Kody Brown and his wife Robyn Brown are leaving TLC's Sister Wives after 16 years on the show, according to the trailer for its 21st season released Sept. 14, 2026. It marks the first season since the reality series premiered in 2010 that Kody has not appeared on.
Text at the start of the trailer reads: "After 16 years of filming Sister Wives, Kody & Robyn will not be returning to the show." The new season will instead center on Kody's ex-wives, Christine Brown Woolley, Janelle Brown and Meri Brown.
The trailer shows the three women reacting to the news. "I don't know what it means," Christine said. "I have no idea." Janelle said she was "flabbergasted," while Meri said, "I was actually surprised when I was told that Kody and Robyn weren't coming back to the show."
The trailer does not explain why Kody and Robyn are stepping back, but it teases a reunion between the three ex-wives. "This is going to be awkward," Christine says ahead of meeting Meri and Janelle, with Meri adding, "It's not like I'm going to walk in and go for a hug." The season also promises new developments in Meri and Janelle's love lives and new roadblocks for Christine and her husband, David Woolley.
A Family in Flux
The exits follow years of upheaval for the Brown family. Christine ended her spiritual marriage to Kody in 2021 after 25 years together, and Janelle and Meri split from him shortly after. Kody and Robyn remained the only married couple in the family, but the fallout strained their relationship too.
"Robyn and I are fighting for our marriage and our life together," Kody said on a January episode of the show. "We have been going through four years or more of breakup with the family." He added, "I guess what I'm saying is Robyn and I have a great relationship when I'm being me, when I'm being brave and kind."
Robyn agreed their marriage had gone through cycles. "We go through these periods where he is back to himself and we are like who we usually are in our relationship and it's really beautiful," she said. "And then something will happen and he's kind of back to, he reverts back to the angry divorced guy."
Kody and Robyn's Relationship
Kody has joked about meeting Robyn, then a single mother, in 2009. "She looked like a soccer mom," he said on the show. "She had a van, three kids and was divorced. I thought, 'I didn't need a van, a divorced woman, and three kids in my life, that's just trouble.'" The couple went on to have son Solomon and daughter Ariella together.
On the December 2024 special Sister Wives: One on One, Robyn said she struggled with the idea of Kody's other wives moving on. "I really, really struggle with it because it feels, like, 'Oh, well. Those didn't work. So, on to someone new,'" she said. "That's hard for me. That's really, really hard for me. It feels disrespectful."
The Ex-Wives' New Romances
Meri revealed in January 2024 that she had been dating Amos Andrews since the previous October, but confirmed the following month that they had broken up. In 2026, she said she was seeing a man named Ron whom she met at a speed-dating event. "I am happy," she said. "Ron is a really cool guy, very comfortable. I'm very comfortable hanging out with him."
Janelle publicly confirmed a relationship with a man she called Pete in an August 2026 Instagram post. "I wasn't looking," she wrote. "I certainly wasn't expecting you. And somehow, you turned out to be exactly what I didn't know I needed. It has been pretty wonderful. Everyone please meet Pete."
Christine went public with David Woolley on Valentine's Day 2023, calling him "the love of my life" and saying, "the first time he held me close, it felt like my soul took its first breath." He proposed two months later, and Christine told People, "David treats me like a queen and tells me I'm beautiful everyday." The couple married in Utah on Oct. 7, 2023, with Christine writing, "I'm so blessed! I've married my best friend."
The Next Generation of Browns
Several of the 18 Brown children have also had milestones. Janelle's daughter Madison Brown Brush, married to Caleb Brush since 2016, welcomed daughter Emilia in March 2025, joining siblings Axel, Evie and Josephine. "Born on 3/14, she arrived absolutely perfect," Madison wrote.
Meri's son Leon Brown has settled in Denver with partner Audrey Kriss, calling them "my sweetest symphony" in 2022. Janelle's son Logan Brown married Michelle Petty in Arizona that same year, with Janelle writing, "this mama's heart was mush the whole time."
Mykelti Brown, married to Antonio "Tony" Padron since 2016, welcomed twins Archer and Ace in November 2022, joining eldest daughter Avalon. Christine's daughter Aspyn Brown, married to Mitch Thompson since 2018, bought her first home in December 2022 and announced her first pregnancy in April 2025. Christine's daughter Gwendlyn Brown got engaged to Beatriz Queiroz in November 2022 and married her in July 2023.
