Kody Brown began his three-party "apology tour" to make amends with his ex-wives in the Dec. 7 episode of "Sister Wives."
In the Nov. 30 episode of the TLC series, the father of 18 pitched the idea to his sole remaining wife, Robyn Brown, and said he'd like to visit Janelle, Christine and Meri Brown to apologize for how he handled their breakups.
Kody Brown traveled to North Carolina in the Dec. 7 episode to speak with Janelle Brown, who confirmed their separation in December 2022.
Ahead of their meeting, Kody Brown said he was aware that he might be met with "rejection" and had no desire to "fight" with any of his exes anymore. Meanwhile, Janelle Brown said she was curious to know why her ex-husband wanted to meet.
After some awkward small talk, Kody Brown got right to the point and said he had a list of things he wanted to apologize for.
"I want to apologize for just being so angry and so bitter over the family breakup. Nobody deserved to have me be that angry," he said.
Janelle Brown appreciated the gesture and said, "I kept thinking, I don’t know who this guy is."
Kody Brown explained that his anger came from "attachment" and admitted that he regrets saying he never loved Janelle Brown.
"That wasn’t true. That was a lie from the perspective of pain," he said.
"I knew that you loved me. I did. I know that we had a great relationship and I didn't understand," she replied.
"So I've been a b------ for about three years about this whole breakup. Four years. There’s some mistakes I made in plural marriage specifically," he said.
Kody Brown then owned up to not prioritizing his relationship with Janelle Brown.
"I wish I would have seen the need for you and I to protect our special place. If I would have understood that, I think it would have been a lot safer for you. I feel like I put you in harm’s way and then didn’t step up to protect you," he said.
Janelle Brown was touched by her ex-husband's words and attempted to encourage him, saying, "There was no book or anyone advising us."
However, Kody Brown wanted to take full responsibility and said he wasn't "man enough" or "strong enough" to help her feel safe in their plural marriage.
In a confessional interview, Janelle Brown did say there were times in their marriage where she wished he had stood up for her, especially in the early years.
Back in her meeting with Kody Brown, Janelle Brown said she went into their plural marriage being "idealistic." However, he said he had a responsibility to protect her.
While meeting with his ex-wife, Kody Brown explained why he decided to meet with her first.
"I feel like we’ve needed an olive branch, the entire family, and Janelle, you get the high honor of being the person I felt the safest with to start offering that olive branch," he said.
"I’m grateful for what we had. I really am," she replied.
In a confessional interview, Janelle Brown said she believes she and Kody Brown “still do care for each other” since they spent so many years together. Still, that doesn’t mean there’s hope for a future reconciliation.
"I’m grateful for the experience and I’m grateful he came. It’s been healing to hear some of those things," she said.
However, she did express hope that he will mend the fractured relationships he has with their children.
In his own confessional interview, Kody Brown expressed his gratitude for Janelle Brown's "gracious" behavior during their get together.
"I felt like she made it easy to do this apology. This is a pilgrimage, and I have planned it for so long, and I’ve needed this for four years," he said.
