Sunday's finale of 'Sister Wives' showed the lead-up to Kody and Janelle's split.
Sunday's season finale of Sister Wives left Janelle Brown declaring, "I just think we've never had divides this deep." She adds, "It's like the ultimate test of our family, can we hold it together with all of this?"
Turns out, they can't as Janelle and her estranged husband, Kody, confirm in the trailer for the upcoming One-on-One special that they are, in fact, separated after almost 30 years of marriage.
But prior to this big reveal, the family was once again at odds as they tried to figure out their holiday plans amid Kody's estrangement from his adult children with Janelle and Christine Brown's split from Kody.
Janelle expresses several times that she feels that she's being forced to choose between her children and Kody and her sister wives.
"I don't know if I want to do the work. It basically feels like I'm being forced to choose between my children and this group. I don't feel like my children are welcome," Janelle explains, adding, "I don't even recognize this family, or whatever. I don't know. Something has really changed for me."
Kody says he feels there's "a bit of a civil war" for the Brown family, with him and wives Robyn and Meri Brown on one side and Christine and Janelle on the other.
Janelle notes that there's a "general disgruntlement" toward Kody from her kids. Over the past few years of the COVID pandemic, Kody has maintained strict protocols, often resulting in him spending significantly more time with Robyn and their kids. Janelle's son, Gabriel, also tearfully recounted his father forgetting his birthday in a recent episode, noting that a phone call was the last time he'd ever spoken to his dad.
"I'm not going leave my kids here in Flagstaff having a separate Christmas when I'm at Robyn's with her and her kids and Kody and Meri. Sorry, not interested. I'd rather be with my boys," Janelle says as Meri actually backs her up, saying, "If I was in the same situation that Janelle was in and all my kids were in town, I for sure would want to go be with them."
Kody then accuses Janelle of "belittling" his COVID rules and not backing him up when it came to their kids' criticisms.
"I've gone 18 months being persecuted by my whole family for trying to protect them! My heart is broken. Christine left because of this," Kody declares.
"You and I see it very differently, Kody. And it is not my fault. You're acting like this is my fault," Janelle tells him.
When Kody begins to yell at her again, claiming she doesn't care about his recent COVID battle, Janelle gets up and starts to walk off. She is coaxed back by Robyn as both Janelle and Kody calm down.
"This is going to have to be one of those things where you guys have to work it out with a counselor or something because I can't be in the middle of it anymore because it's wrecking us," Janelle tells her husband of his relationship with their kids.
And though the two end the conversation on a respectful note, it's clear that things are still tense between Kody and Janelle.
Janelle has previously shown her support of her former sister wife, Christine, in the wake of her breakup from Kody, and the two often get together with their kids. Kody has also taken offense to Janelle's independence, especially amid his declarations that he expects his wives to "conform to the patriarchy" again after Christine's exit.
And in the trailer for the upcoming One-on-One special, both Kody and Janelle confirm that they are, in fact, separated.
Sister Wives One-on-One special will consist of three episodes airing Dec. 18, Jan. 1 and Jan. 8 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
For more on the recent breakdown in Kody and Janelle's marriage, watch the clip below.
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