'Sister Wives' star Madison Brush reveals why she has 'no contact' with dad Kody: “He doesn’t...”
'Sister Wives' is a popular TLC reality show that follows the lives of Kody and his polygamous family, which originally included his four wives—Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn—and their 18 children. Over the years, the family dynamic has changed as three of Kody’s marriages have ended, leading to tensions and estrangement from several of his children. Madison "Maddie" Brush, who is the daughter of 'Sister Wives' stars Kody Brown and Janelle Brown, is now married with children of her own and spoke out about her decision to cut ties with her father and the reasons behind it, on the November 11, 2024, episode of the podcast, 'The Authentic Society'.
“I have no contact with some of my family, and it’s because of stuff that has happened,” Maddie said. Speaking about her father, she explained, “He doesn’t have any respect for boundaries, and you have to play by his rules, and I just don’t care to do that.” Maddie, shares four children, Axel, 7, Evangalynn, 5, and Josephine, 21 months, with her husband Caleb Brush. She recently gave birth to her fourth child on March 14, 2025, and named her Emilia Estelle Brush. Maddie became estranged from Kody after his 2022 separation from Janelle. “My dad would get very angry when I would—I’m a straight shooter,” Maddie shared. “You ask me a question, I’m going to tell you what I think. And he would get very angry when I would be like, ‘I don’t know why you’re surprised here.’ And so that was one of the reasons that I went no contact because it was like, he didn’t like a mirror being held up.”
She further explained that Kody would often dismiss her concerns. “There was a lot of anger and he’d be like, ‘That’s not true!’ and I’m like, ‘It is true. I know this firsthand.’” Maddie also addressed criticism from fans who believe she should reconcile with her father. “I always get messages from people who are like, ‘You should just forgive your dad and respect him,’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘I don’t think you know what you’re talking about because your experience with your dad could be very different than my experience with my dad.’” Kody, 55, has been estranged from several of his older children following his separations from Janelle, Christine Brown, and Meri Brown. He is now only with his fourth wife, Robyn Brown, as reported by People. Janelle previously spoke about Kody’s relationship with their children, telling him, “The kids are all feeling very estranged from you. There’s a lot of nuances, and I can’t be in the middle.”
Janelle also explained that Maddie has distanced herself due to Kody’s inconsistent involvement in her children’s lives. "She doesn't really want him to have any contact unless he can commit to it," she shared. "I know that Maddie has not had any conversations with her dad. He's not called, she's not called him, and she doesn't have any relationship with Robyn. She's pretty much written them both off." According to Janelle, Kody "did sort of cut off communication" with Maddie and Caleb "when the family started to really dissolve.”
She added, “She has been Mama Bear to the extreme. She has felt like until he can be consistent and show up and not be dramatic that she feels like it's probably better if they don't know about him," as reported by E! Online. Meanwhile, Robyn said she has encouraged Kody to reach out to mend things, but she also believes "the kids should be doing the same thing, too." However, Kody does not seem eager to fix the situation, saying, "It was a fish for gossip, and I got tired of it," E! Online reported