Kody Brown is the leader of the extensive Brown family in Sister Wives, but fans think the patriarch tends to be too authoritative. Kody's polygamous clan might not be the most conventional, but the reality star's established that he has traditional values like the husband having the most say in the family's decisions. From his strict COVID-19 protocol to kicking his kids out of their mothers' homes, these are all of the times that Sister Wives fans think Kody's words and actions were too controlling.
Kody has taken it upon himself to be the loudest voice in the Brown family's decision-making, even if his actions in Sister Wives season 16 exhibit just how much his plural marriage is suffering from his questionable choices. Throughout the polygamous crew's decade run on reality television, fans have witnessed Kody's hot-headed ideas result in turmoil for one or more of his sister wives. Kody might be trying to keep his high-maintenance family above water with his slew of executive decisions, but viewers think the patriarch simply enjoys having power over his unruly household.
On top of making all of the decisions for the family, Kody has also conveyed his domineering disposition in his relationships with his wives and children. Some fans think Kody has become too involved in his relatives' lives and pressures them to make choices that benefit his agenda instead of supporting his wives and children's autonomy. From holding off on allowing his daughter to get a medical procedure to withholding his love for his first three spouses, Kody's controlling behavior in Sister Wives has made him an unpopular polygamist.
4. Kody's Withholding Habit
One way Sister Wives fans believe Kody guarantees his control over his sister wives is by being withholding. Ever since his fourth wife, Robyn, joined the polygamous clan in 2010, Kody has neglected his spiritual marriages with his first trio of wives, Meri, Janelle, and Christine. Fans think Kody retains his love from his first wives so they are compelled to fight harder for it. This is especially evident in Kody's relationship with Meri, who he has shown the least commitment despite the pair having the most history together. Kody's confessed to regretting marrying Meri and asserted that he will keep her in the friendzone. While this would turn most romantic partners away, by withholding his love for Meri, Kody has effectively controlled his original sister wife. In season 16, Meri is among the most dedicated to Kody thanks to him setting all of their boundaries.
3. Kody Threatens To Kick Out His Kids
During the turbulent COVID-19 pandemic, Kody has made many questionable decisions. Some of Kody's wives have argued that his strict guidelines have done more harm than good as the Brown clan has spent most of the past year apart. On top of relegating himself to a single-marriage life with Robyn and her kids, Kody's oppressive pandemic rules made it difficult for the reality star's children to stay on the polygamist patriarch's property. Specifically, when Janelle's sons, Gabe and Garrison, weren't believed to be following all of Kody's demands, he suggested his sister wife kick them out of her home. Janelle didn't believe it was right to evict her sons from her home during a pandemic because they didn't meet all of Kody's requirements. Fans found this to be another example of Kody being overly authoritative to intimidate his sons and control his wives.
2. Ysabel's Spine Surgery
Kody and Christine's daughter, Ysabel, has endured a battle with scoliosis during her past few seasons in Sister Wives. The young Brown heir shared that her curved spine caused her immense pain, which stressed Christine as she sought a way to cure her daughter's ailment. Although Ysabel's doctor suggested spine surgery, Kody was inexplicably averse to his daughter undergoing the vital operation. Fans found Kody's reasons for wanting to put off Ysabel's surgery controlling and strange as he cited that he didn't want his daughter's appearance to be tainted with surgical scars. Viewers found this complaint bizarre and overbearing because it prioritized Ysabel's looks over her health. Fans think Kody was too involved in Ysabel's treatment plan and ended up only making her road to recovery more arduous than it had to be.
In an effort to follow Kody's strict no-surgery approach to Ysabel's scoliosis, Christine found several alternatives to mend her daughter's curved spine. Christine signed Ysabel up for a camp that specialized in treating scoliosis patients and had also put Ysabel in a back brace to prevent her spine from bending further. Regrettably, none of the alternatives helped Ysabel's spine and Christine was forced to convince her husband that surgery had to happen. Kody reluctantly agreed to allow his daughter to get the necessary operation but made his discontent known by refusing to accompany his daughter during her intimidating surgery. Viewers think that Kody was too controlling during his daughter's spine crisis and ended up costing Ysabel years of back pain for no reason.
1. Kody's COVID Protocol
Kody has proven he has a knack for dominating his family's lives throughout the Browns' decade starring in Sister Wives, but the patriarch's response to the coronavirus pandemic in season 16 demonstrates Kody at his most controlling. In an alleged effort to prevent COVID-19 from ravaging through his large clan, Kody came up with a long list of rules for his family members to follow. While Kody's intention to reduce the spread of the devastating virus is admirable, some other Sister Wives stars found the patriarch's protocol impossible to follow. In addition to including common COVID prevention rules like social distancing, Kody included some unheard-of requests in his long list of demands. Some of these peculiar directions include cleaning mail with anti-bacterial and showering after returning from the grocery store. Janelle and Christine attempted to loosen Kody's requirements, but the polygamist was steadfast.
Kody's family found his stringent list of rules irritating because of how demanding it is to follow, but the bigger issue was that Kody's protocol forced his clan to cut others off for him. If the Browns didn't adhere to Kody's high maintenance guidelines, they would be banned from family gatherings like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Kody ended up putting Christine and Janelle in uncomfortable positions as he forced them to pick between spending the holidays with him or with their kids. Some fans think Kody put his controlling COVID-19 rules into place to manipulate his wives into prioritizing their relationships with him over their relationships with their children. Unfortunately for Kody, his plan backfired as Christine and Janelle opted to spend Thanksgiving with their kids despite Kody's attempt to force them to pick him in Sister Wives season 16.