane and she came down.
It didn't matter that there was COVID.
It didn't matter that I was, like,
hundreds of miles away
from Northern Oregon to Utah.
It did not matter.
I mattered.
And it feels good to matter to somebody.
But no, yeah, so, we just haven't seen each other a lot,
so this, I like.
For multiple reasons.
- It works for me. - It works for me.
- Good. - Parowan's fun.
- I like it. - It works.
Yeah.
So, Christine has let us all know
that she wants to get together
and have a little chat with us.
So, I'm gonna be heading back down to Flagstaff.
So I can get in on that little family discussion.
We're under contract. You ready?
So, everything that I have been working towards
is, like, happening now.
Yeah, I can't imagine how scary this is gonna be
because it's not just like leaving
this part of your life, but, you know,
- Janelle and Robyn and... - I know.
I just hope they don't hate me.
I got an offer on my house.
Kody knows.
I haven't told my sister wives yet.
I wanna tell them in person.
So, let's start...
...moving into Gwen's room.
I sold my bedroom set,
like, a month ago,
and it was just...
...too much.
Too much baggage, too many hard memories
in my room with him,
and I just needed to let it go.
So, I sold my bedroom furniture set,
and then I slept on the couch for two weeks
until we moved Ysabel,
and now that Ysabel's gone, I'm just gonna move
her bed into Gwen's old room and sleep there instead.
So, we're gonna primarily just stay on this level.
I wanna have the house available
for people to come look at,
so, I want the upstairs to just stay clean as can be.
Put it against this wall.
Put your hands up here.
...and we're gonna help bring it down.
Truely's mind's wrapped around moving
and everything that she needs to do to move.
...and move it back into place.
Right here, obviously.
Is she still sad we're moving?
Yeah.
But she also knows there's really
nothing she can do about it except...
...accept it.
And we're going to do, so, she has the best...
...outlook she can have.
She's just chosen to...
...accept it and be okay with it,
but that's all.
She's just okay with it.
Wait, you struggle with sheets?
- Yeah. - Putting on sheets?
Putting on sheets.
You don't...
'Kay, ten-year-old.
- Hey! I'm 11! - This...
Okay, put your finger here,
and you take it to the edge...
Did you forget my age?
Mother!
I don't know how Kody feels.
'Kay.
He can live his own life
and I'm not gonna question him on his choices.
So, he doesn't have the right to question me on mine.
Yeah, you look like you're struggling!
Yes, I'm taking Truely,
and that's really the only thing he has a say in.
But I'll bring her back, he can also come visit her.
Every time I come into town,
he can have her come over and spend time with him,
but I don't know.
We haven't seen him since we got back.
He hasn't been over since we got back.
We've been back for three days.
So, I don't know and I don't care.
He hasn't seen Truely for...
...two-and-a-half weeks, we moved Gwendlyn without him,
all of it, and I'm like, "Dude...
...life is passing you by, and we're leaving."
I don't wanna go over to Christine's house,
but I don't have a place for Truely.
I don't, my bedrooms are full,
we gotta make some kind of arrangement.
It's doesn't have anything to do
with me not wanting to see Truely.
It's really more about just struggling
to be around Christine.
My real estate agent is coming over.
We have some very, very, very, very exciting things to talk about.
Very.
Terri is a real estate agent in Flagstaff,
and she's actually a friend of Janelle's.
- Hi! - Hey, cutie.
How are you?
- How are you? - I'm great.
- Good, thank you for coming out. - Well...
Yes, what?
We're under contract. You ready?
Yes.
Time to start packing.
Earlier this week, I told, um, all the adults
I needed to talk to them,
and I was going to tell them
that, you know, my house is on the market now,
but it's actually under contract,
and I will be moving next week.
And it's going to be...
...a hard conversation.
It's hard to leave, this place is so beautiful.
- Your area is gorgeous. - Yeah.
This home is beautiful and the area's gorgeous,
- but it's scenery versus family... - I know.
...and the older I get, the more important family is.
That's all it is.
So, I mean, I wanna move to Utah.
Mykelti's been looking for a place
for Truely and I to move to.
So, everything that I have been working towards
is, like, happening now.
Like, now, now, now, now!
Yeah, I can't imagine how scary this is gonna be
because it's not just like leaving
this part of your life.
- But, you know, Janelle and Robyn and... - I know.
I mean, you just have a lot.
I know, it was a hard decision.
It was... Yeah! It's complicated.
- It's not just... you know. - No.
- No, there's no cut and dry, like there's just none. - Uh-uh.
I've been raising my kids with these people
for the rest of their lives, you know?
And I'm super, super close to Janelle and her kids.
So it's not... it's not a clean break.
You can't have a clean break when you have kids anyway.
I have kids, these kids have four moms.
And then all the other kids have four moms, too.
It's just messy.
It's just gonna keep being messy for awhile.
So that's the important thing, is remaining friends.
But, of course, everything's different.
And it is scary, it's unknown.
And so it's scary and exciting and intimidating and...
...so soon.
I've been married for 20... gosh.
What, 27 years?
I mean, I was 21 when we got married.
I'm 49.
I'm starting over again.
All I know is that...
...I'm moving forward and I'm moving to something better.
I do know I'm moving towards something better.
And that's enough, most of the time.
Thanks so...
- Thank you! - Mmm.
It's been super awesome.
I hope that...
I hope that Meri, Robyn, and Janelle
can understand why.
Maybe not even understand, that's probably asking way too much.
But maybe just listen.
I am leaving in a week. And...
...I just hope they don't hate me.
Kody, Meri, Janelle, and Robyn are all coming over,
'cause I need to tell them that my house is now under contract.
I'm angry about Christine leaving the family.
Usually our church would say you're divorced.
You have to go ask for a divorce.
Yeah, yeah.
Congratulations, you're leaving the family.
Like, I don't know what I'm supposed to say to this.
Kody, Meri, Janelle, and Robyn are all coming over
'cause I need to tell them that my house is now under contract.
I've told Kody, so he knows already.
Um, no one else knows.
Look, this conversation is not gonna be easy.
It's not only that my house is under contract,
it's that I'm leaving.
This is a pulling-the-rug out-from-under-them kind of a thing.
Christine has asked us all to come over.
She has something she wants to say to us.
And I have my suspicions.
I, I know that people have been coming through to see the house.
I, I think that it means she finally has a buyer, but I don't know.
I'm really in my head.
I'm stressed out, I don't know...
...what's gonna hit us right now.
Hello!
I still have a lot of emotions
about this whole situation.
Um, I feel angry.
And I feel a little betrayed,
and I feel like I understand where she's coming from.
And I also know that anger is a secondary emotion.
I'm, I'm hurt.
You know, I'm hurt that she doesn't see value
enough in our family.
I'm angry about Christine leaving the family.
I'm angry that she's moving to Utah.
I'm angry that she's trying to sell the house.
I'm angry that she moved my stuff out.
I'm angry that she, uh, asked me to leave.
I'm angry about a lotta things.
Um, so you guys can tell by the yard sign outside,
that I've put the house on the market.
And it is now on contract.
- Yay, that's good! - I accepted the offer.
- It's... It's a good offer. - I was a little worried about...
- Yeah. -'Cause the market it... it slows down in the fall.
Why is Janelle saying "Yay"?
I don't... I don't get her thinking.
So I started looking for a house in Utah immediately.
Found a house.
And I am moving next week.
I don't know, it felt like...
...like I just got pushed out of an airplane.
And I wasn't ready.
I know it's all fast, it all happened yesterday.
We've been looking for about three days.
It's one of those things where I'm just, like,
I... there's nothing I can do here. You know?
I'm not gonna express my undying love for her. "Please come back",
because I don't even like her right now.
Like, there's really nothing for me to say.
What am I supposed to say,
"Congratulations, you're leaving the family"?
Congratulations, you're leaving the family.
Like, I don't know what I'm supposed to say to this.
I don't feel...
...jealous of Christine, that she's leaving, and I can't,
because I can, I can do whatever I want.
My strength is sticking around,
and seeing if Kody would be willing
to work on a relationship.
So I leave that door open...
...but I'm not pining away for it.
How is Truely thinking? I mean, like...
When she first found out, she was
really frustrated that we were moving.
Really upset that we were moving, and then...
She was more upset about moving
than about Christine and I being divorced.
When Christine first told Truely we weren't getting divorced,
Truely was very upset.
Whatever happened,
she felt different about it by the time I talked to her about it.
What did Christine do that made Truely go,
"Oh, this divorce is okay."
Like what kid is okay with their parents getting a divorce?
After I told Truely that we were divorced,
I called Kody immediately.
And I said, "You might wanna come over and talk to her."
Truely actually talked mostly
to Ysabel and Aspyn
about me getting divorced.
She really didn't talk to me that much about it for the rest of the day,
until Kody talked to her.
I was sitting there talking with Truely
and she's like, "Well, you and mom are divorced."
I'm like, "Okay."
I didn't realize...
...it was a little bit news to me.
- How is it news to you? - That we're just divorced?
Oh.
We never made an official agreement.
We never signed a paper. We never agreed.
We never went to our church leaders
and said, "Hey, we're divorced", or, "we want a divorce".
You know, would they even allow us a divorce?
All of a sudden it just sank into me
that she's just, like, "Ah, I'm leaving, so we're divorced."
Usually our church would say you're divorced,
you have to go ask for a divorce.
Yeah, yeah.
You have to get paperwork, you have to get approval.
You have to prove that marriage is broken.
Christine just saying "I'm divorced" is sort of...
...invalidating...
...our beliefs.
We're spiritually married to Kody by our church.
If we want a divorce...
...um, then we have to go get their approval.
Usually they require counseling.
Usually they require lots and lots of meetings.
You know, technically from my understanding,
until Christine is physical with another man, she's not divorced.
But I don't... I mean, I don't know.
You know, as far as I know...
...it's just that your divorce has to be recognized.
But Christine has left the faith.
So she says it'll be between her and God, and I'm like, okay,
'cause the rules don't apply to her anymore if she's not in the faith.
I was 19 when my mom left my dad and left the plural family.
She, um, got a legal divorce,
'cause she was legally married to my dad.
And then she just left our church.
So, since I don't have any legal contract
that binds me with Kody,
there was no legal process that we've had to go through.
Neither of us are part of that religion anymore.
So me just saying, "I'm divorced"...
...I don't see the problem in that at all.
So this is a little different.
- I guess, because... - Yeah.
You don't consider yourself to be a part of that church anymore.
- No, I do not. - Okay.
Well, the closure that she's saying that she gets is that she just decides.
And he just kind of goes along with it.
So, I...
I don't know.
Like, Kody and I are in this situation.
We're not legally married.
I want to work on the relationship,
but Kody has basically said that he doesn't.
Does that mean that we're just not married anymore?
That's not how I consider it.
I feel like we're still married.
I don't really consider myself married to Meri.
I just, if she wanted to...
If she wanted to move on and marry another,
she wouldn't get an argument with me.
I don't believe that we can ever be functional.
And I don't believe that I will ever
be emotionally safe with her.
The difference between me and Christine, and me and Meri,
is that Meri and I have been unravelling our relationship for years.
Christine found out that she would never be happy married to me,
but her leaving was so sudden...
...that I...
...it was unraveled for me.
It... It was like I was being kicked to the curb.
And... And that was the difference.
It was like, "Wait a second, you can't do this to me!"
I guess in some ways I'm just sorry we dragged it out so long.
- I'm not. - Really?
I feel like everything you guys did proved...
...whatever, that you really did put everything into it that you could.
And I think it was really important,
'cause the biggest thing that we have all produced
is this cohesive group of kids.
They're not cohesive!
Mariah is not fitting in well with the family.
Paedon is not fitting in well with the family.
Dayton, Aurora, Breanna, they don't fit in well
with the rest of the family.
Three of Janelle's kids are close to three of Christine's.
And that's really it.
I think there's a lot of potential,
that they will be through their whole lives.
I think those years were valuable,
to have those kids be home, and have a nuclear family.
So Kody is a little bit myopic.
He sees everything from this perspective of Robyn and her kids.
And they have this really weird perception
that her kids have been so slighted.
You know, I... I don't know why.
I don't know why.
'Cause I see the kids interact at holidays, everything seems fine.
So I'm not quite sure why they perceive that there's this
shunning or something, it's really weird.
Robyn, me, and my children,
are all connecting constantly.
It's a, It's a, It's an energy of connection, perpetually.
With Janelle and Christine,
I'm only getting feedback from them about what's going on with the kids.
The kids themselves are not bringing this to me.
It's much more nuanced than just to say, "Kody favors Robyn".
That's not even a cool statement.
It's that she communicates, and her children communicate.
They involve me.
When you first told us, I kept thinking, "What about the kids?"
But I have hope that...
...in time, like, we'll all eventually learn how to...
...cohesively coparent.
Like, be together, possibly, even for holidays. I don't know.
Do you know what I mean? I actually had a really good chance
this summer to love on Avalon a little bit.
She's so cute.
And I'm like, "Okay. I can, I can see this. I can see this."
Yeah, I can see being grandma to all of these babies, still.
Regardless, if they're my biological grandkids.
To me, they're still my grandbabies.
I really don't know what life is gonna bring.
Because we're not functioning as a family anymore,
we haven't for a really, really long time.
It's not just Kody and Christine's relationship
that has been an issue.
Like, there's a lot of fractures,
and if people, you know, aren't gonna work on it,
then, like, this is...
this is the way of our family.
We've been 12 years public,
trying to convince the world that we have something legitimate.
It feels like it delegitimizes everything I've worked for.
I couldn't, with a clear conscience,
...stay married to someone who had favorites
and made it very known.
God.
I...
I cannot figure out why I'm so angry.
You've been in this place for a very, very long time,
and I'm just gradually getting clued in.
I actually had to find out
from Madison, that you had been saying...
...that you were thinking about leaving.
Madison's my daughter with Janelle.
And, you know, because I'd heard this rumor mill going on,
I asked her, I questioned her.
And she told me,
"Yeah, Christine's been thinkin' about leaving for a long time."
Okay, what you need to know is when you hear things through the grapevine,
there's a whole other conversation that you don't get.
When you hear things through the grapevine,
you should maybe address the source.
'Cause they asked me,
"Why are you staying? Why don't you just leave?"
They asked me.
Christine has been talking about leaving me for longer
than I have known, much longer.
COVID may have changed things, but I was always here,
I was always involved.
Why would my children be trying to talk her into leaving me,
unless she was telling them...
...that she was in a loveless marriage?
- That and I-- - Who said to you "Why are you"--
It doesn't matter.
It does matter!
Okay, well I don't want to throw them under the bus.
But they asked me, "Why stay? Why stay?"
No, but we're talking about the, the--
Kody, I don't know if it matters.
Kody, your kids. Like, several of your kids. Is that what you want to hear?
Several of your kids.
Why are they asking? Why were they asking that?
They asked. They saw how things were in our family.
They saw how separate we've been in Flagstaff.
But that's... that's the family group,
that's the culture, not the individual relationships.
They also saw that Kody and I have been struggling for a long... for a long time.
The kids were like, "It looked like in Vegas
that you and Dad weren't really close anymore."
- And-- - In Vegas?
- Uh huh. - 'Kay. That's a lie.
Okay, well...
Hmm.
'Cause I remember the conversations.
I remember what was going on.
I remember Janelle and Kody...
...making their relationship better than it ever had been.
I remember him talking with you.
I remember you guys having fun dates,
and hearing about them, and seeing your guys' relationship.
So either you guys were faking it in front of me...
I don't know.
You know, I don't know exactly why she's saying that I'm lying.
Kody and I did struggle in Vegas.
And my kids did see it.
And, you know, she's sitting here saying
that everybody's relationships were struggling in Las Vegas,
and we didn't have what we had.
And that Kody and I were the only ones that were okay.
You know, that's not true.
So, you can't say that this is just, like,
it was all a big fat lie.
Let's just be honest about where it was at,
and that it wasn't just Kody and I.
I'm pretty sure Robyn maybe misunderstood something that Christine said.
It sounded to me, like,
she was quoting questions that she had been asked.
And I think Robyn took it that it was just about
her and Kody.
We were trying to make it work in Vegas.
We were really trying.
I've, I've been aware that there has been problems for a long time.
- For a long time. - Well, I had no idea.
I did not know.
Do you know what? This is the weirdest interchange,
'cause I've seen that Christine and Kody
have been in a really bad spot for a long time.
But it almost feels, like, they're trying to invalidate Christine.
Just tell her that she's being crazy and that she's doing this on a whim.
And it's the weirdest thing to me to watch this.
And then we've had so many...
...more realistic conversations that happened last year between Kody and I.
But you guys don't talk though,
you guys don't communicate.
You guys don't... You guys don't communicate very well at all, though.
So I don't even see how that could be even...
...legitimate.
- We've communicated better the last six months. -'Cause there's no, like...
- Really? - Don't you think so?
- No, not at all. - Oh.
Uh, "Please stop staying here.
Your stuff is out. I'm leaving. We're breaking up."
It's all been in her court, she has just had control over everything over that.
It's made her feel powerful, so she feels that she's communicating.
I think we tried, it's not that we didn't try.
Well, that fine, okay. Whatever, that's your guys' relationship.
But don't lump all the other relationships in with it.
I'm not trying to, I don't understand why you think I'm trying to.
'Cause you're saying the only people,
that the only relationship that was going okay
- was, was mine and Kody's, and that's not true. - I never said that.
You did say that.
You said in Vegas, the only people that were close
was, was, was us.
- I didn't say that. - Then what did you say?
I don't know.
But I did not say that the only relationship in Vegas that was good was you guys.
- Okay, well that's what I heard. - I didn't say that.
- That's why I'm getting frustrated. - That's why you
- were saying about Janelle and I having-- - Oh, oh.
No, I know at least a little, I don't know everything, of course.
But I know what the relationship was between you and Meri.
I know that you and Kody were in such a good place in Vegas.
Yeah, I don't really like being pulled into this,
and using my relationship as an example
as ammunition against Christine.
And I'm like, "Whoa, whoa,"
and I'm sitting here wanting to say something, but I don't know what to say.
Okay, and I'm sorry if that was ever...
- Okay. - I never meant that in Vegas.
Kody and I were struggling in Vegas.
I must've gotten confused, 'cause...
...I do not know how I got that out of what she said.
We've been 12 years public,
11 years public, trying to convince the world
that we have something legitimate.
We've worked so hard.
Begging the public, to accept our...
...marriage, our family.
And in a moment, she decides we're divorced
and it feels like it delegitimizes
everything I've worked for, for so long.
When I chose to leave Kody,
I knew I would be open, publicly, about it.
And this was a decision that I was making
that other people would know.
And it wasn't a private decision.
And one of the things that I was concerned about
was would I be considered a fraud?
Would I be considered a liar?
I know without a doubt, I have tried,
for years, to make this work.
I have a clear conscience, knowing that
I gave it my best.
If people wanna look at me and think otherwise...
...okay.
Like, I can't do anything about that.
Being a mom is my most important thing.
But I couldn't, with a clear conscience,
stay married to someone who...
...had favorites, and made it very known.
And someone who was breaking my kids' hearts.
I needed to stand with them instead.
And I wanted to do it...
...for them.
God.
Next time on Sister Wives...
I have seen her non-acceptance of Robyn
and disdain for me through the years.
She's treated you like dirt from the very beginning.
That's the reason I'm pissed off.
It's kind of that last little bit of hope sort of dying.
Man, just a knife in the kidneys,
over all these years!
And the sacrifices that I made to love you!
Wasted!
I'm glad he said it.
I'm tired.
I'm tired. It's over.