Sister Wives: 10 Most Memorable Quotes From Kody Brown (Including "Circling The Donkey" & "Machiavellian")

Sister Wivespatriarch Kody Brown has always been known for his strange turns of phrase, and some of his most infamous moments have come from the way he speaks about himself, his family, and the circumstances he finds himself in. For over a decade, Sister Wives has explored the Brown family as a whole, led by patriarch Kody and his group of wives in their plural marriage. Kody, who married Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, and Christine Brown first before meeting Robyn Brown years later, has always had a strange way of speaking that's entertained and befuddled his family and friends.

Throughout the run of Sister Wives, viewers have had the chance to see Kody in his natural element, though some moments have been more difficult to process than others. Rather than being dedicated to his family in a wholesome way, Kody's genuine devotion has more often been to himself, and to ensuring that he's not being made out to be the family's villain. Despite knowing that he's been working to make himself seem like the hero to Sister Wives viewers, Kody's turns of phrase have often made it more complicated to understand where he's coming from, rather than any easier.

While Kody's odd turns of phrase, which Robyn sometimes refers to as "speaking Kody," can sometimes be tough for viewers to grasp, it's clear that he's developed his own style of language that helps differentiate him from other reality TV stars. Though some of this more difficult moments have been accentuated by his seemingly silly sentiments, Kody's been known to make some quips that can be funny, heartfelt, or even villainous. Kody's tendency to use spontaneous words or phrases that don't always fit with the moment has become part of the overall Sister Wives' legacy, for better or for worse.

Although there are far more than ten moments we could've come up with, Kody's most memorable lines, phrases, and quips weren't tough to find. Even with Sister Wives season 19 becoming one of the longest seasons of the show yet, proving there's a ton of content to mine through, some of Kody's more famous quotes stood out from the pack. While some show a bit of humor, the majority of Kody's most quotable moments make it clear they come from a man who's dealing with tremendous change in the best way he knows how, even if it's a bit off-kilter.

Kody's sense of defeat and frustration is [often] palpable.

10 "I'm the general. No matter how stupid I am, I'm the president."

Kody Believes He's In Charge

In an early season of Sister Wives, Kody made it clear that he felt he was the most important person in the room when he demanded respect from his four wives. In earlier seasons of the series, Kody was the stereotypical patriarch of the Brown family who felt that each of his wives brought something different to their family, but did his best not to treat them any differently than one another. While it was alway clear that Kody favored Robyn, he didn't try to make that obvious in early seasons of the show the way he does now.

20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now

Reality TV is more popular than ever. With so many to choose from, here are some of the best reality TV shows to stream or watch right now.

Posts

Kody, speaking to his wives in a moment of frustration, demanded respect from them in a way that made it clear he was not longer asking in kindness. Calling himself the general, Kody went on to explain that "no matter how stupid I am, I'm the president," making it abundantly clear that he knew that his wives didn't agree with his sentiments. Kody, acting as the family's leader, didn't care if they were in agreement, he just wanted to exert control.

9 "Blame yourself if I don’t love you!"

Kody Wasn't Taking Accountability

In a recent episode of Sister Wives, Kody and Meri spoke freely about their marriage and divorce, shocking viewers with how candid he was willing to be about the demise of their relationship. Though Meri and Kody were together for the longest out of all of Kody's marriages, their relationship took a nosedive in the later years after Meri's affair turned catfishing scandal. While Meri apologized for her indiscretions and tried to make things up to Kody, it was clear she wasn't going to get back into his good graces easily.

After deciding to divorce Kody, Meri wanted answers about their relationship she'd never been able to get in the past, and when she questioned him about the way he'd felt about her, Kody gave her a candid answer. Telling her to blame herself for his lack of love and affection for her, Kody didn't appear to be referring to the catfishing scandal, but it was clear that he blamed the way he felt about Meri on her, rather than on him. Kody's inability to take accountability may not be surprising, but it's always a shock.

8 “Boy Meri, our break-up sure was hard on Robyn…"

Kody Was More Concerned For Robyn

As Kody has moved through his transformation from a man involved in plural marriage to a man who's been monogamous for well over a year, it's been clear that his feelings for Robyn have been stronger than ever. Kody and Robyn's time together has lasted well over a decade, but their relationship has been changing after his marriages to his other wives came to a grinding halt. While Christine was the first to leave Kody, Meri's divorce was likely the least expected, even though he treated her the worst of his original wives by the end.

When talking to Meri about their split in a recent episode of Sister Wives, Kody made it clear that though he'd been acting like he'd been thinking of himself and Meri, he's really only been concerned with Robyn over the years. Citing that his split from Meri had been really tough on Robyn, Kody ignored the idea that Meri was even in the equation when it came to their relationship being a problem. While Meri and Kody both carried hurt after their split, Kody was the most concerned with Robyn's pain after losing Meri and her shot at plural marriage.

7 "I don’t know how I got such smart kids. I’m a bonehead.”

Kody's Self Awareness Was On Display

As the father of 18 children, Kody has a lot of kids that he doesn't have great relationships with. While he tried to maintain relationships with their kids in their younger years, it's become increasingly hard for him to find the time and energy to connect with all of his children, and many of them aren't interested in maintaining relationships with him anymore. Kody's kids fall into different factions, as some want to keep in contact with him and some don't.

While he has a hard time with many of his children who struggle to understand his behavior, Kody has an interesting time talking about his kids on Sister Wives. The family patriarch often compliments his kids for their intelligence, but does so in a way that relates to him even if it's not complimentary. By calling himself a "bonehead" while complimenting the kids' intelligence, he's making it clear they're separate and different from him

6 "MY living room, MY Kitchen"

Kody's Selfish Behavior Was On Display

Although the COVID-19 pandemic feels like it was both just months ago and years behind us, Kody was one of the most stand-out figures of the time for reality TV. In doing his best to move through the pandemic with ease, Kody drew up boundaries for his family in hopes to keep them safe and able to see one another frequently. While he was living with Robyn and their children full-time, Kody had rules that he thought were understandable for the rest of his kids. Unfortunately, the kids didn't find the rules he set forth to be feasible.

During a Sister Wives season 16 episode, Kody discussed his ground rules for the pandemic, going overboard in a controlling way and declaring which spaces belonged to him. Rather than treating his kids like they were family that he wanted to ensure were around during a dangerous time, Kody alienated the family in irreparable ways. Talking about his kitchen and his living room, Kody made it clear that others weren't always welcome in his space.

5 "I was sprouting poetry."

Kody Thinks He's A Wordsmith

Although Kody's ability to speak in circles is often something Sister Wives viewers enjoy watching, it doesn't necessarily mean that he knows what he's saying, or at least does so eloquently. Kody's behavior through the years has made it clear that he often thinks before he speaks. While many believe he's often spinning a story or making things up as he goes, Kody does try to be specific and descriptive in the way he speaks, especially on screen.

Kody sharing that he was "sprouting poetry" is an interesting moment for the patriarch, because not only was he likely trying to say he was spouting poetry, he's trying to talk about what wordsmith he is while, unfortunately, struggling to be a wordsmith. Kody's continuous use of phrases that either don't make sense in the moment or don't make sense overall is a consistency on Sister Wives. Even so, seeing the family patriarch struggle to use common phrases is always a bit funny.

4 "Circling the Donkey"

Kody Claims This Is A Compliment

As Kody has moved through his life after divorce, he's been highly focused on the issues that Christine has caused him after deciding to leave the family behind. While Kody and Robyn have been able to salvage their relationship, Kody's other marraiges crumbled after Christine left. He continuously explains that he feels Christine's decision really hurt him, and pushed the others to leave him behind like she did. While Kody's not wrong, blaming Christine rather than taking accountability is a problem.

Despite his reasoning, Kody has been blaming Christine for the majority of his issues over the last few years and in a recent episode of Sister Wives, he mentioned "circling the donkey" to describe just how frustrated he feels about the whole situation. While it's possible Kody meant something more akin to circling the drain, it's clear that he feels a lot of frustration surrounding Christine's departure and the domino effect it caused. Kody's sense of defeat and frustration is palpable in the potentially incorrect phrase.

3 "Machiavellian"

He May Not Know What The Word Means

Keeping with the theme of blaming Christine for his problems, Kody referred to his ex-wife as "Machiavellian" in an episode of Sister Wives season 18. While Kody has admitted that there were moments that he wasn't a great husband to Janelle or Meri, he has tried to blame the entirety of his issues on Christine and her decision to leave. Feeling that Christine helped embolden his other wives to take a stand, he's been upfront that he feels it's her fault despite knowing that he was at fault in moments.

In calling Christine Machiavellian, he explained that he was frustrated in the way she was behaving after their split, especially when it came to the closeness she'd been sharing with Janelle. Calling someone Machiavellian implies they're cunning, deceitful, and willing to be unethical to achieve their goals, and Kody's assessment of Christine made it clear that he wasn't happy with the way their relationship ended. Kody's use of the term makes it clear that there were some escalating tensions between himself and his ex.

2 "Culpable"

Kody's Always Handing Over The Blame

Throughout the last several seasons of Sister Wives, it's been clear that Christine is the one on Kody's mind the most even though his relationship with Robyn is the one he's still currently in. While Kody has been upfront about his discomfort with Christine and his inability to move through his relationship without letting go of his pain, he's also struggled to stop talking about her leaving him. Kody's had his own problems with his ex-wife for years, but things haven't seemed to subside.

In a Sister Wives season 18 episode, Kody consistently used the world "culpable"to make it clear that he wasn't the only one at fault for the relationship ending. In fact, Kody tried to make it blatantly obvious that Christine herself was culpable for the end of their marriage. Rather than acknowledging that they were both somewhat at fault, Kody continually made his role in the split far smaller than seemed necessary.

1 "Meri, you look like the bird that ate the mouse."

Kody's Difficulties With Meri Have Been Consistent

Although Kody's relationship with Meri has been difficult throughout the years, the pair have been able to discuss their marriage a bit more freely as they've moved through their more recent separation. Kody and Meri's relationship has become stranger as they've moved away from marriage, because at some points they seem closer than they were before, and at others they seem deeply angry with one another. After 30 years of marriage, things have come up to the surface, leaving both pained and struggling in moments.

Kody telling Meri that she "look[s] like the bird that ate the mouse" was a tense moment for the former couple. While the Sister Wives pair have been more open with one another after their relationship came to an end, Meri was still doing her best to piece things together and has been throughout the current season of the series. With Meri keeping some things from Kody, he used the turn of phrase to call out her guilt, ignoring the lies he's told her in the past.

Sister Wives season 19's mid-season premiere is Sunday, April 20 at 10 p.m. EDT on TLC.

Source: slynniulzap/TikTok