Christine Brown’s a ‘Basement Wife’ – ‘Sister Wives’ Recap – ‘One on One’ Part 2

Christine Brown saw herself on the lowest rung of the family as she says on Sister Wives: One on One Part 2 recap. And the other spouses talk about Kody Brown’s estrangement from the kids and his rules. Plus, Robyn Brown disagrees with Christine on the status of her marriage. Season 16 Episode 12 – One on One Part 2 recap starts now.

Christine Brown Calls Kody Brown’s COVID Rules “Ridiculous” on Tell-All

As the Season 16 Tell-All begins, Christine Brown hits the couch. The host, Sukanya Krishnan, asks her about COVID and its effect on the family. Christine said Kody Brown came up with “ridiculous” rules.

Flashback to Kody explaining to the family why the nanny could come by but none of them could. There’s a look at Janelle Brown reading off his list. She calls them the “10 billion commandments of Kody”.

Christine says she doesn’t know why the nanny can come by but the kids can’t. She says they felt untrusted. She was open about traveling. Sukanya asks Robyn Brown why Kody released his rules six months into the crisis.

Robyn calls him a “grump” and says he complained about the other wives. She says Janelle’s kids were giving him “kick-back” for “basic stuff”. Christine says her relationship with Kody was terrible, but her kids wanted to see him.

Why Was the Nanny Allowed in Despite Rules for Sister Wives?

Christine Brown said when they were in Flagstaff, her kids saw Kody maybe two hours a week. But when they were out of town, they were surrounded by love and family.

Kody Brown said there were two households that would not keep the rules. He says even with adult children, Robyn kept the rules. Her adult kids kept the rules. The nanny kept the rules. (But she got the virus…)

Hoping the next couple weeks shine a light into “what does the nanny do?!?!?” So many questions, not enough answers #SisterWives #TLC #kodybrown pic.twitter.com/bOyC6qfbf2

— MN (@Evelyn_Nex) January 31, 2022

Kody says the other Sister Wives made the choices. He says adult kids leave. Then he says the duty to kids younger than 18 comes “over the husband”. But once they’re adults, it changed. Sukanya says 18 is not an adult.

Janelle Brown admits there was a choice and she chose her kids. Then, she says Kody thought her adult kids should move out. She asks why would she move her 18+ kids out into the “scary world” of COVID exposure.

Garrison & Gabe Brown vs Kody

Sukanya asks Kody about Garrison Brown and Gabriel Brown. He says he talks to the boys a little bit “once in a while”. He says there’s a lot of work to do. Flashback to Kody saying he was the only one going house to house.

He says he wasn’t at Janelle’s because of Garrison, Gabriel, and their extended exposure. Gabe says this is “ruining” the family. Kody says the question is him being respected in his home.

Back to now, Kody says it was about respect. He makes rules and “they abide by them”. Then, he says COVID changed everything but they wanted things to be the same. He says you move out if you want to date.

So that way, he can come to the house. He says he needs therapy and to sit down with them. Then, he says he’s “so angry” and the boys are too. Janelle says should “I respect you when you’re dividing the family”?

Next, she says Kody didn’t trust the boys. He says he found out on social media that the boys were doing things they said they were not. And Kody says he heard those boys were saying he wasn’t around for nine months. That angered him.

Janelle Brown’s Sons Move Out

Janelle says her boys have since moved out. She says several of the kids are at odds with him over these COVID rules. And Kody says they hoped the kids would move back near them. And that’s why there’s so much room on Coyote Pass.

He says they want his company, but don’t “respect my leadership”. Kody tells the host he knows he’s got tough questions coming. Sukanaya asks about the Thanksgiving meeting, She says she felt for him.

Then, Kody says in the meeting, he was defensive. Flashback to then with Kody and the Sister Wives in the lawn chairs talking about the holidays. Christine and Janelle plan to go to Utah.

He says everyone is resisting the plan to get together. Then, Kody gives a wry smile and says he hopes they all “enjoy their Thanksgiving”. Then, Janelle walks away saying “yeah f-k off”. Now, Sukanya asks Kody about that.

He says he doesn’t know what he felt. He says it was like “see you guys later.” Christine Brown says she thought he was sad and “super frustrated”. Meri Brown says she was frustrated “for the same reason”.

She says they were all asking for this and he gave them the blueprint of what to do. But they were like it’s too difficult. Then, Janelle says Kody only put out the rules a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving,

Sukanya Krishnan Says Kody Let Janelle Walk Away

Janelle says her boys told her they can’t do those roles. And Kody says she was masking, but her kids weren’t. Sukanya says Kody let Janelle walk away and asks shouldn’t he go after her. He gives an indignant “no”.

Then, Sukanya asks was his ego stopping him. She asks what stopped him. He says the lack of loyalty. Then, he asks how long can you be betrayed. He says they refused to understand, communicate, or partner.

So, Sukanya asks are his Sister Wives disloyal. He says he was relieved they weren’t coming. He says he wondered what it’s like to just have a Thanksgiving without them. The host tells Christine that Robyn was unhappy they didn’t choose family.

And Christine Brown says she can’t make everybody happy. She has older kids. She says if she and Kody had a working marriage, things would be different. But she admits that looking back, it was a callous decision toward the big family.

Kody Calls Two of the Sister Wives “Jack Wagons”

Christine says she weighed his rules against her kids at home, grown kids that needed to see her. Christine says her conscience was clear. Kody calls his other two wives “jack wagons”. He says Christine’s attitude was “relationship be damned”.

And Janelle was letting her boys run amok, he said. Next, Kody Brown says he was bitter. He says he knows others in plural marriages that “push through”. But COVID had him wonder if this “was it” for the marriages.

The host says Christine Brown’s been in a pressure cooker. She agrees and says she wanted “so badly” for her marriage to work. Then, Sukanya asks about how close she is to Janelle.

Flashback to Janelle saying Christine was her kids’ primary parental figure at home while she worked. She says her kids are so attached to her. Janelle says her kids are in orbit around Christine as much as around her.

Back then in a confessional, Christine says she had to choose between Janelle and Kody. She says she chose Janelle sometimes. We see Gabe telling Kody that Christine was the one providing for seven of the Sister Wives kids all the time.

Shared Husband Accuses Janelle & Christine of Being in a “Clique”

Then, Kody calls them a “clique” and says there’s bullying and exclusion. Now, Christine Brown shudders at the word bullying, Sukanya asks if she and Janelle are a clique and Christine says she’s not trying to be,

She says Janelle is easy and lovely to get along with. She says they get each other. Janelle says Kody’s negativity “drives her crazy”. She also says she wasn’t choosing sides. Instead, she was going where they were wanted.

Janelle says they didn’t exclude anyone and they could have come over. But she says they weren’t COVID-compliant enough for them. Sukanya asks Janelle how it changed dynamics when Christine came into the marriage,

Janelle says it was a huge blessing when he married Christine a year after they married. She says it was a huge buffer and was great. But at first, she thought Christine was a “princess” and they didn’t get along.

Christine says if Kody is jealous of her and Christine… she laughs. She says it’s a plural marriage and she’s been jealous for years. She says it’s a “real thing” that happens all the time in polygamy.

Christine Calls Kody’s Jealousy “Ironic” on Sister Wives: One on One

She says it’s “ironic” if Kody’s jealous of her with Janelle. And Christine Brown says she gets Janelle so much more than she does her now-ex. She says he’s confusing, and “hard to get along with”.

Then, she says she asked, “who is this” with him and his rules. She says he was aggressive. Christine says she couldn’t choose the whole family all the time. Sukanya asks Christine about Janelle and Kody’s marriage.

The Sister Wives: One on One guest host asks if Janelle is happy with Kody. Then, Christine says she asked her what’s it like with you and Kody – “will you stay?” She says Janelle told her Kody’s a “great dad”. But they have things to work out. But she said she’d stay.

Kody says he and Janelle have a marriage that’s like a committed relationship — friends. Sukanya asks if he’s in love with Janelle and he says he loves her. He kind of does a head shake when she again asks if he’s “in love”.

Janelle Shuts Down Intimacy Talk on Season 16 Tell-All

Kody says Janelle wouldn’t tell you we were in that place either. Janelle says they’ve been together almost 30 years. And he’s her best friend. Sukanya asks about emotional/physical intimacy. And the answer she gets is “we’re fine”.

Then Janelle says we’re working on it. She smiles and says she won’t share much. Then, the host asks Christine if Kody fills Janelle’s “tank”, And Christine Brown says she doesn’t know if Janelle even needs that.

She says what Janelle needs from Kody is very different from what she [Christine] needed from him. She calls Janelle “wicked, awesome, strong”. And says Janelle fills her “own d*mn tank” then apologizes for cursing.

Christine Says She was a “Basement Wife”

Sukanya says it was heartbreaking to hear Christine talk about “head wife” and “basement wife” with Robyn Brown. Flashback to Christine saying the one house was hard. She tells Robyn everyone’s needs came before hers.

And she says other kids came before hers too. Christine Brown talks about the “basement wife mentality”. If one of the Sister Wives is a “queen bee” then the other wife’s in the basement and “doesn’t matter as much”.

Christine says she’s seen that a lot. Back then, she says she put herself in the basement and “didn’t matter as much”. Now, Sukanya asks why she didn’t speak up then. Christine says she didn’t know it was a thing back then.

She says she just let it happen. Christine says she would love to be strong and say “no” and cause contention. But she says she made it easier on the family and lost herself. She says she put Kody’s needs first.

Christine Brown says she put the other women (Janelle and Meri) first. She says she was running on empty and asked Kody for help. She says he told her she was trying to “change agreements” when she brought it up.

Janelle Disagrees with Sister Wives’ Take on Things

Christine says she was overwhelmed and the host asks about the agreements. Christine says family first all the time. She says she was the caregiver and organizer. She says she was the “constant” in the family.

Janelle Brown disagrees that there’s a hierarchy in their family. Sukanya asks her about Christine and the basement. And Janelle says Christine’s “coloring that with her perspective now”. She says Christine never said anything.

Christine gets vulnerable remembering her conversation with Robyn about being the "basement wife." #SisterWives pic.twitter.com/O3lACNh47e

— TLC Network (@TLC) February 6, 2022

Robyn Brown says that surprised her and she didn’t know Christine felt that way. She says Janelle and Meri were ready to deal with the dysfunction. But Christine wasn’t going to do it. She says Kody has a happy memory of that time back then.

Then, she says Kody lost sight of the big picture. She says they’re one family. Kody insists he’s been carrying a “heavy load” for years. He says when you come into the family, you know it’s one family.

Kody Calls Life with Meri & Janelle a “Fresh H*ll”

He says it was “fresh h*ll” in marriage with just Meri Brown and Janelle Brown. He says Christine lightened that burden for a decade. But then, Christine went “wait” and shrugged and didn’t want that role in the Sister Wives family anymore.

He says, then Robyn came in and picked up what Christine shrugged off. Robyn says she and her kids struggled for years to fit in. She says there’s a struggle with Janelle, Christine, and their kids. The host asks how that felt.

Robyn says it was “really tough” for her and painful. The host asks about joining a family and shows a clip. Robyn tells Meri that a kid asked her about relaxing the COVID rules. She says she didn’t sign up for monogamy.

Then, Robyn says she’s tired of being questioned when she just wants to fit in. Back then, she says she needed to tell her kids that they weren’t all going to be together on Thanksgiving. We see Aurora Brown crying about it.

She doesn’t want her kids to feel sad and rejected but says she [Robyn] does. Back to now, Sukanya says it’s hard to watch. Robyn says her littlest [Ari] doesn’t remember the names of her siblings because they don’t see each other.

Kody Defends Robyn on Sister Wives: One on One – Season 16 Tell-All

She says the older kids didn’t know what to do with all this. Robyn says they asked why the family chose not to be together. The host asks Robyn about her as “the easy target”. Robyn says it’s because she gets along with Kody.

Then, Kody Brown says Robyn came in “cap in hand” to the family. She told her kids to accept the family and treat the other women as mothers and other kids as siblings. Then, he says that the rest of the family didn’t reciprocate.

He says the rest of the family didn’t accept Robyn the way she was “forced” to accept them. Sukanya asks Robyn if it hurts when the other Sister Wives‘ kids blame her. She says yes, it’s insulting.

Robyn says if a wife in a plural marriage controls the husband, then she’s a “bad person”. She says that’s not her, but others think it is. Robyn gets teary and says she’s never cried so much in an interview. TLC Twitter showed a photo of them back in the day.

Now, Robyn says there’s been a lot of “unsafe spaces” for her. She wants people to see “who she is”. She wants them to see she loves the family and is committed. And Robyn says she loves them and would do anything for them.

Christine Says Robyn Coming into Marriage “Scarred” Everyone

Sukanya asks Christine Brown about not accepting Robyn and her kids. She admits it’s hard to blend families and there was frustration and hurt feelings at first. She said it “scarred” all of them.

Kody says there’s a pecking order. He says Meri was hard on Janelle. And Janelle and Christine were hard on Robyn. Then all three other wives were hard on Robyn. He says Robyn didn’t get it because she didn’t do anything to them.

He says only Meri would ever want to be Robyn’s friend. Then, Robyn says she talked to Janelle recently and tried to figure things out. She wanted a good relationship. She says Janelle told her she’d think about it.

Now, Janelle says she wants it but says she asked herself if she wants to go through it. She says Robyn put her on the spot. Sukanya asks if she wants a deeper relationship like she has with Christine.

Janelle says yes but she doesn’t see how. She says she and Christine raised kids together. Then, the host tells Robyn she thinks she’s the only one with a “fully functioning” marriage to Kody. Robyn starts to get upset again.

Wife 4 Wanted Christine to Stay in Sister Wives Family

Sukanya says it must bother the other spouses. Robyn says it makes her angry and starts crying and then drops the f* bomb. She asks how she’ll get through the interview and bawls.

On the Sister Wives Tell-All, Sukanya asks why she’s angry. Robyn says she doesn’t know why they [Christine & Kody] won’t talk and figure this out. She says they should find a compromise and things they love about each other. Robyn says she can’t fix it for them.

She can try to persuade and influence Kody. Or beg. The host says that’s “heavy lifting”. But Robyn says it’s her family. The host asks if she can relate since she’s been through a divorce too.

Robyn says she was still trying when she was at the point Christine’s at. She says she loves Christine and wanted her to have a strong marriage to Kody. Then she says she understands Christine feels like she has no other choice.

Robyn & Christine Brown Disagree on Divorce Status

His last wife says she wishes she [Christine Brown] kept trying. Then, Robyn says Christine calls them “divorced”. She says in her head, they’re not. She says their marriage was done by church officials and they haven’t granted a divorce.

Christine says women can leave a plural marriage and the church can give them a “release”. But she says she hasn’t been a member of that church “for a long time”. She says she left the church a long time ago.

She says she doesn’t care about the “Ecclesiastical ceiling” and says God’s fine if she wants to go be happy. Christine says she doesn’t need someone else to tell her she’s married or not. Kody says Christine doesn’t believe in it [the church].

He says he’s comfortable with where she’s at. Sukanya asks if Christine will be in the afterlife with Kody. He says God sorts things out. Kody says it’s in God’s hands and he’s not worried about it. He says Christine’s not part of the faith,

Then, the host tells Christine that Robyn’s sad. She says she wants people to be happy and feel loved. And Christine says it was “super sad” and she knew her decision to leave would hurt people in the family.

When Sukanya asks where she’s at with Kody, then Christine says “we’re divorced”. She says they’re “completely separate”. So, while Kody seems to accept Christine Brown’s stance that they’re divorced for all intents and purposes, Robyn doesn’t.

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