‘Sister Wives’ Recap: Janelle Recalls ‘Cycle of Love Bombing’ From Kody, Narcissist ‘Similarities’

Sister Wives star Janelle Brown hinted that her ex-husband, Kody Brown, is a “narcissist” following their December 2022 split.

“I do think that there was a cycle of love bombing and then, like, almost kind of, like, a wind down,” Janelle, 56, claimed of her and Kody’s relationship during part 3 of the Sister Wives: One-on-One special, which aired on Sunday, June 8.

Host Sukanya Krishnan confessed, “I’m trying to figure out what the love bomb is,” which is when Janelle insinuated that Kody, 56, employed the manipulative tactic often used by narcissists on her throughout their nearly 30-year marriage. (Love bombing is described as a “form of psychological and emotional abuse often disguised as excessive flattery,” according to Cleveland Clinic.)

“For a narcissist, there’s a cycle where you love bomb and then you sort of, there’s sort of a waning and then you almost kind of, like, destroy or hurt them and then to fix it, you come back in and you love bomb,” Janelle explained. “And so, there was kind of this cycle.”

Krishnan tried to clarify Janelle’s comments, asking, “[You] use the word narcissist. Are you saying Kody’s a narcissist?”

Janelle quickly replied, “No, because I am not — I am not qualified to diagnose him. I guess everybody will have to decide.”

She confessed, “I’m not a psychologist. I’m not a psychiatrist. I read pop culture. I have no idea.” However, Janelle revealed, “But it does seem like there’s quite a lot of similarities.”

Janelle’s comments about Kody came after the reality stars shared their own accounts of who handled the money for their plural family on the tell-all. Kody insisted that Janelle had “too much influence on our money,” while she claimed she was simply the bookkeeper.

Janelle, who welcomed six children with Kody before their split, recalled seeing the money come and go for the family, but not being responsible for who got what. She alleged that Kody was the one calling all the shots. (Janelle and Kody’s son Garrison died by suicide in March 2024 at age 25.)

“He always seems to come out ahead financially on a deal,” Janelle said on Sunday. “I just think he’s always looking out for himself and now for [fourth wife] Robyn [Brown] and himself.”

She alleged, “He just always somehow thinks he’s somehow entitled to more. It’s astounding. I think he really is just kind of inherently selfish.”

Christine Brown, who left Kody in 2021, backed up Janelle’s claims during the episode as well. “We never knew what the other wives were getting money wise. We just understood what we had. But Janelle saw it all,” Christine, 53, shared. “And Janelle doesn’t say much and she’s very tight-lipped.”

Christine, however, recalled Janelle allegedly telling her, “‘I saw where all the money was going. And how much money Kody took and how much money Robyn took was a lot more than you were taking, and it was more than anybody else was taking.’”

Christine, who has remained close to Janelle since their respective splits from Kody, claimed that Kody was “very greedy when it comes down to money.” She alleged, “He takes care of himself. He sees what he needs to do, and he just does what is right for him and what is right for Robyn.”

In addition to Janelle and Christine, Kody was married to Meri Brown for 30 years before they parted ways in January 2023. He has been legally married to Robyn, 46, since 2014, four years after she initially joined their plural family.

Part 4 of the Sister Wives: One-on-One special airs on TLC Sunday, June 15, at 10 p.m. ET.