TLC The "Sister Wives" star didn't receive much sympathy from fans online.
TLC stars Kody and Robyn Brown faced criticism from fans after they contracted the COVID-19 virus, as shown in the sneak peek for the December 4 episode of “Sister Wives,” obtained by Entertainment Tonight Online. Fans accused Kody and Robyn of being overly “dramatic” for the way they handled the situation.
Robyn had the more severe case. “Robyn’s not improving. She’s not improving. Finally, our doctor says, ‘Take her to the hospital,'” Kody recalled in ET Online’s preview. “People go to the hospital to die.”
Robyn feared for her life. “I didn’t want to say goodbye to my kids,” she told TLC cameras through tears. “I didn’t want to say goodbye because I didn’t want it to be the last time I saw them.”
Robyn went on to recover from the virus, however, some fans might recall that Kody and Robyn put strict protocols in place to avoid getting sick at the beginning of the pandemic. Their rules — some more stringent than the CDC’s — led to a rift among the other wives and children.
Health issues aren’t the only thing impacting the Brown family.
As shown on Season 17 of “Sister Wives,” Christine — wife No. 3 — announced in November 2021 that she was leaving Kody. Rumors have swirled that Janelle, Kody’s second wife, has also left the marriage.
Kody’s first wife, Meri, has also admitted her relationship with the Brown patriarch is no longer romantic.
“As far as any relationship, any marriage goes, I think [Janelle’s] similar to, in Meri [Brown]’s situation where she’s just staying in a marriage that’s not really a marriage,” Christine’s aunt, Kristyn Decker, told In Touch Weekly. “I don’t think they’ve had a marriage for a long, long, long time.”
Kody Considering Admitting Himself to the Hospital
Kody wished he had admitted himself to the hospital so he could be closer to Robyn.
“Because I do have it, no doubt about that,” he said while speaking to a camera in his car. “And maybe I need a chest X-ray ’cause, you know, my nights of sleep and breathing sorta suck. But I knew that they’d just separate us.”
If I was feeling worse I’d probably have myself… I’d check myself in ya know. but it seems like a busy hospital. It seems like a waste for me to go in there and playing sick when there’s people that might be dying or Robyn who’s passing out.”
Robyn was at the hospital for six or seven hours and hadn’t gotten a room yet. “They’re backed up,” she said, sounding out of breath. Doctors took a urine sample, did an EKG and chest X-ray while Robyn waited for a room to be available.
Kody said he “didn’t know what to do” while Robyn was hospitalized.
“She sounds pretty bad. She says, ‘I’m sitting here just wasting away,'” Kody said after talking to his wife. “I think that I was sitting there wondering if she was going to live.”
Fans Accused Kody & Robyn of Being ‘Dramatic’
The clip generated a discussion on Reddit, were hundreds of people left responses in the comments section. Some people didn’t think Robyn was as sick as she was leading viewers to believe because didn’t appear to be on a ventilator or getting oxygen.
“OMG, so dramatic,” one person wrote.
Others were offended by the scene. “This is an insult to everyone who actually ‘wasted away,’” they claimed.
The most popular comment was from someone who mocked Kody for not admitting himself to the hospital.
“Well, isn’t he the hero restraining himself from trying to get himself admitted for medical care he doesn’t need! Oh brother!” they said, garnering nearly 700 upvotes.