'Sister Wives' star Kody Brown calls his ex Christine's influence over wife Janelle 'pathetic' amid their estrangement

• On "Sister Wives," Kody Brown calls his ex Christine's "influence" over his estranged wife Janelle "pathetic."
• Kody says he believes he could reconcile with Janelle if she weren't friends with Christine.

Kody Brown holds nothing back on Sunday's episode of TLC's "Sister Wives," lashing out at the "pathetic" bond between two of his former wives, Janelle and Christine Brown.

At the time the episode was filmed in 2022, Kody's relationship with Janelle, his second wife, was estranged. However, they didn't call their situation an official split at that point, and it appears that Kody still believed there was hope for them — if not for his ex-wife, Christine.

While reflecting on the state of his and Janelle's marriage in a confessional interview, Kody says that if Janelle weren't such close friends with Christine, he believes that a reconciliation would be possible.

"Christine has so much influence over Janelle. I just think it's pathetic, so I don't want to say anything to Janelle because I'm afraid Christine will find out about it, the kids will find out about it, it's like, I just don't want to talk about me," Kody tells the cameras.

The couple says they talk to each other on the phone sporadically, but rarely see each other. On the episode, Christine and Janelle spend Easter together and months later, have dinner together with some of their children.

Of Kody's four wives, Janelle and Christine have been particularly close throughout the years — in part because, as explained on early seasons of "Sister Wives," Christine took care of Janelle's kids for her while Janelle worked outside of the home. On seasons of the show filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the women chose to leave their respective homes to visit their adult children and each other instead of following Kody's strict COVID-19 safety rules.

Those rules, plus Kody's apparent emotional distance from some of his children, strained Kody's marriages to both Christine and Janelle.

Christine publicly announced the end of her marriage to Kody in November 2021. Janelle didn't confirm she was single until August 2023 in an interview with People. Amid their breakups, the women have remained close and even said they still consider each other sister wives. Janelle was recently a guest at Christine's wedding to David Woolley.

While reflecting on a conversation with Christine on the episode, Janelle says she can sense that her friend might pity her because of the state of her marriage to Kody.

"I'm fine. We are not reconciling, I'm not hoping he's coming around, I'm not going to settle for less than I deserve," Janelle tells cameras.

"Sister Wives" airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.