Kody and Robyn Brown got real about their unexpected transition to monogamy in the season 20 premiere of Sister Wives.
During the Sunday, September 28, episode of the TLC series, Kody, 56, admitted that ending his relationships with Christine, Meri and Janelle Brown felt like doing a “walk of shame.” Robyn, 46, later revealed she’d heard from other relatives about whether she and Kody would continue pursuing plural marriage.
“There’s been some conversations about that from family, some pressure a little bit, too,” she told the cameras. “You know, ‘Are you going to live plural marriage again and bring somebody else into the family?’”
Robyn noted that it’s “a very personal” topic for her. “It’s such a big decision and I’m not sure what’s going to happen,” she added.
Elsewhere in the episode, Robyn and Kody went out to dinner on a date night. Kody asked Robyn about her family members expressing interest in their marriage.
“I wasn’t quite sure what to say to him,” Robyn admitted, telling her husband, “I don’t want to speak for you.”
Robyn explained in a confessional that she and Kody “never chose to live monogamy,” but it was instead a decision that was made for them by Kody’s exes. “It’s definitely not something I ever would have chosen for myself,” she continued.
She went on to reveal that she turned down proposals in the past because the men weren’t interested in a plural lifestyle.
“I could have lived monogamy just fine,” she said. “Different men at different times said, you know, ‘I’d marry you in a heartbeat.’ … And I was like, ‘Well, I plan to live a plural marriage.’ And each one of them at different times was like, ‘That’s not something I want to do.’”
At dinner, Kody asked Robyn what she would have done if he was completely single when the relationship began. “I would have said the same thing to you,” she replied.
Robyn doubled down in a confessional, adding, “I wouldn’t have even been open to him.”
The couple, who legally married in 2014, continued to debate whether there was any “value” to being monogamous. Robyn told her husband that adding another partner to their family “would be something to really, truly consider” if they found the right person.
“If there was somebody who was really supportive and really wanted to work and really wanted a relationship with me, as well as with you — not just you,” Robyn said. “And we had a guarantee that it was going to be OK and it was going to be wonderful and it was going to be what I always dreamed it was supposed to be.”
Kody shared his own perspective, adding, “I think you and I share something very special, but if it’s not duplicatable, it could put us at risk.”
He later admitted, “My primary motivation, I’m afraid, at this state in my life would be … just how good looking she is.”
Robyn laughed, but Kody insisted he was serious. Robyn told the camera she thought Kody was “being a bit of a pig” by bringing up sex. Kody, however, said it was a point worth making.
“I’m being crass here for a reason,” he said in his confessional. “I’m saying, ‘Yeah, she looks hot.’ And that would make me want to talk to her, but I’m not interested in marrying her because that won’t matter when I’m getting nagged.”
Robyn expressed her worries about maintaining a monogamous marriage. “He’s always had this surplus, if you will, of intimate relationships,” she said. “There’s a fear that he doesn’t know what to expect as far as monogamy is concerned. And I’m looking at him going, ‘Dude, we’ve never had trouble here before. Why would we have trouble now?’”
Sister Wives airs on TLC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.