Sister Wives' Kody Brown reveals his ‘only regret’ after son Garrison's death: "I want to try..."
'Sister Wives' stars Kody and Janelle Brown tragically lost their 25-year-old son, Garrison Brown, to suicide in March 2024. Garrison was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head at his home in Flagstaff, Arizona. However, Kody expressed his grief and regret in an exclusive September interview with People, “The only regret is just, take advantage of the time,” he said. “I want to go out to dinner again. I want to sit down. I want to have a beer. I want [Garrison] to try and make me laugh because he was that way." The Brown family patriarch added nostalgically, "The only regret is just, gosh, I would just do that more often."
The TLC star admitted that he would be mindful enough to prioritize family time in the future. “There were other things that were pressing, and I just said to myself, ‘What if this is the last time?’” he said. Kody continued by admitting that he felt a great deal of regret for his failed marriages, “There's even the regret of the divorce — Meri, Janelle, and Christine — those divorces and being angry during those divorces,” he shared. “Sure, I regret that stuff.” However, Kody has been accused of ignoring his children. During a 2022 episode of 'Sister Wives' Gabriel Brown broke down in tears as he recalled his father's negligence.
As per People, in a confessional, the reality star shared that he lost his sense of smell after contracting Covid-19 in January. He revealed that he had hoped his estranged father would remember his special day on October 11, which also happened to be his birthday. Instead, when Kody reached out, it was only to ask about his son's health. "I didn't remind him that it was my birthday because I wanted to see if he remembered. And he didn't. And so to him, it was just a phone call, just asking me about Covid," he said with tears welling up in his eyes. Kody's lack of parental support towards the two sons he shared with Janelle remained to be the highlight of season 17.
Today reported, that the father of 18 children strictly advocated for Covid-19 protocols during the pandemic timeline which deteriorated his relationship with Garrison and Gabriel. He called out his sons for "disrespecting" him and insisted that they were the ones who needed to apologize. While appearing on 'Sister Wives: One on One' special Kody blamed his ex-wife as the reason behind his troubled relationship with his sons.
“She never teamed with me. I’m not blaming her as far as fault. She never took my side," he stated. In one of the season 17 episodes Kody was seen lashing out at Janelle and holding her "culpable for not having any respect." During a heated dispute between the ex-couple regarding Covid-19 regulations, Janelle disclosed that the patriarch had not recommended any standard procedures until two weeks before Thanksgiving. However, Kody continued to highlight his stance throughout the season which resulted in further estrangement from his adult sons.