Sister Wives Previews Heated Argument That Led to Janelle and Kody Brown's Breakup

Sister Wives fans are getting a deeper look at the fallout between Janelle and Kody Brown.

While the season 18 trailer in July provided a preview of the tense argument between the pair that cultivated with Janelle saying "f--k you" to Kody, viewers are now seeing more of the heated conversation play out. 

In a new teaser for the Sept. 3 episode shared by Today, Janelle tells Kody she feels like she's "being gaslit" and accuses him of "constantly gaslighting" her during a conversation at her home.

The discussion comes after viewers got another glimpse into their plural family divide—with last week's episode showing Janelle and her children spending Thanksgiving apart from Kody, his wife Meri Brown, his wife Robyn Brown and her kids. Christine Brown, who previously split from Kody in 2021, and her children also had a separate Thanksgiving celebration at daughter Aspyn's house.

"There's a problem in the family, a problem that needs to be solved and everything's too hot now and everybody thinks that I'm the bad guy," Kody told Janelle in the latest sneak peek. "And so, I don't expect to see anybody at Christmastime. I don't expect to see you. You have cheated me out of contact with my family."

However, Janelle insisted that the separate holidays were not her fault and expressed how their kids attributed their absence to Kody and his COVID-19 protocols.

"Well," he responded, "they blame me because you do."

Janelle maintained that she did not, and the two continued to go back and forth—with Kody saying she "mocked" his rules and her saying he called her "all kinds of names." And after he interrupted her, she told him, "Shut your f--king mouth and let me talk to you for a minute. You keep cutting me off."

That's when Kody got up and put on his jacket.

"There is no interest in understanding each other," the father of 18—including six kids with Janelle—said. "There is no interest in understanding. There is only a bitterness that has no place. I don't expect you to back me up anymore. I'm not gonna look for it, I'm not gonna ask for it. I don't expect you to try and help us co-parent the kids. That's too late. We're never going to do that. So what partnership do we have?"

And while Janelle told him the blame can't be put just on her, Kody said he'd "been here, daylong in and out, for all these years without your support while you were deciding what you were doing without consulting me."

As he began to walk out—noting he was "done listening to you"—Janelle grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and told him to stay and talk. 

"No," Kody replied. "I'm not going to because you're not listening."

When Janelle said he wasn't listening to her, Kody answered back, "And I'm not going to. Goodbye." As he left, Janelle called out, "f--k you" before telling the camera crew to "shut it off."

Ultimately, Janelle and Kody ended their relationship—with them announcing their separation after nearly three decades together on the Sister Wives: One on One special that premiered in December. The following month, he and Meri officially announced their breakup. 

Fans can watch the full episode Sept. 3 on TLC.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family).