Kody and Robyn Brown have garnered criticism for their demanding COVID guidelines in Sister Wives season 16, but fans have noted that the pair of polygamists have broken their own protocol on several occasions. Meri, Janelle, and Christine all agree that their large family's safety needs to be a priority during the devastating coronavirus pandemic, but the trio of Kody's first wives are at odds with the patriarch's impossible protocol. From Kody keeping his shoes on in Janelle's house to the couple hiring a nanny, these are all of the times Sister Wives fans caught Kody and Robyn breaking their COVID-19 rules.
The Brown family has endured plenty of obstacles throughout their decade starring on reality television, but the coronavirus pandemic has proven to be one of the polygamous clan's most harrowing tests so far. Unfortunately, COVID has highlighted just how fractured Kody's relationship is with each of his wives. Meri has been quarantining on her own for months, demonstrating the emotional distance between herself and Kody. Janelle is frustrated by the lack of time Kody's allotted for spending time with her, and it's during the pandemic that Christine finally found the initiative to leave her husband of almost 30 years. On top of falling out of touch with Kody, the wives have also turned on Robyn.
In the latest Sister Wives episode, Kody shared the list of rules his four wives must follow throughout the pandemic. Kody's commands include requests some fans find to be peculiar like cleaning mail with alcohol wipes, taking shoes off outside, and changing clothes after going to the store. When Meri, Janelle, and Christine have tried to reason with Kody and Robyn, who they assume played a part in the curation of the list, they are met with aggression. Sister Wives fans have recalled, however, that Kody and Robyn pick and choose when they want to stick to their rules. For example, when Christine needed Kody to sign documents for their daughter's spine surgery, the patriarch lashed out at Christine for getting too close to him. Robyn contradicted the family's distance rule when she hugged Meri in an attempt to appease her fellow sister wives' frustration with her.
Sister Wives fans have speculated that some of Kody and Robyn's rules are baseless and are in place to give the patriarch an excuse to spend more time with Robyn. When the pair contradict their rules, like when Robyn hugged Meri, viewers' suspicions that Kody and his favorite wife are making up their guidelines are justified. A Reddit user explained that, when entering Janelle's house, "[Kody] walks in, doesn’t take his shoes off, doesn’t change his clothes, and just sits down in a recliner, without showering." Kody and Robyn asserted that they've been following their protocol for months, but clearly, Kody hasn't stuck to his rules in his sister wives' homes. Fans have also called the polygamist pair hypocritical for hiring a secret nanny during the pandemic. A viewer asked, "If they are [not] seeing family during covid, why is a nanny coming in and out?"
Meri, Janelle, and Christine find the COVID guidelines presented in Sister Wives nearly impossible to follow, and based on their actions, even Kody and Robyn can't adhere to their rules. From hugging Meri to ease the tension to hiring a nanny, Kody and Robyn have breached their intimidating list of demands. While they might be able to avoid catching COVID, Kody and Robyn won't be able to evade the criticism of Sister Wives fans.
Sources: Perfect-Item-230/Reddit, Watchingsinceday1/Reddit