Over the years, one of the biggest stories on Sister Wives has been about the tension between Robyn Brown's children and the rest of the Brown family. 45-year-old Robyn was the fourth wife of 55-year-old polygamist patriarch Kody Brown. By the time she ed the Brown family in 2010, Kody was already married to Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, and Christine Brown, and had 12 children. In 2010, Robyn and her three children from her first marriage were added to the Brown family. Kody and Robyn then went on to have two of their own children.

When the Brown family was done growing, Kody had four wives and 18 children, but the good times didn't last. By the time Sister Wives season 19 premiered in 2024, it was after Kody's first three wives had walked away from the plural family, leaving Kody and Robyn in an unintentionally monogamous marriage. With the Brown family so divided, Robyn feels that her children have been left behind by their other siblings. Read on to learn more about how Robyn's children felt snubbed by the other Browns and why one of Kody's older children, Madison Brush, recently apologized to them.

Kody's Children Struggled To Accept Robyn's Kids

They Didn't Grow Up Together

When the Browns made their television debut, Kody, his wives, and all his children lived under one roof. Each wife raised her children in a wing of the large multifamily home, and Kody went back and forth between each wife. This meant the Brown children grew up together, and Robyn's children never experienced that closeness. Soon after they came around, the Browns left Utah and moved into multiple homes. Kody, his four wives, and 18 children would never live under the same roof again.

Once the Browns were living in separate homes, it was the beginning of the end for the once-happy family. There was also a lot of resentment towards Kody because his children felt like he was spending more time with Robyn and her children. The family was already deeply divided when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and made things worse. Kody and Robyn were more cautious than the rest of the family, so they eventually stopped seeing Kody's older children. It got so bad that Kody wasn't speaking to his son, 25-year-old Garrison Brown, when he died in 2024.

COVID ultimately triggered Kody's third wife, Christine, to walk away. She'd been unhappy, but once Kody and Robyn refused to see his other wives, Christine realized she'd be better off leaving. They'd been married for 27 years and had six children together. Kody's second wife, Janelle, left him a year later after 29 years of marriage and six children. Kody's first wife, Meri, was the last to walk away. She left in 2022 after 32 years of marriage and one child.

Kody Adopted Robyn's Children

He Gave Them His Name But They Never Felt Accepted

When Robyn married Kody in 2010, her three children from her first marriage were all under ten years old. In 2014, Kody divorced Meri Brown, his first wife, so he could legally marry Robyn and adopt her children. Dayton, Aurora, and Breanna eventually changed their last names from Jesop to Brown. Though they were embraced by their new family, Robyn's kids didn't have the same experience in the Brown family as their other siblings.

During a recent Sister Wives season 19 episode, Kody revealed that he got together with Christine's children in Utah.

Since then, Meri has talked about the fact that she always expected the divorce to be temporary. The Sister Wives season 19 star had assumed that, once the adoptions were official, Kody would divorce Robyn and remarry Meri. Instead, Kody stayed married to Robyn. As for the allegations of neglect hurled by his older children, Kody has always insisted that it's only right for him to spend more time with his younger children. Suffice it to say, many of his older children disagreed.

After years of estrangement, Kody finally reached out to some of his older children. During a recent Sister Wives season 19 episode, Kody revealed that he got together with Christine's children in Utah. Other than his daughter, Mykelti Brown, Kody hasn't stayed in touch with his other children. Kody said two of his sons "from another mother" were there. This could mean Janelle's sons, Logan Brown, Hunter Brown, or Gabriel Brown. After losing with many of his older children for so long, it's great that Kody is finally starting to make amends.

Why Madison Apologized To Robyn's Children

"I Have Nothing Against You"

Kody has feuded with many of his family over the years, including his daughter, 29-year-old Madison Brown. Madison, who goes by Maddie, was born in 1995, and, when she made her television debut in 2010, she was only 15 years old. The Sister Wives season 19 co-star basically became an adult on television, and it couldn't have been easy, because her family was falling apart.

"And if I’ve ever done anything to hurt you, I'm sorry."

Like the rest of her adult siblings, Maddie didn't always have the best relationship with Robyn and her children. During a recent episode of Sister Wives season 19, the mother of three said that she was sad for Robyn's children. She went on to say that if she sat down with Dayton, Aurora and Breanna, she'd apologize to them directly. "I'd be like, 'I have nothing against you. And if I’ve ever done anything to hurt you, I'm sorry.'" It's sadly ironic that this didn't happen until long after the family had fallen apart.

Sister Wives season 19 airs on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on TLC.